Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

New Rules to Loosen Training Restrictions

January 28, 2008 — This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hands down new rules for adults participating in education and training activities while receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance. The new rules clearly specify that TANF recipients can count up to one year of vocational education or other degree-bound higher education as work activity and loosen the initial supervision requirements for time spent doing homework to reflect more traditional measures of classroom progress.

As reported in TWA's June 2006 Washington Update, at that time the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued interim final regulations to implement changes made to TANF when it was reauthorized in December 2005 through the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-171). Although the regulations took effect the date of publication, HHS accepted public comments through late August. The rules to be handed down this week reflect two of the major recommendations submitted by TWA during the public comment period.

To read the Associated Press story about the new rules, click here.

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