All Featured Highlights

• Mar 19, 2013  |  Chris Warland and Melissa Young, National Transitional Jobs Network and Elizabeth Lower-Basch, CLASP Innovative City and State Funding Approaches to Supporting Subsidized Employment and Transitional Jobs A new paper from the National Transitional Jobs Network and CLASP provides strategies and makes recommendations on leveraging and blending multiple sources of funding to support subsidized employment programs. In addition to highlighting the opportunities to use block grant funding, from both TANF and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), the paper identifies efforts to fund these jobs by averting future expenses associated with prisons and other corrections measures and by leveraging public contracting and bidding opportunities. The webinar is also available. Download PDF
• Feb 28, 2013  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Hearing Testimony on Waiving Work Requirements in the TANF Program Attached is an excerpt from Elizabeth Lower-Basch's February 28 testimony before the Human Resources Subcommittee of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee on waiving work requirements in the TANF Program. The subcommittee hearing focused on reviewing the Health and Human Services' proposed waivers of TANF work requirements. Read Online
• Feb 06, 2013  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Goals for TANF Reauthorization This updated Policy Brief argues that poverty alleviation and prevention of material hardship and creation of effective pathways to economic opportunity should be the goals of TANF reauthorization and recommends program changes that would more effectively promote these goals. Download PDF
• Oct 04, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Lavanya Mohan Alternatives to Drug Testing of TANF Applicants In recent years, proposals to require TANF applicants to take drug tests have received a great deal of attention. However, states have other, more effective and less stigmatizing ways to identify applicants and recipients for whom substance abuse is a barrier to employment. In a new policy brief, CLASP explains options states may use for addressing addiction among TANF recipients and highlights some promising practices. Read Online
• Feb 16, 2011  |  LaDonna Pavetti (CBPP), Liz Schott (CBPP), and Elizabeth Lower-Basch (CLASP) Creating Subsidized Employment Opportunities for Low-Income Parents: The Legacy of the TANF Emergency Fund During 2009 and 2010, 39 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and eight Tribal TANF programs received approval to use $1.3 billion from the TANF Emergency Fund to create new subsidized employment programs or expand existing ones. This paper examines how states used the flexibility they were given to design and implement subsidized employment programs and what challenges they faced in getting them up and running, and draws lessons for future such programs. Download PDF
• Mar 01, 2011  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Guide to Use of TANF and MOE Funds This brief summaries the federal rules regarding use of federal TANF funds and state funds claimed towards the Maintenance of Effort (MOE) requirement. Download PDF
• Sep 24, 2012  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch TANF Extended for Six Months Concerns about the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) extension being held hostage in an election-year conflict over waivers proved groundless, as Congress included a six-month extension of TANF, without changes, as part of the Continuing Resolution passed last week. This extension was critical, as TANF provides funding for child care, job training, and other services for low-income families, as well as cash assistance. Without an extension, TANF funding would have expired on September 30th, jeopardizing these essential programs, and creating significant problems for state governments. Read Online
• Nov 09, 2011  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Big Ideas for Job Creation: Rethinking Work Opportunity - From Tax Credits to Subsidized Job Placements This paper is part of the Big Ideas for Job Creation in a Jobless Recovery project, which includes proposals from more than a dozen leading experts on practical, scalable proposals to create more jobs for the U.S. economy. CLASP Senior Policy Analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch recommends that deeper, more targeted subsidies administered at the state level are an effective way to encourage employers to hire disadvantaged workers and create jobs. There are federal subsidies such as the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) currently in place to encourage hiring of disadvantaged workers, but in contrast, they often provide large windfalls to employers in low-wage, high-turnover industries without creating any net new jobs or changing who they hire. Download PDF
• Apr 21, 2010  |  CLASP TANF Education and Training Resources This page provides resources that highlight innovative state strategies, opportunities, and CLASP federal policy recommendations on education and training within the TANF program.It also includes a series of policy briefs that describe programs in Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania that allow TANF recipients to participate and succeed in education and training programs. Read Online
• Dec 07, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch 2011 TANF Extension In late November, the House and Senate extended the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant for the duration of federal fiscal year 2011, as part of H.R. 4783, the Claims Resolution Act of 2010. This fact sheet summarizes the changes made by this bill, which President Obama is expected to sign soon. Download PDF
• Sep 10, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Elizabeth Kenefick Analysis of Fiscal Year 2009 TANF and MOE Spending by States The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published data concerning use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in FY 2009. This set of state-by-state charts shows how each state reported using its TANF and MOE funds in FY 2009. Read Online
• Oct 05, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Lessons from the TANF Emergency Fund In September 2010, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on Welfare Reform: A New Conversation on Women and Poverty. CLASP's testimony for the record focuses on the experience of the TANF Emergency Fund and the lessons that can be taken from it for reauthorization. Download PDF
• Apr 22, 2010  |  Julie Strawn TANF's Role in Expanding Economic Opportunity Testimony of Julie Strawn at the recent House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the role of education and training in the TANF program. Read Online
• Oct 01, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch and Elizabeth Kenefick TANF Emergency Fund: State Applications Approved as of September 30 As of September 30, 2010 HHS had approved awards for the full $5 billion under the TANF Emergency Fund. Download PDF
• Mar 25, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch TANF's Role in Providing Assistance to Struggling Families Testimony for the Record for Hearing on TANF’s Role in Providing Assistance to Struggling Families Download PDF
• Sep 10, 2010  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Extending the TANF Emergency Fund Creates Jobs Now Congress should extend the TANF Emergency Fund as soon as possible so that states can continue to start and expand subsidized jobs programs. Download PDF
• Jan 21, 2011  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Cash Assistance since Welfare Reform This Policy Brief summarizes trends in cash assistance since welfare reform -- declining caseloads, progress in employment and poverty reduction in the early years, with setbacks since 2001, and an intense focus on meeting work participation rate requirements. Download PDF
• Jan 21, 2011  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant This Policy Brief explores the wide range of programs for low-income families supported by the TANF block grant and the declining share of the grant dedicated to cash assistance. It also highlights the degree to which the grant has been eroded by inflation and population grown. Download PDF
• Oct 28, 2009  |  Josh Bone and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Analysis of Fiscal Year 2008 TANF and MOE Spending by States The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published data concerning use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in FY 2008. This set of state-by-state charts shows how each state reported using its TANF and MOE funds in FY 2008. Read Online
• Jul 24, 2009  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Looking Ahead to TANF Reauthorization This presentation provides an overview of the trends in welfare receipt and work since the 1996 creation of the TANF block grant and highlights the modest levels of caseload increase in the current recession. It concludes with some thoughts about TANF reauthorization, scheduled for 2010. Read Online
• Nov 16, 2009  |  CLASP Audioconference What the TANF Emergency Fund Can Do for Your Cash-Strapped State CLASP brought together leading experts to discuss the latest federal guidance on innovative ways that states can draw on the TANF Emergency Fund, and claim expenditures by third-parties, such as counties and nonprofit service-providers. Listen to this recording of the call to learn about how you can put the TANF Emergency Fund to use! Download Audio
• Oct 08, 2009  |  CLASP The Safety Net's Response to the Recession Download PDF
• Apr 06, 2009  |  Matt Lewis and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Analysis of Fiscal Year 2007 TANF and MOE Spending by States The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published data concerning use of federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in FY 2007. This set of state-by-state tables shows how each state reported using its TANF and MOE funds in FY 2007. Read Online
• Jan 30, 2007  |  CLASP and CBPP Implementing the TANF Changes in the DRA: "Win-Win" Solutions for Families and States, Second Edition This report from CLASP and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is intended to guide state administrators and advocates as they consider implementing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provisions of the 2006 federal budget, called the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA). This report has been updated to reflect the Interim Final Rule and guidance issued by HHS in response to states' Work Verification Plans. The report discusses the legal structure of the work participation requirements; strategies for improving and increasing engagement in programs; strategies for increasing support for working families (through increased earnings disregards, stand-alone \"work supplement\" programs, and child support distribution options) and helping states meet participation rates; disability laws and ways to improve the effectiveness of TANF-related programs for individuals with disabilities; and the fiscal implications of the TANF, child care, and child support provisions. To view/print specific chapters, visit http://www.cbpp.org/2-9-07tanf.htm. Download PDF
• Apr 24, 2009  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch & Mark Greenberg Single Mothers in the Era of Welfare Reform The 1990s welfare reform and expansion of work supports caused an historic increase in the share of single mothers who were working. This chapter examines the policy changes of the 1990s and since along with the subsequent employment and earnings outcomes for single mothers. It considers how the policy changes affected both employment levels and job quality and discusses implications for next steps for federal and state policies. This chapter is from the 2009 LERA Research Volume, The Gloves-off Economy: Workplace Standards at the Bottom of America's Labor Market, A. Bernhardt, H. Boushey, L. Dresser, and C. Tilly, eds., Champaign IL: Labor and Employment Relations Association, pp. 163--190. Copyright 2008 by the Labor and Employment Relations Association; Champaign, IL. Reprinted with permission. The volume is available through Cornell University Press. Download PDF
• Apr 03, 2009  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Questions and Answers about the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund This document explains the opportunities for states to help low-income families using the new TANF Emergency Contingency Fund created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. This version is updated to reflect the Policy Announcement issued by HHS on April 3, 2009. Download PDF
• Feb 21, 2013  |  Elizabeth Lower-Basch Goals for TANF Reauthorization Since September 30, 2010, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant has been authorized under a series of short-term extensions. The latest one expires at the end of March, along with the “continuing resolution” that has funded the Federal government since the start of fiscal year 2013. It is likely that Congress will simply extend TANF again at this time; however some members have expressed a desire to take up a full TANF reauthorization this year Download PDF