Updated July 18, 2019
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Block Grant
Introduction
programs with federal dollars. The bulk of TANF funding is
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
in a basic block grant of $16.5 billion per year. Every year,
block grant was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (the
each state receives a fixed grant based on how much it
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
received in federal funding in the pre-1996 cash assistance
Reconciliation Act of 1996, P.L. 104-193). That law was
and related programs during the early- and mid-1990s.
the culmination of a series of legislative changes that
Tribes also may receive grants based on mid-1990s
altered the rules for providing benefits and services to
expenditures.
needy families with children.
The TANF block grant has not been increased since the
Brief History
enactment of the 1996 welfare law. There has been no
adjustment for inflation or population change. During
Public cash assistance to needy families with children has
TANF’s history, states have at times received TANF funds
its origin in the early 1900s state and locally financed
“mother’s pension” programs that aided single mothers
in addition to the basic block grant. For FY2019, the only
additional funding to states for TANF is through the TANF
(often widows) so that children could be raised in their own
contingency fund.
homes rather than institutionalized. The Social Security Act
of 1935 provided federal funding for these programs with
In addition to federal funding, states are required to expend
the explicit goal to aid mothers so they would not have to
a minimum amount of their own funds on the TANF-related
work and could stay home to raise their children.
population and TANF-related programs (a total minimum
of $10.3 billion per year.) This amount is also based on
Post-1935 changes altered the context in which programs
historical expenditures in pre-TANF programs and is
for needy families with children operated. In 1939,
known as the “maintenance of effort” (MOE) requirement.
survivors’ benefits were added to Social Security, providing
Some states spend more than the minimum.
benefits to widows and their children. The increase in labor
force participation among married mothers altered views
Use of TANF Funds
about whether government should aid single mothers to stay
States may use federal block grant and MOE funds in any
at home. Families with children whose fathers were alive
manner that is “reasonably calculated” to achieve TANF’s
but absent comprised more of the public cash assistance
statutory purpose and goals. States have used TANF funds
caseload. The caseload also became more nonwhite. Cash
for a wide range of benefits and services. In FY2017, a total
assistance to needy families with children became among
of $31.1 billion was spent by states from federal TANF and
the most controversial of social programs, particularly
state MOE funds. TANF assistance, which includes the
beginning in the late 1960s as the cash assistance caseload
monthly cash benefits often called “welfare,” totaled $7.1
had its first large increase. “Welfare reform” was debated
billion, which was 23% of total TANF federal and state
across four decades, ultimately leading to the 1996 welfare
MOE funds. In addition to assistance, TANF contributes to
reform law.
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
fatherhood and healthy marriage promotion).
(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children
may remain in their homes; (2) reduce dependency of needy
Figure 1. Uses of Federal TANF and State MOE Funds
parents on government benefits through work, job
by Category: FY2017
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-purpose 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
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
American Indian tribes may also operate their own TANF
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
State TANF Cash Assistance Programs
eligible for cash assistance actually received benefits; in
Federal law requires that a family aided by TANF cash
2016, an estimated 27% of families that met states’
assistance have a dependent child, and limits federally
eligibility requirements actually received benefits (See CRS
funded aid to families with an adult recipient to five years.
In Focus IF10889, Temporary Assistance for Needy
States set most TANF rules that apply to recipient families.
Families: The Decline in the Cash Assistance Caseload.)
States determine the TANF benefit amounts. In July 2017,
Work Requirements
the maximum monthly benefit for a single-parent family of
Current TANF rules for engagement of assistance recipients
three ranged from $1,021 in New Hampshire to $170 in
in work fall within the context of meeting the minimum
Mississippi. There is a regional pattern to these maximum
work participation rate (WPR). The minimum WPR is a
benefits; they are lowest in the South.
performance standard for the state; it does not apply
Figure 2. Maximum Monthly TANF Cash Assistance
directly to individual recipients. States that do not meet the
Benefit by State, July 2017
minimum WPR are at risk of a reduction in their federal
For a Single-Parent Family with Two Children
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.
In FY2018, all but one jurisdiction (Montana) had a
sufficient share of their caseload either working or engaged
in activities to meet TANF’s “all families” work standard.
Seven jurisdictions failed the two-parent standard. States
that met their work standard generally did so through
caseload reduction and aiding families who were already
working, rather than engaging unemployed recipients in
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
activities. (See CRS In Focus IF10856, Temporary
the Urban Institute’s Welfare Rules database.
Assistance for Needy Families: Work Requirements.) TANF
provides assistance to working families either in regular
Trends in the Assistance Caseload
state assistance programs for those with earnings low
In December 2018, a total of 1.2 million families received
enough to still qualify, or in special programs designed to
TANF assistance. This compares with the historical peak in
provide “earnings supplements” to low-income working
receipt of assistance under TANF’s predecessor program in
parents who have either left regular assistance programs or,
March 1994 of 5.1 million families. The number of families
in some states, to families without requiring a prior
that received assistance in December 2018 is the lowest
connection to TANF cash benefits.
since February 1967.
Issues
Figure 3. Number of Families Receiving Assistance,
Issues that have been raised in recent discussions of TANF
1959-2018
include the following:
Should TANF funding levels or allocation of funds to
the states be altered to account for changed
circumstances (e.g., inflation, population change)?
Should TANF dollars support the broad range of
activities currently allowable or should they be focused
on cash assistance and supporting work?
Is a sufficient percentage of the caseload engaged in
work activities? Do current rules provide sufficient
incentive for states to innovate and adopt promising
practices in moving cash assistance recipients to work?
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
Should states be encouraged to integrate and coordinate
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
TANF with other need-based programs?
Most of the post-1994 decline in the cash assistance
Gene Falk, Specialist in Social Policy
caseload resulted from a reduction in the share of eligible
families receiving benefits, rather than a reduction in the
IF10036
number of families meeting states’ definitions of being a
needy family. In 1995, an estimated 82% of families
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
Disclaimer
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