http://www.clasp.org/issues/topic_in_focus.xml?type=temporary_assistance&id=0001 In Focus articles from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) en-us Sun, 26 May 2013 00:11:19 -0500 info@clasp.org webmaster@clasp.org 40 Fri, 02 Nov 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0058 Recent news stories highlight the problems with the current work participation rates and the reasons that HHS is on the right path in inviting states to propose thoughtful alternatives that would more accurately reflect the statesaEUR(TM) performance in helping clients achieve self-sufficiency through work. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0058 Tue, 12 Jun 2012 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0053 CLASP's comments to ACF recommends ways to minimize the resources wasted in implementing EBT Blocking, and ensure that needy families are not unduly burdened and do not pay excessive fees in accessing their benefits. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0053 Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0048 As part of the payroll tax bill passed today, Congress extended the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant through the end of the fiscal year (September 30, 2012). The TANF program was scheduled for reauthorization in 2010, but Congress has not taken it up, instead passing a series of short-term extensions. The bill passed by Congress did include one policy change, however. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0048 Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0047 States will not receive additional TANF funds after December 31 unless Congress acts. However, states can use federal funds they have already received and state funds to continue benefits. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0047 Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0044 A bill introduced today would address the ongoing jobs crisis by creating work and educational opportunities for unemployed workers, those who can't qualify for unemployment benefits and other disadvantaged individuals. While the nation has dealt with an unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent or higher since 2009, policymakers cannot allow this to become a new normal. This is the third scaled-down jobs bill based on provisions in the Americans Jobs Act to be introduced in the past month. Two other measures failed to get enough votes to move past debate. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0044 Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0043 More than a dozen leading experts gathered for the Big Ideas for Job Creation Policy Forum Nov. 8, 2011, to present practical, scalable proposals to create more jobs for the U.S. economy. The project is funded by the Annie E. Casey and W.E. Kellogg Foundations and organized by the UC-Berkeley Institute for Research on Labor & Employment. CLASP senior policy analyst Elizabeth Lower-Basch presented her paper, Rethinking Work Opportunity: From Tax Credits to Subsidized Job Placements. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0043 Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0042 Florida's law mandating drug tests for all adult applicants for TANF cash assistance is on hold. Federal Judge Mary Scriven issued a temporary injunction Monday afternoon, saying the law is likely in violation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0042 Mon, 03 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0041 A conservative organization's recent report claiming Florida's recently enacted law mandating drug testing for TANF applicants will save the state money is based on questionable data and assumptions, makes sweeping generalizations about poor people, and ignores broader social issues. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0041 Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0038 Congress must extend TANF before it expires Sept. 30. When it does so -and as it makes budget decisions for the next year and the next decade - it must recognize the need to provide both security and opportunity for low-wage workers and their families, in good times and in bad. Fifteen years after welfare reform, there's room for improvement that focuses on reducing the number of people in need of assistance, not just reducing the number receiving it. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0038 Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0037 Yesterday Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Tex.) introduced HR 2277, a bill that will extend through the end of this fiscal year funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Supplemental Grants that aid 17 disadvantaged states each year. Without an extension, many of these states will have their total funding under TANF cut by roughly 10 percent. This would exacerbate the funding struggles states are facing given unprecedented need due to the Great Recession. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0037 Mon, 16 May 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0036 A bill passed last week by the Florida legislature takes baseless drug testing of applicants for cash assistance to an even more punitive, outrageous level by requiring needy families to pay for their own drug testing before receiving benefits. If Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill into law, all parents or caretakers will be required to take a drug test when applying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0036 Wed, 20 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0035 On April 5, 2011, the Subcommittee on Human Resources to the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on GAO Report on Duplication of Government Programs: Focus on Welfare and Related Programs. CLASP submitted testimony for the record on April 19 that focuses on how the programs should be coordinated into a system of benefits that is easy to access, unstigmatized, responsive to economic hardship, open to all, and fully funded. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0035 Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0034 Republicans cite the creation of the TANF block grant as a model for other programs. But what have we learned over 15 years of experience with the TANF block grant? http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0034 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0032 Public discourse over welfare policy in the United States has long been shaped by perceptions about "deserving" and "undeserving" recipients. Recent proposals to randomly drug test parents applying for or receiving assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are just one of the latest manifestations. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0032 Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0030 TANF was due for reauthorization by September 30, 2010, but Congress did not consider legislation by this deadline. It was extended through December 3, 2010 as part of the continuing resolution. On November 19, the Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill that extended the program though September 30, 2011. On November 30, the House passed same bill and it will now be sent to the President for his signature. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0030 Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0029 TANF was due for reauthorization by September 30, 2010, but Congress did not consider legislation by this deadline. It was extended through December 3, 2010 as part of the continuing resolution. On November 19, the Senate passed by unanimous consent a bill that extended the program though September 30, 2011. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0029 Fri, 19 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0028 In spite of widespread public support, yesterday the House of Representatives failed to pass a bill extending federal unemployment insurance benefits for three more months. Considering that the Department of Labor and the Congressional Budget Office have shown that unemployment insurance has helped rebuild the staggering economy, it's a sad reminder of how partisanship gets in the way of sound policy. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0028 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0027 This time of year, many are planning their Thanksgiving menu and visits with family over the holidays and New Year. But a huge number of Americans are facing a much colder holiday season. Unless Congress acts now, two million workers will find it difficult to even put food on the table once their federal jobless benefits expire at the end of this month. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0027 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0600 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0026 This week, Rep. Tom Price, chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), announced that Republicans would trim $25 billion in federal spending by eliminating the TANF Emergency Fund. Problem is, the TANF Emergency fun expired on Sept. 30, 2010, so these savings are pure fiction. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0026 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0500 http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0025 Today, we are facing generational unemployment highs in addition to rising poverty. Some families affected by the economic crisis will recover, but even short-term increases in poverty can have negative long-term effects on children. Unplanned moves due to eviction or foreclosure disrupt child care arrangements and schooling. Parents are more likely to be stressed, depressed or just plain overwhelmed. A number of studies show that young adults who are unemployed or out of the labor force due to a recession when they should be gaining formative work experience have permanently reduced earnings prospects. So, for all these reasons, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program matters for children, families, and to society as a whole, which pays the price for poverty in the form of worse health, reduced educational attainment, and lower economic growth. http://www.clasp.org/issues/in_focus?type=temporary_assistance&id=0025