Updated February 8, 2019
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Block Grant
Introduction
American Indian tribes may also operate their own TANF
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
programs with federal dollars. The bulk of TANF funding is
block grant was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (the
in a basic block grant of $16.5 billion per year. Every year,
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
each state receives a fixed grant based on how much it
Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193). That law was
received in federal funding in the pre-1996 cash assistance
the culmination of a series of legislative changes that
and related programs during the early- and mid-1990s.
altered the rules for providing benefits and services to
Tribes also may receive grants based on mid-1990s
needy families with children.
expenditures.
Brief History
The TANF block grant has not been increased since the
Public cash assistance to needy families with children has
enactment of the 1996 welfare law. There has been no
its origin in the early 1900s state and locally financed
adjustment for inflation. During TANF’s history, states
“mother’s pension” programs that aided single mothers
have at times received TANF funds in addition to the basic
(often widows) so that children could be raised in their own
block grant. For FY2019, the only additional funding to
homes rather than institutionalized. The Social Security Act
states for TANF is through the TANF contingency fund.
of 1935 provided federal funding for these programs with
the explicit goal to aid mothers so they would not have to
In addition to federal funding, states are required to expend
work and could stay home to raise their children.
a minimum amount of their own funds on the TANF-related
population and TANF-related programs (a total $10.3
Post-1935 changes altered the context in which programs
billion per year, though some states expend more than the
for needy families with children operated. In 1939,
minimum). This amount is also based on historical
survivors’ benefits were added to Social Security, providing
expenditures in pre-TANF programs and is known as the
benefits to widows and their children. The increase in labor
“maintenance of effort” (MOE) requirement.
force participation among married mothers altered views
about whether government should aid single mothers to stay
Use of TANF Funds
at home. Families with children whose fathers were alive
States may use federal block grant and MOE funds in any
but absent comprised more of the public cash assistance
manner that is “reasonably calculated” to achieve TANF’s
caseload. The caseload also became more nonwhite. Cash
statutory purpose and goals. States have used TANF funds
assistance to needy families with children became among
for a wide range of benefits and services. In FY2017, a total
the most controversial of social programs, particularly
of $31.1 billion was spent by states from federal TANF and
beginning in the late 1960s as the cash assistance caseload
state MOE funds. TANF assistance, which includes the
had its first large increase. “Welfare reform” was debated
monthly cash benefits often called “welfare,” totaled $7.1
across four decades, ultimately leading to the 1996 welfare
billion, which was 23% of total TANF federal and state
reform law.
MOE funds. In addition to assistance, TANF contributes to
state funds used for work and training programs, child care,
The TANF Block Grant
pre-kindergarten programs, programs to provide services to
The TANF block grant’s overall purpose is to “increase the
children who have been abused and neglected or are at risk
flexibility of states” to meet four statutory goals:
of it, and other services (youth activities, responsible
(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children
fatherhood and healthy marriage promotion).
may remain in their homes; (2) reduce dependency of needy
parents on government benefits through work, job
preparation, and marriage; (3) reduce out-of-wedlock
pregnancies; and (4) promote the formation and
maintenance of two-parent families. The 1996 welfare
reform law and the creation of TANF altered the federal
rules that applied to states for their cash assistance
programs. It also established a broad-based block grant that
provides funds to states to address both the effects and root
causes of childhood economic disadvantage.
Federal Grants and State Funds
TANF provides grants to the 50 states, District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

---

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
Figure 1. Uses of Federal TANF and State MOE Funds
Figure 3. Number of Families Receiving Assistance,
by Category: FY2017
1959-2018

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
State TANF Cash Assistance Programs
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Federal law requires that a family aided by TANF cash
assistance have a dependent child, and limits federally
Most of the post-1994 decline in the cash assistance
funded aid to families with an adult recipient to five years.
caseload resulted from a reduction in the share of eligible
States set most TANF rules that apply to recipient families.
families receiving benefits, rather than a reduction in the
number of families meeting states’ definitions of being a
States determine the TANF benefit amounts. In July 2017,
needy family. In 1995, an estimated 82% of families
the maximum monthly benefit for a single-parent family of
eligible for cash assistance actually received benefits; in
three ranged from $1,021 in New Hampshire to $170 in
2015, an estimated 27% of families that met states’
Mississippi. There is a regional pattern to these maximum
eligibility requirements actually received benefits (See CRS
benefits; they are lowest in the South.
In Focus IF10889, Temporary Assistance for Needy
Figure 2. Maximum Monthly TANF Cash Assistance
Families: The Decline in the Cash Assistance Caseload.)
Benefit by State, July 2017
Work Requirements
For a Single-Parent Family with Two Children
Current TANF rules for engagement of assistance recipients
in work fall within the context of meeting the minimum
work participation rate (WPR). The minimum WPR is a
performance standard for the state; it does not apply
directly to individual recipients. States that do not meet the
minimum WPR are at risk of a reduction in their federal
TANF funds.
To meet the current TANF work participation standard,
states must have 50% of “all families” and 90% of families
with two parents either working or engaged in activities. A
state may lower these percentages by reducing its caseload.
There are rules for what activities count, and minimum
hours per week of participation required, for a family to be
counted by the state toward meeting its minimum WPR.
Work in an unsubsidized job and participation in job
preparation activities count toward meeting the standard.
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
the Urban Institute’s Welfare Rules database.
In FY2017, all but two jurisdictions (Guam and Nevada)
had a sufficient share of their caseload either working or
Trends in the Assistance Caseload
engaged in activities to meet TANF’s “all families” work
In September 2018, a total of 1.2 million families received
standard. Nine jurisdictions failed the two-parent standard.
TANF assistance. This compares with the historical peak in
States that met their work standard generally did so through
receipt of assistance under TANF’s predecessor program in
caseload reduction and aiding families who were already
March 1994 of 5.1 million families. The number of families
working, rather than engaging unemployed recipients in
that received assistance in September 2018 is the lowest
activities. (See CRS In Focus IF10856, Temporary
since February 1967.
Assistance for Needy Families: Work Requirements.) TANF
provides assistance to working families either in regular
state assistance programs for those with earnings low
enough to still qualify, or in special programs designed to
provide “earnings supplements” to low-income working
parents who have either left regular assistance programs or,
in some states, to families without requiring a prior
connection to TANF cash benefits.
https://crsreports.congress.gov

---

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
Issues
 Is a sufficient percentage of the caseload engaged in
Issues that have been raised in recent discussions of TANF
work activities? Do current rules provide sufficient
include the following:
incentive for states to innovate and adopt promising

practices in moving cash assistance recipients to work?
Should TANF funding levels or allocation of funds to

the states be altered?
Should states be encouraged to integrate and coordinate

TANF with other need-based programs?
Should TANF dollars support the broad range of
activities currently allowable or should they be focused
Gene Falk,
on cash assistance and supporting work?
IF10036


Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to
congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress.
Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has
been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the
United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be
reproduced and distributed in its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include
copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you
wish to copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.

https://crsreports.congress.gov

---