Strengthening Children, Youth and Families

Resources & Publications: Federal TANF Policy

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Feb 28, 2013 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony on TANF Work Requirements This is the testimony that Elizabeth Lower-Basch delivered before the Ways and Means Human Resource Subcommittee regarding TANF Work Requirements and Waivers. Download PDF
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 01, 2012 | Matt Lewis, Elizabeth Kenefick, and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Random Drug Testing of TANF Recipients is Costly, Ineffective and Hurts Families Updated October 2012. Legislators in a number of states have proposed to test all TANF recipients for drug use. This updated brief explains that random drug testing may be unconstitutional, and is a costly and ineffective way to identify individuals in need of substance abuse treatment. Screening, targeted testing programs, and enhanced treatment options are a better approach to helping TANF families affected by substance abuse. Download PDF
Jun 11, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Comments to HHS on TANF Assistance and Electronic Benefit Transactions A new law requires states to restrict access to TANF assistance from ATMs and POS devices in certain locations. This document responds to HHS' request for comments on how to implement this provision. Download PDF
May 17, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony for the Record on State Spending and Work Participation CLASP submitted Testimony for the Record for the House Ways and Means Committee's hearing on State TANF Spending and its Impact on Work Requirements. Download PDF
Mar 02, 2012 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Why Drug Testing Public Benefit Recipients Is a Distraction Twenty-three states around the country are considering requiring drug tests for recipients of programs like welfare (TANF) and food stamps. Elizabeth Lower-Basch discusses which states are proposing these tests and why she believes that they are unnecessary. Read Online
Nov 08, 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
Sep 22, 2011 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Improving Work and Other Welfare Reform Goals On September 8, the Human Resources Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on TANF, in preparation for the pending reauthorization of the block grant. CLASP submitted this testimony for the record. Download PDF
Apr 19, 2011 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Testimony for the Record on GAO Report on Duplication of Government Programs, Focus on Welfare and Related Programs In April 2011, the Subcommittee on Human Resources to the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives, held a hearing on Duplication of Government Programs with a focus on welfare and related programs. CLASP's testimony for the record 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. Education and training are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity, and low-wage workers and low-income individuals need access to them to enter and advance in the labor market. 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
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
Dec 09, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch 2011 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (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. President Obama recently signed it into law (P.L. 111-291). This fact sheet summarizes the changes made by it. Download PDF
Nov 30, 2010 | Elizabeth Kenefick States using the TANF Emergency Fund for Subsidized Employment The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created a new TANF Emergency Fund to assist states in expanding services during the recession. The funds could be used for basic assistance, short-term non-recurrent benefits, or subsidized employment. 39 states (plus DC, VI, and PR) funded subsidized employment programs that employed nearly 250,000 youth and adults before the fund expired on Sept. 30, 2010. This slide show depicts the time line of these subsidized employment programs. Read Online | Download File
Nov 19, 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 and expand their subsidized jobs programs. Download PDF
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
Jul 29, 2010 | Elizabeth Kenefick How much could your state receive under HR 5893? This shows the amounts that states could received under H.R. 5893 "Investing In American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010", released Wednesday July 28, 2010 by the House Ways and Means Committee. It renames the TANF Emergency Fund as the Emergency Fund for Job Creation and Assistance and extends it through FY 2011. Under this bill, states could receive up to 30 percent of their adjusted block grant during FY 2011 Read Online | Download PDF
May 21, 2010 Letter Supporting the 2010 Jobs Bill On May 20, CLASP Executive Director Alan Houseman sent this urgent letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, urging support for the Promoting American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010. Read Online | Download PDF
Apr 22, 2010 | Julie Strawn The Role of Education and Training in the TANF Program: Read Online On April 22, Julie Strawn testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the importance of education and training in today's economy, and the role that TANF can play in helping low-income parents obtain economic opportunity and better the lives of their children. Download PDF
Apr 21, 2010 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch TANF Emergency Fund: Creating Summer Jobs for Youth This report explains the rules and requirements for using the TANF Emergency Fund to support summer jobs for youth. 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
Nov 18, 2009 | Evelyn Ganzglass Job Creation: Creating Work and Learning Opportunities for Low-Income Populations The current economic and job crisis requires that additional steps be taken to create employment and training opportunities for those hardest hit by the recession. Experts and policymakers have proposed numerous strategies to create and retain jobs such as tax credits, public service employment and the expansion of work-sharing/short-time compensation options under the Unemployment Insurance program. This fact sheet offers a number of ideas for how the public Workforce Investment and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families systems could be mobilized to create new work opportunities for low-income, unemployed workers. Read Online | Download PDF
Nov 16, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch The TANF Emergency Fund: A New Resource for Domestic Violence Programs The TANF Emergency Fund can both provide victims of domestic violence with financial and in-kind services to help address domestic violence issues and also relieve some of the funding pressures on providers. Download PDF
Nov 02, 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 questions and answers posted by HHS in October 2009 Download PDF
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 | Download PDF
Apr 03, 2009 | Allegra Baider and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Making the Employment Connection: New Opportunities to Support Transitional Jobs Programs Using the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund This paper highlights new opportunities to develop or expand Transitional Jobs programs using funding from the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund, which was authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Download PDF
Mar 20, 2009 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Opportunities in the Recovery Act for Income Support for Low-Income Women and Children This presentation analyzes ways that funds provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can be used to improve income supports for low-income women and children. It focuses on the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act. Download PDF
Jan 12, 2009 CLASP's Workforce Education and Training Policy Recommendations to Promote Inclusive Economic Recovery This paper is a summary of recommendations CLASP has made on workforce education and training policy that promote inclusive economic recovery. The recommendations include workforce investments to assist low-income and other workers hardest hit by economic recession and help prepare our workforce for the jobs of the future. Download PDF
Nov 12, 2008 | CLASP Recover, Renew, Rebuild: Workforce Policies for a Strong and Fair Economy Education and training are major contributors to economic prosperity. They are drivers of economic mobility and opportunity. Workforce policies to help individuals who are struggling in the labor market also are a critical component of a recovery package to get America working again. This report contains CLASP workforce policy recommendations for Congress and the Administration to address the immediate economic crisis and to make a down payment on the longer-term agenda of building a stronger and more equitable economy. It includes actions they can take to: help workers and families recover from the current recession; renew the nation's commitment to good jobs and upward mobility for all and rebuild middle class jobs. Read Online | Download PDF
Nov 07, 2008 | CLASP Beyond Stimulus: Shoring Up the Safety Net, Securing the American Dream The United States is entering into a recession which many will be longer and more severe than any we have faced in recent decades. As Congress and the new President consider what actions to take, CLASP calls for a package that goes beyond stimulus aimed at temporarily boosting consumer demand. This paper outlines actions that Congress should take immediately to strengthen safety net programs that provide critical assistance to vulnerable workers and families and to ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to share in the benefits of recovery. Download PDF
Oct 16, 2008 | Alan W. Houseman and the CLASP Staff CLASP Federal Policy Recommendations for 2009 and Beyond CLASP has developed an extensive federal policy agenda for the next President and Congress directed at improving the lives of low income people. The detailed agenda makes recommendations for changes in policy at all levels of the federal government: the White House, Federal departments and agencies, the budget and appropriations' process, and the law-making process in Congress. This publication provides an overview of our agenda organized into eleven key recommendations. Taken as a whole, the eleven recommendations call for increasing investments in effective programs and funding streams that concretely help children, youth, and families thrive; strengthening and modernizing the nation's safety net; and building supportive pathways for low-income youths and adults to good jobs that sustain families and communities. Download PDF
Oct 02, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch CLASP Comments on HHS Regulation Disallowing Credit for Excess MOE In these comments, CLASP urges the Department of Health and Human Services to maintain a provision that gives states an incentive to spend more of their money than the minimum required to avoid penalty. CLASP strongly disagrees with HHS' claim that reduced cash assistance caseloads mean that there is less of a need for additional spending. Download PDF
Jun 09, 2008 | Neil Ridley, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, and Matt Lewis Low-Income Workers and Families Hardest Hit by Economic Decline Need Help Now American workers and families are being squeezed between a declining labor market and increasing costs for food, fuel, and other basic needs. This paper describes the economy's impact on vulnerable adults and youth, and lays out recommendations for action that can make a real difference in the lives of low-income workers and their families. Download PDF
Mar 20, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Education and Training for TANF Recipients: Opportunities and Challenges under the Final Rule On February 5, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published the final rules implementing changes in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. This paper explains the changes in the new rules that affect recipients' access to education and training, and the actions that states will need to take in order to take advantage of these changes. Many welfare recipients lack the education needed to successfully compete in the labor market. By enabling recipients to participate in education and training activities, states can help improve their long-term employment and earnings outcomes as well as increase their participation rates. Download PDF
Jan 31, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Final TANF Rules Include Modest Improvements; Further Action Needed to Restore the Safety Net This week, the Department of Health and Human Services placed on public display the final rules implementing the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The rule includes several modest but positive changes affecting the work participation rate requirements, but does not change the overall focus on documenting participation. Many of the changes respond to concerns that CLASP and numerous other organizations submitted in response to the interim final rule. Download PDF
Jan 31, 2008 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Summary of TANF Rules The final rules implementing changes in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 are scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on February 5, 2008; this summary is based on the pre-publication version made available for public inspection. Download PDF
May 18, 2007 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Improving Access to Education and Training for TANF Participants The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant is one of the major sources of funding for services designed to help low-income parents succeed in the workplace. The TANF law limits the degree to which states can count TANF families engaged in education and training activities toward federal work participation rate requirements--an unfortunate limitation, given the strong link between educational attainment and earnings. In this two-pager, CLASP recommends that Congress remove these arbitrary limits on education and training. Download PDF
Mar 22, 2007 | Danielle Ewen, Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Julie Strawn, and Vicki Turetsky Congress Should Take Action to Restore Flexibility and Funding Lost in 2006 Welfare Reauthorization and HHS Regulations On March 6, 2007, the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support held a hearing on the changes made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) to programs assisting low-income families. In this testimony for the record, we discuss some of the early effects of the DRA and proposed regulations on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, child care, and child support participants and programs and offer recommendations as to how Congress should respond. Download PDF
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/archiveSite/2-9-07tanf.htm Download PDF
Jan 08, 2007 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch Congress Should Take Action to Restore Flexibility Lost in 2006 Welfare Reauthorization and HHS Regulations The 2006 TANF reauthorization substantially increased effective work participation rates on states, and it limited state flexibility to individualize work requirements. HHS's interim regulations implementing this law included narrow definitions of the countable work activities, definitions that further restrict state flexibility to use a range of effective work-related activities. This paper outlines a series of changes that Congress should make to restore flexibility and encourage states to allow low-income families to participate in a range of activities that will improve their self-sufficiency. Download PDF
Aug 10, 2006 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Amy-Ellen Duke and Allegra Baider Model Comments on TANF Interim Final Rule -- Workforce Development System These model comments on the interim final TANF regulations are focused on specific issues related to the definition of work activities and reporting requirements that are of interest to the workforce development community. Download PDF
Aug 10, 2006 | Allegra Baider and Elizabeth Lower-Basch Model Comments on TANF Interim Final Rule -- Transitional Jobs These model comments on the interim final TANF regulations are focused on specific issues related to the definition of work activities and reporting requirements that are of interest to Transitional Jobs providers. Download PDF
Aug 10, 2006 | Elizabeth Lower-Basch, Amy-Ellen Duke, and Allegra Baider Model Education and Training Comments on TANF Interim Final Rule These model comments on the interim final TANF regulations are focused on specific education and training issues related to the definition of work activities and reporting requirements. Download PDF
Jul 30, 2006 | Paul Legler (PSI) and Vicki Turetsky More Child Support Dollars to Kids: Using New State Flexibility in Child Support Pass-Through and Distribution Rules to Benefit Government and Families The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 provides new state flexibility to pass through more child support dollars to current and former TANF families. This policy brief describes the new DRA changes in assignment and distribution rules, and explains why they can improve child support compliance, assist families making the transition from welfare to work, help states meet work participation and child support performance rates, and reduce state costs. The policy brief is also available at www.policy-studies.com. Download PDF
Jul 21, 2006 | CLASP and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Analysis of New Interim Final TANF Rules This collaborative analysis provides an overview of the major regulatory provisions and the implications for state policies of rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on June 29, 2006. The interim final regulations implement the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The analysis explains the new federal definitions of the countable work activities and their implications for education and training and services for individuals with barriers to employment. The analysis also examines the treatment of child-only cases, how hours of participation must be counted tracked and verified, implications for child care, and changes in the maintenance of effort requirement. Download PDF
Apr 17, 2006 | Evelyn Ganzglass Strategies for Increasing Participation in TANF Education and Training Activities The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provisions in the fiscal year 2006 federal budget will require most states to substantially increase the number of TANF recipients participating in work-related activities. This paper aims to help state policymakers, program administrators, and others identify approaches to meeting federal participation rates while also improving programs' ability to help families enter and maintain sustainable employment. It summarizes existing research on how skills and credentials impact labor market success and on effective skills training and postsecondary education strategies. It also examines rates of participation in education and training, and recommends strategies to expand access to these activities within the new TANF policy context. Download PDF
Apr 02, 2006 | Mark Greenberg Welfare Reform: Success or Failure? Ten years after it was enacted, welfare reform has shown dramatic but mixed results, Mark Greenberg argues in this editorial in the March 2006 issue of Policy and Practice. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and an accompanying set of policies in the 1990s expanded access to work supports supports for low-income working families and led to a drop in the TANF caseloads. But as the economy slowed in recent years, the most favorable indicators have slowed or reversed. Today, fewer than half of eligible families and only one-third of poor children receive assistance. In the wake of this year's TANF reauthorization, Greenberg says states should look to the experiences of the past decade to shape more effective programs. Download PDF
Jan 30, 2006 | Mark Greenberg The TANF Participation Rate Structure under the Budget Reconciliation Bill Pending budget legislation would change the TANF work participation rate rules in important ways. At the same time, current rules relating to many aspects of the participation rate structure would remain unchanged. This document provides a summary of the overall structure that would result, including how participation rate requirements would be calculated, which activities would count as participation, and how the "caseload reduction credit" and penalty provisions would work. Download PDF
Jan 20, 2006 | Mark Greenberg and Sharon Parrott (CBPP) Summary of TANF Work Participation Provisions in the Budget Reconciliation Bill The budget reconciliation bill expected to be up for a vote in the House of Representatives on February 1st includes a set of provisions related to TANF and federal child care funding, including changes to TANF work participation rules. This report, jointly issued with the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), provides a brief summary followed by a more detailed explanation of each change. Download PDF
Jan 12, 2006 | Mark Greenberg The TANF Reconciliation Bill Provisions This PowerPoint presentation examines the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization provisions in the House and Senate budget reconciliation bills, debated in January 2006. It includes information on the changes to the structure of the program and key concerns for policymakers and advocates. Mark Greenberg gave this presentation to a Welfare Advocates Meeting at the Coalition on Human Needs on January 12, 2006. Download PDF
Jan 06, 2006 | Mark Greenberg Conference TANF Agreement Requires States to Increase Work Participation by 69 Percent, but New Funding Meets Only a Fraction of New Costs The budget conference agreement includes a mandate that states meet a 50 percent Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work participation rate in order to avoid federal penalties. The bill forces states to make an unpalatable choice: increase work participation rates by an estimated 69 percent or cut the number of families receiving assistance--or both. What's more, the bill provides states with new funds that amount to less than $70 per new participant per month. Download PDF
Mar 16, 2005 | Mark Greenberg and Jennifer L. Noyes Supporting Cross-Program Integration: Some Recommendations for Federal Policy and Practice This brief is based on the paper Increasing State and Local Capacity for Cross-Systems Innovation. Drawing on the papers' findings and consultation with a range of state and federal policymakers, the brief provides the authors' recommendations for federal action on cross-program state and local service integration efforts. This brief was written as part of a collaborative effort between the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Hudson Institute, and CLASP. Download PDF
Sep 14, 2004 | Mark Greenberg Welfare Reform, Phase Two This article, from the September 2004 issue of American Prospect, discusses the welfare reform law from 1996, how it has played out as a policy, and what still needs to be done in reauthorization of the law. The author suggests that the reathorization support and reward work--and end poverty as we still know it. Read Online