	Introduction

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides grants to states, Indian tribes, and territories for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities that address economic disadvantage. TANF is best known for funding state cash assistance programs for low-income families with children. However, in FY2013, cash assistance represented only 28% of TANF funds. Basic Block Grants

The bulk of federal TANF funding is in a basic block grant totaling $16.5 billion for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. This amount has been frozen since TANF's creation in the 1996 welfare law. It has not been adjusted for inflation or changes in a state's circumstances such as its cash welfare caseload, population, or number of poor children. In total, a minimum of $10.4 billion must be spent collectively by the states from their own funds under the MOE requirement. TANF Cash Assistance

To many, TANF is synonymous with cash assistance (sometimes called "welfare") for needy families. However, TANF cash assistance benefits in all states represent only a fraction of poverty-level income. New York had the highest benefits in the lower 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, paying $770 per month (48% of poverty-level income). Mississippi, the state with the lowest benefit levels, paid a family of three a maximum of $170 per month, 11% of poverty-level income. Additionally, there are no federal rules for determining the income eligibility level, how much money a family may have in the bank, the value of a family's car(s), whether or not a state pays benefits to families with earnings, or other factors that go into determining a family's eligibility for TANF and its cash assistance benefit amount. The Cash Assistance Caseload

In December 2013, the cash assistance caseload stood at 1.7 million families. The caseload is down dramatically from its pre-welfare-reform level, reduced by 67% from the historic peak of 5.1 million families in March 1994. During the 2007-2009 recession and its aftermath, the caseload began to rise from its post-welfare reform low in August 2008 (1.7 million families), peaking in December 2010 at close to 2 million families. For more information on the trends in the number and composition of the TANF cash assistance caseload, see CRS Report R43187, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF): Size and Characteristics of the Cash Assistance Caseload , by [author name scrubbed]. In FY2013, more than half of federal TANF and state MOE funds were used for activities that are generally not associated with a traditional cash assistance program. Among other things, TANF funds are used to
support work for low-income families through funding subsidized child care and refundable tax credits such as state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs); operate subsidized employment programs for low-income parents (both on and off the cash assistance rolls) and for youth; fund post-secondary educational programs for low-income parents; provide economic aid to families with children on an emergency and short-term basis; fund programs that address child abuse and neglect; and fund early child development programs, such as pre-kindergarten programs and Head Start programs. Conclusion

TANF is not a program, but rather a flexible funding stream that states can use to provide a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. Thus, the issues related to TANF broadly span those that reflect the effects and address the root causes of disadvantage among families with children.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides grants to states, Indian tribes, and territories for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities that address economic and social disadvantage for families with children. TANF is best known for funding state cash assistance programs for needy families with children, and it was created in the 1996 welfare reform law. However, TANF is not synonymous with cash assistance. In FY2013, only 28% of federal and state TANF dollars were for cash assistance.
The bulk of federal TANF funding is in a fixed block grant, which has been set at $16.5 billion since FY1997. The basic block grant is not adjusted for inflation, or for changes in the circumstances of a state such as its cash assistance caseload, population, or number of children in poverty. States are also required to spend a specified minimum of $10.4 billion in state funds on TANF-related activities and populations. This amount also has not changed since FY1997.
TANF cash assistance programs today reflect a long history (going back to the early 1900s) and much controversy. States set their own cash assistance benefit levels. In 2012, cash benefits in all states represented a fraction of poverty-level income. In New York, the state with the highest benefit among the 48 contiguous states, the maximum monthly TANF cash benefit for a family of three was $770, which translates to 48% of poverty-level income. In contrast, Mississippi paid a monthly cash benefit for a family of three of $170 (11% of poverty-level income). Families with adult recipients (and certain nonrecipient parents) come under work participation rules. Federally funded aid is also time-limited for such families.
The cash assistance caseload has declined dramatically from its pre-welfare-reform high of 5.1 million families in 1994 to 1.7 million families in July 2008. The cash assistance caseload increased with the economic slump associated with the 2007-2009 recession, to a peak of 2.0 million families in December 2010. In December 2013, the cash assistance caseload stood at 1.7 million families. The cash assistance caseload has traditionally consisted of families headed by a nonworking parent, usually a single mother. However, in FY2011, less than half of the TANF cash caseload fit this description. The TANF cash caseload is very diverse, with more than half the caseload having different characteristics than the historical traditional cash assistance family.
TANF is not a program per se, but a flexible funding stream used to provide a wide range of benefits and services that address the effects of, and the root causes of, disadvantage among families with children. In addition to cash assistance for needy families, TANF also funds child care; programs that address child abuse and neglect; various early childhood initiatives, including pre-kindergarten programs; earnings supplements for workers in low-income families; emergency and short-term aid; pregnancy prevention programs; responsible fatherhood programs; and initiatives to encourage healthy marriages.