It replaced the individual entitlement to benefits under the 61-year-old AFDC program with TANF block grants to the states and emphasized the transitional nature of assistance and the importance of reducing welfare dependence through employment, among other goals. Furthermore, to avoid financial penalties, states must ensure that a steadily rising specified minimum percentage of adult recipients are participating in work or work-related activities each year. The proportion of TANF recipients with impairments is almost three times as high as adults with impairments in the U.S. non- TANF population. Counties Are Screening TANF Recipients for Impairments, but Recipients May Not Be Receiving Services to Move Them Toward Employment

Most counties reported they are screening TANF recipients for impairments that may interfere with their ability to work, primarily through recipients’ self-disclosure, a method that may not ensure that all impairments, particularly “hidden” disabilities, are accurately identified.In addition, about half of the counties did not know the number of TANF recipients they had with impairments, with nearly all of these counties saying they did not have the information. About 63 percent of counties exempted TANF recipients with impairments from the work requirements. This in turn could help states and localities have the research and technical assistance needed to meet the needs of TANF recipients with impairments. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To develop estimates of the number of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients with impairments, we analyzed the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data for 1994, 1997, and 1999. Washington, D.C.: Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, undated.
What GAO Found

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 significantly changed federal welfare policy for low-income families with children. The act eliminated eligible families' legal entitlement to cash assistance and created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grants to states. TANF emphasizes the importance of work and personal responsibility rather than dependence on government benefits. To avoid financial penalties, states must demonstrate yearly that an ever-increasing proportion of adults receiving TANF are working or engaged in work-related activities. The U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) for 1999 show that 44 percent of TANF recipients nationwide had physical or mental impairments, a proportion almost three times as high as among adults in the non-TANF population. The percentages of TANF adults with impairments from 1994 can not be compared to later years because Census broadened its measurements of mental impairments starting with its 1997 SIPP data. Most of the counties that screen for impairments rely on recipients' self-disclosure, which may not ensure the identification of some impairments that could interfere with employment. Still, for the one-third of counties that reported service data, fewer than half of recipients with impairments were receiving services to move them toward employment. This situation may be explained by the fact that many recipients were exempted from program work requirements. Federal agencies, including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Education, have many research and technical assistance initiatives underway to facilitate state and local efforts to help TANF recipients with impairments become employed.