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TANF Policy, Services, and Benefits

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is administered by the Office of Family Assistance within the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. TANF was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The program provides temporary financial assistance while aiming to get people off assistance, primarily through employment. In 2005, changes were enacted to the TANF program under the Deficit Reduction Act that changed the caseload credit and, in essence, increased the proportion of TANF participants who must participate in work activities for a specified number of hours each week.

Efforts have been made at the Federal and State level to improve TANF programs and services by focusing on increasing engagement of TANF participants to meet the employment requirements of TANF, while providing comprehensive employment support services to TANF families. The TANF Policy, Services, and Benefits section provides access to this research and other resources relating to TANF policies and services.

View recommendations from the SSRC Librarian on TANF Policy, Services, and Benefits and relevant Federal laws and regulations below. 

Two women talking at a table

 

Research on TANF frequently focuses on diversion and emergency assistance, sanctions (or policies which prohibit an individual from participating in TANF if they fail to comply with program requirements), caseload size and composition, TANF child-only cases, time limits for participating in TANF, and work requirements. Click the phrases below to view selected research and resources relevant to each topic and self-sufficiency.

SSRC Notes: Expanding the use of motivational interviewing to welfare participants

This SSRC Note focuses on new research and clinical approaches.

 

SSRC Selections: Welfare-to-work & TANF studies

This set of selections focuses on welfare-to-work and TANF studies.

 

SSRC Notes: What have we learned from welfare-to-work?

This SSRC Note looks at what we have learned about welfare-to-work efforts since the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).

 

SSRC Selections: TANF sanctions and work requirements

This set of selections focuses on TANF sanctions and work requirements.

 

SSRC Notes: The many faces of child-only TANF

Child-only TANF cases differ from regular TANF in several key ways, including a general lack of time limits, work requirements, income limits, and other work supports such as childcare. Despite representing a large percentage of state TANF caseloads, as well as a diverse and often vulnerable population, there is limited in-depth research on child-only TANF cases.

 

SSRC Notes: Public assistance programs move away from Work First policy

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Program, established in 1996 by the Personal Responsibility and Work Responsibility Act, marked a dramatic shift away from cash assistance, requiring participants to work in order to keep their benefits. Recently, several companion programs have begun to support education and training as a prerequisite to work and economic stability.

 

SSRC Selections: Child-only TANF cases

This set of selections focuses on child-only TANF cases.

 

SSRC Selections: Motivational interviewing

This set of selections focuses on motivational interviewing.

 

SSRC Selections: Personal agency

This set of selections focuses on personal agency.

 

Federal laws and regulations establish a framework which guides the design and administration of state and local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. Click the first link below to view legislative resources specific to TANF. Click the second link to view regulatory resources specific to TANF. Click the third link to browse additional self-sufficiency legislation and policy in the SSRC library.

View legislative resources on TANF Policy, Services, and Benefits

  • Short-Term TANF Extension Act
  • Claims Resettlement Act of 2010
  • American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
  • Deficit Reduction Act of 2005
  • Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

View regulatory resources on TANF Policy, Services, and Benefits

  • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Carry-Over Funds Final Rule
  • Reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program Final Rule
  • Cost Allocation Methodology Applicable to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program Final Rule
  • Charitable Choice Provisions Applicable to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program Final Rule
  • Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program (Tribal TANF) and Native Employment Works (NEW) Program Final Rule
  • Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) Final Rule

Search the SSRC library for additional self-sufficiency legislation and policy

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