Social Safety Nets help us all (part 3)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF, aka "Welfare")
According to the Office of Family Assistance, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is designed to “help low-income families with children achieve self-sufficiency”. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d never heard of it, it doesn’t get much press. I’ve never personally worked with, or known, a family who qualified to receive it. Similar to Medicaid and SNAP, it is a Federal program administered by the states. You will need to look at what your state’s rules are if you are thinking of applying.
A word of warning, state websites can be a nightmare to navigate. Don’t blame yourself for getting frustrated. It’s not you. I’ve been doing this for years and in some cases, it STILL takes me an hour plus to find exactly what I’m looking for. I want to believe this wasn’t done on purpose, but I’m too cynical. I do wonder if it’s part of a bigger strategy - people can’t apply for what they can’t find.
TANF is usually provided to families in the form of cash payments. The program was started to do (4) things. From the evidence I’ve been able to gather I don’t think it does any of them particularly well. The list is verbatim, does it sound a little “judgy” to you too? Here’s the list:
Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives
End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage
Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies
Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families
I encourage you to check out the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities page reviewing TANF (link here). The money is allocated as a “Block grant”, meaning states get a fixed amount of dollars every year, when it’s gone it’s gone. Kind of like the allowance you would give your child. Last year Tennessee got permission to fund its Medicaid Waivers the same way, making it the only state in the country to do so (and in my opinion making a HUGE mistake).
Let’s do a deeper dive. First, recipients are required to work. “50% of families receiving TANF cash assistance must be working at least 30 hours a week (20 hours a week for single parents with children under 6)”. Notice there are NO provisions about caring for an elderly parent or person with a disability. Also, “nearly all states have chosen to use “full-family” sanctions that take away the entire family’s benefit if a parent fails to meet the work requirements.”
