Welfare Reform: More Coordinated Federal Effort Could Help States and Localities Move TANF Recipients With Impairments Toward Employment

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 PRWORA significantly changed federal welfare policy for low-income families with children. PRWORA eliminated eligible families legal entitlement to cash assistance and created Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF block grants to states. The Department of Health and Human Services HHS administers the TANF block grant program, which provides states with up to 16.5 billion each year through fiscal year 2002 and requires them to maintain a historical level of state spending on welfare-related programs. Under TANF, states have much greater flexibility and responsibility than under the prior Aid to Families With Dependent Children AFDC program to design and implement programs that meet state and local needs. At the same time, TANF emphasizes the importance of work and personal responsibility over dependence on government benefits. More specifically, to avoid financial penalties, states must demonstrate, yearly, that an ever-increasing proportion of adults receiving TANF are working or engaged in work-related activities. In addition, after 2 years of assistance, or sooner if the state determines the recipient is ready, TANF adults are generally required to be engaged in work or work-related activities, and each state has the prerogative to define work and work-related activities. These work requirements are more stringent than those of the previous program. Moreover, states must enforce a lifetime limit of 60 months or less, at state option on the length of time adults receive federal assistance, although up to 20 percent of a states adult caseload may be exempted from this time limit.