Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 101
National Association of Workforce Development Professionals
2013 Annual Conference
5/20/13
10:30 a.m. – Duluth Room
Tony Ong, Associate Manager, PCG
Paul Lefkowitz, Senior Consultant, PCG
www.pcghumanservices.com
WIA or TANF?
Debbie is an unemployed single mom with a masters
degree and no transportation
Rachel is a high school grad with two kids, is recently
divorced, and is just re-entering the workforce after years
of being a stay-at-home mom
Bob is a 22 year old with an infant son…he’s not sure what
he wants to do for a living
May 2013
2
May 2013
3
What year was TANF created?
 2005
 1996
 1935
 1965
 1949
May 2013
4
Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunity Reconciliation Act (1996)
AFDC
TANF
Subsistence Program
Work Program
Origins from survivors
and widows benefits
Self sufficiency through work
May 2013
5
AFDC/TANF Timeline
May 2013
6
How much Federal funding do states get to operate their
TANF programs?
 Depends on how many families receive assistance
 Capped but adjusted for inflation
 Block grant based on historic spending, constant since
inception of the program
 Adjusted annually based on state poverty rates
May 2013
7
Flexible, But Capped, Funding Source
• Transition from AFDC to TANF move federal funding for ‘welfare’
and support programs into capped block grants.
• Funded at $16.6B since 1996
• Real value of block grant has declined by about 27%
• Required states to meet maintenance of effort (MOE) requirements
through general fund spending on eligible programs.
• Penalties for failure to meet MOE requirements
May 2013
8
Which of the following can be funded with Federal TANF $?







College scholarships
GED classes for non-custodial parents
Relationship counseling
Work uniforms and tools / supplies needed for a job
Child care for working parents
After-school programs
Bus passes
May 2013
9
TANF Purposes & Intents
Goal 1:
Family Preservation &
Income Support
Programs
Goal 2:
Job Skills and
Education Programs
Time limited cash
assistance and other
supports
Enabling selfsufficiency through
employment
Goal 3:
Pregnancy Prevention
&Youth Supports
Goal 4:
Promoting Family
Stability
Recognition and support of programs aimed at
breaking the cycle of poverty
May 2013
What percentage of TANF is spent on assistance?
 12%
 95%
 36%
 75%
May 2013
11
TANF Spending (FY 2011):
Assistance vs. Non-Assistance
$11.1 B
36%
$19.4 B
64%
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
ON ASSISTANCE
TOTAL EXPENDITURES
ON NON-ASSISTANCE
May 2013
12
TANF Spending (FY 2011):
Non-Assistance (millions)
OTHER AND ADMIN
GOAL 3 AND 4
NON-RECURRENT SHORT-TERM…
EITC AND OTHER TAX CREDITS
INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS
TRANSPORTATION
CHILD CARE
WORK RELATED ACTIVITIES/ EXPENSES
$0
$2,000
$4,000
$6,000
$8,000
Millions
May 2013
13
True or False?
• TANF cash assistance eligibility requirements
and payment levels are the same nationwide.
May 2013
14
Eligibility Factors
Income: Typically 185%-200% FPL
Family: Child in the home
Citizenship: No federal funds for most
legal immigrants in the country under
5 years
Resources: Significant state variance
May 2013
15
Examples of State Variance
State
Maximum income for
initial eligibility
Maximum cash benefit
for 3 person household
Alabama
$269
$215
California
$1224
$638
Minnesota
$1224
$532
New York
$878
$788
Ohio
$773
$434
Tennessee
$1315
$185
Source: Welfare Rules Database, 2011 data
May 2013
16
How long can a family receive TANF-funded
assistance?
 60 months
 48 months
 Indefinitely
 24 months
 States decide
May 2013
17
Time Limits
Cash assistance capped at a lifetime
limit of 60 months, though states may
chose to shorten (and some expand,
with state $) time limits
States can fund 20% of caseload
beyond 60 months with TANF
May 2013
18
How is the performance of state TANF
programs evaluated?
 The percentage of TANF recipients who become
employed within a year of starting the program
 The reduction in the caseload since 2005
 The percentage of former recipients whose total income
is above 150% FPL
 A complex calculation focusing on TANF clients’
participation in activities
May 2013
19
Work Participation Requirements
Minimum participation rules for most adults: 30
hours of work activities per week, or 20 hours per
week for single parents with young children.
Two-Parent Families: 35-55 hours of work
activities per week (depends on use of child care
assistance).
Single Parents with children under 1 are not
required to work (exemption limited to 12 months
in a lifetime).
Failure to participate may result in reduction or
termination of benefits (state option).
States can chose to exempt certain recipients from
these requirements, require participants to have more
or less hours of participation, etc., but are measured
against these federal requirements.
May 2013
20
Allowable Work Activities

Unsubsidized employment

Subsidized private sector employment

Subsidized public sector employment

Job search and job readiness assistance (time
limited)

Work Experience

Community Service

Vocational Education (12 month lifetime limit)

On-the-job training

Provide child care for individual engaged in
community service

Job skills training directly related to
employment

Education directly related to employment

Satisfactory attendance at secondary school or
in a GED course for those who do not yet have
a high school diploma
FLSA requirements apply
Only count
after core
hours
fulfilled
May 2013
21
Work Participation Rate and Penalties
• 50% of all families, and 90% of two parent families, must meet these
requirements for states to meet required Work Participation Rates
(WPR)
• States failing to meet WPR can have their block grant reduced and
are required to backfill the lost funding with additional state dollars.
• Credits for reducing caseload and spending excess MOE can reduce
required WPRs
May 2013
22
How has the AFDC/TANF cash assistance
caseload changed over the years?
 Caseloads rise and fall in lockstep with the
unemployment rate
 Caseloads have significantly dropped and historical
trends have been altered
 There is no correlation between the economy and
AFDC/TANF caseloads
May 2013
23
AFDC/TANF 1969-2012
16,000
Passage of
PRWORA
14,000
Recipients (in thousands)
12,000
10,000
8,000
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
May 2013
24
50,000
45,000
40,000
11.0
FS/SNAP
10.0
AFDC/TANF
9.0
Unemployment Rate
8.0
30,000
7.0
25,000
6.0
20,000
Unemployment Rate
Recipients (in thousands)
35,000
5.0
15,000
4.0
10,000
5,000
3.0
0
2.0
May 2013
25
WIA or TANF?
Debbie is an unemployed single mom with a
masters degree and no transportation
Rachel is a high school grad with two kids, is
recently divorced, and is just re-entering the
workforce after years of being a stay-at-home
mom
Bob is a 22 year old with an infant son…he’s not
sure what he wants to do for a living
May 2013
26
Stay Tuned for TANF 201
Tuesday @ 10:30 – Duluth Room
Focus on WIA/TANF
Alignment, Collaboration, and Integration
May 2013
27
Public Consulting Group, Inc.
148 State Street, Tenth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(617) 426-2026, www.publicconsultinggroup.com
28