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 FAMILY ECONOMIC SUCCESS TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF) The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, is the federal public assistance program. This year, 2006, marks the ten year anniversary of the TANF program. The TANF program is designed to protect financially destitute families, who must meet income requirements to qualify. Qualifying families receive a financial grant to use to meet their basic financial needs. As the title suggests, the program is designed to be temporary, with a 60 month limit for each person’s lifetime, and imposes work requirements on TANF participants. Since the creation of TANF, there have been drastic reductions in TANF caseloads. Part of the reduction is due to parents successfully entering the labor market. The success of TANF recipients going to work is attributable in part to the favorable labor market, especially when the program went into effect (1996). Part of the success is attributable to new work supports, such as child care and the Earned Income Tax Credit. And third, the new policy itself is attributable for getting single parents to work.
However, since the creation of TANF, the population of parents not working and not participating in TANF has increased. How are children in the nonparticipating, nonworking families having their basic needs met? These families have either not applied for TANF or not succeeded in establishing or maintaining eligibility, for example, they may not be meeting new program (work) requirements. Child advocates also need to be concerned that TANF participants move ahead in the labor market, that is, that work pays. Without moving ahead in the labor market, TANF recipients are barely making ends meet and are vulnerable to cycle back into the TANF program. Supports that make work possible, such as child care, need to be available to assure a more secure labor force attachment. Last, parents who have not successfully found or kept work may have additional barriers to work than their counterparts. These barriers may include disabilities, substance abuse or addiction issues, or mental health issues. The TANF program needs to address these additional barriers.
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