Updated January 28, 2021
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 Personal Responsibility and
each state receives a fixed grant based on how much it
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA,
received in federal funding in the pre-1996 cash assistance
P.L. 104-193). That law was the culmination of a series of
and related programs during the early- and mid-1990s.
legislative changes that altered the rules for providing
Tribes also may receive grants based on mid-1990s
benefits and services to needy families with children.
expenditures.
Brief History
The TANF block grant has not been increased since the
enactment of the 1996 welfare law. There has been no
Public cash assistance to needy families with children has
adjustment for inflation or population change. From 1997 to
its origin in the early 1900s state and locally financed
“mother’s pension” programs that aided
2020, the basic TANF block grant has lost 38% of its value
single mothers
to inflation. During TANF’s history, states have at times
(often widows) so that children could be raised in their own
received TANF funds in addition to the basic block grant.
homes rather than institutionalized. The Social Security Act
For FY2021, the only additional funding to states for TANF
of 1935 provided federal funding for these programs with
is through the TANF contingency fund.
the explicit goal to aid mothers so they would not have to
work and could stay home to raise their children.
In addition to federal funding, states are required to expend
a minimum amount of their own funds on the TANF-related
Post-1935 changes altered the context in which programs
population and TANF-related programs (a total minimum
for needy families with children operated. In 1939,
survivors’ benefits were added to Social Security, providing
of $10.3 billion per year). This amount is also based on
historical expenditures in pre-TANF programs and is
social insurance benefits to widows and their children. The
known as the “maintenance of effort” (MOE) requirement.
increase in labor force participation among married mothers
Some states spend more than the minimum.
altered views about whether government should aid single
mothers to stay at home. Families with children whose
Use of TANF Funds
fathers were alive but absent comprised more of the public
States may use federal block grant and MOE funds in any
cash assistance caseload. The caseload also became more
manner that is “reasonably calculated” to achieve TANF’s
nonwhite. Cash assistance to needy families with children
statutory purpose and goals. States have used TANF funds
became among the most controversial of social programs,
for a wide range of benefits and services. In FY2019, a total
particularly beginning in the late 1960s as the cash
of $30.9 billion was spent by states from federal TANF and
assistance caseload had its first large increase. Proposals to
state MOE funds. TANF basic assistance, including
replace or reform cash assistance for needy families were
monthly cash benefits to families with children, totaled $6.5
debated across four decades, ultimately leading to the
billion. In addition to assistance, TANF contributes to state
enactment of PRWORA.
funds used for work and training programs, child care, pre-
The TANF Block Grant
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
parents on government benefits through work, job
Funds, by Category: FY2019
preparation, and marriage; (3) reduce out-of-wedlock
pregnancies; and (4) promote the formation and
maintenance of two-parent families. PRWORA 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 s tates, 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) Bloc k Grant

families receiving benefits, rather than a reduction in the
number of families meeting states’ definitions of being a
State TANF Cash Assistance Programs
needy family. In 1994, an estimated 79% of individuals
Federal law requires that a family aided by TANF cash
eligible for cash assistance actually received benefits; in
assistance have a dependent child, and limits federally
2017, an estimated 25% of persons in families that met
funded aid to families with an adult recipient to five years.
states’ eligibility requirements actually received benefits.
States set most TANF rules that apply to recipient families.
Work Requirements
States determine the TANF benefit amounts. In July 2019,
Current TANF rules for engagement of assistance recipients
the maximum monthly benefit for a single-parent family of
in work fall within the context of meeting the minimum
three ranged from $1,066 in New Hampshire to $170 in
work participation rate (WPR). The minimum WPR is a
Mississippi. There is a regional pattern to these maximum
performance standard for the state; it does not apply
benefits; they are lowest in the South.
directly to individual recipients. States that do not meet the
Figure 2. Maximum Monthly TANF Cash Assistance
minimum WPR are at risk of a reduction in their federal
Benefit by State, July 2019
TANF funds. To meet the current TANF work participation
standard, states must have 50% of “all families” and 90% of
For a Single-Parent Family with Two Children
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 FY2019, all but one jurisdiction (Montana) met the “all
families” work standard and all but five met 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 activities. The Department of Health and
Human Services (HHS) has issued guidance to states to
help them respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that

while it cannot waive TANF work rules, it can relieve states
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
of penalties for states’ failure to meet these standards and
the Urban Institute’s Welfare Rules database.
“will exercise this authority to the maximum extent

possible.”
In June 2020, a total of 1.1 million families received TANF
assistance. This compares with the historical peak in receipt
Issues
of assistance under TANF’s predecessor program in March
Issues that have been raised in recent discussions of TANF
1994 of 5.1 million families. The number of families
include the following:
receiving TANF assistance was 4% higher in June 2020
than in December 2019, reflecting the economic recession
 Should TANF funding levels or allocation of funds to
accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic.
the states be altered to account for changed
circumstances (e.g., inflation, poverty population)?
Figure 3. Number of Families Receiving Assistance,
1959-2020
 Should Congress provide additional TANF funding to
address the increase in need accompanying the
economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic? Should
some TANF rules (e.g., work requirement and time
limits on aid) be suspended during the pandemic?
 Once the pandemic ends, should changes be made to
work requirements to prompt states to engage additional
unemployed recipients in activities? Should changes be
made to alter the share of eligible families receiving
assistance? For example, should TANF dollars support
the broad range of activities currently allowable or

should they be focused on cash assistance and
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS), based on data from
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
supporting work?
Note: January 2020 to June 2020 data are preliminary.
Gene Falk, Specialist in Social Policy
Most of the post-1994 decline in the cash assistance
IF10036
caseload resulted from a reduction in the share of eligible
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The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant


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