Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), enacted in 1996, created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which overhauled public assistance for low-income families. TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS), and the Emergency Assistance (EA) Programs.

TWA is seeking expanded access to education and training for TANF recipients, so they might enter skilled jobs that pay a family-supporting wage.  Current TANF law has limited those options.

Current Status

DHHS Hands Down New TANF Rules that Loosen Education and Training Restrictions (January 2008)

TWA Platform and Overview

TANF Fact Sheet, TWA Policy Platform, 110th Congress

TWA's Overview of TANF

TWA & Partners Paper: A New York State Career Pathways Fund: Advancing the Skills of Low-Income Workers and Meeting the Demands of Business (November 2007)

TWA Report: Taking the High Road: How States Should Meet TANF’s New Participation Standards by Shawn Fremstad and Jason Walsh (2006)

TWA Paper: Why Congress Should Allow 24 Months of Vocational Education in TANF (February 2004) 

 Current Federal Law

Text of Legislation (2006)

Agency Regulations & Guidance

TANF Final Rule 

TWA Comments on TANF Interim Final Rules (August 2006)

TWA Comments on Department of Health and Human Services TANF Labor Market Survey (June 2006)

Legislative Proposals

TANF Reauthorization Legislation: Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (February 2006)

House of Representatives

TANF Reauthorization Legislation: H.R. 4, "Personal Responsibility, Work and Family Promotion Act" (February 2003, 108th Congress)

TWA's Summary of H.R. 4 (February 2003)

Senate

PRIDE TANF Reauthorization Mark Passed by Senate Finance Committee (October 2003, 108th Congress)

TWA Analysis of PRIDE TANF Reauthorization Bill Passed by Senate Finance Committee (October 2003)

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