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POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER

Policy Analysis Paper

(Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
Jodi Sviontek
Wayne State University SW 4710

POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER

Abstract

In this policy analysis paper I will explain in great detail what TANF (Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families) is, and the policies that are in place that address the type of assistance that are
available for needy families. TANF is a United States of America federal assistance program
that was created in1996 and started in 1997 from what was previously named the Aid to Families
with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The programs intent is to help low-income families,
primarily those with only a single parent present, just like the AFDC program. The TANF
program gives American families who have dependent children temporary cash assistance while
helping individuals get back/into the work force. This paper will also explain the combinations
of federal and state involvement, and who supports or opposes the policy; I have also included an
interview with a program director from DHS and her opinion on TANF and the current policies.
I will talk about what is working and not working with the policy that involves at risk
populations, which will include the opinions of the program director I have interviewed as well
as factual references I will provide. To conclude the paper I will give my opinions on the policy
as I critique it with the research that I have found regarding the TANF policy.

POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER

Policy Analysis Paper (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

In 1996 President Bill Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act
(PRWOA) law to reform social welfare which instituted The Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families (TANF) that became effective on July 1st, 1997 and replaced the Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC) program. The AFDC program was established in 1935 under the
Social Security act, the programs purpose was to support children in need in a single parent
household. The States were then given money to give cash assistance to all families who met the
program requirements. The TANF program was to End welfare as we know it There were
many complaints and concerns of families abusing the AFDC programs due to the lack of
regulations and structure to the program, critics said that the program promoted dependency on
the governments money and it was not helping the problem but only letting families rely on it.
The historical problems that led to the creation of the policy began with the social
security act that created the AFDC program which is also the historical background of the policy;
the program was created along with the Old Age social security act and Unemployment
insurance programs. There was a social awareness of families who were in need of cash
assistance especially those that were a one parent household; at that time in those cases it mostly
had to do with the death of a parent. These problems have been historically important because of
how much in need the families were and it being a public outcry that resulted in government and
social awareness. The problem was previously not handled, all of the issues led to poverty and
families with children being homeless and hungry. The problem was very widespread in the
United States where the policy was formulated; many people were affected by it.

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The TANF policys legislative background is shared by a shared federal-state

responsibility. The Federal government provides block grants to the state and the state uses this
money to operate their own programs that are associated with the policy. For states to receive
federal money they must use some of their own money on programs for needy families, they
have spending requirements that is known as maintenance of effort (MOE) which replaced the
state match, which AFDC required. Some of the programs that are included with the TANF
policy that is available for recipients are; income assistance, child care, job training and
education courses, transportation for individuals, and an abundance of other programs that are
available to assist low income families. The amount that states spend is specifically set at 80%
for related programs.
Today TANF, which is federally funded but administered by state programs have
restrictions, but the overall purpose of the program has the same intent on which it was originally
formed, to financially help families with dependent children so that they can live better and more
fulfilling lives, as well as to to make sure that they receive all of their basic needs; food, shelter,
water, safety. A primary goal of the program is to increase work among welfare recipients while
trying to eliminate out of wedlock births and promoting marriage. A household that has two
working parents is less likely to need assistance, if both parents are working because there are
two incomes to take care of the family, therefore being able to properly cloth, and feed their
families with the adequate emotional support that is required, because there is less stress on the
parents since the pressure is not only on one parent. One of the reasons for AFDC program
reform is to emphasize temporarily helping families by giving them cash assistance while aiming
them to get off assistance through employment, so that they do not have to be reliant on the cash
assistance, so that families will be able to find employment and financially be able to take care of

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their families. The restrictions of the program gives a maximum of 60 months of benefits total
for an individual, though states have been given the authority of how to distribute program
entitlements, the length allowed for the individual to receive it, and if an individual/family is able
to receive it at all, the amount of time the individual has to find a job, and the decision place
limits on the adults receiving aid to which would go to the children in the household instead. In
other words other than the maximum 60 months benefits that a household can receive; rules, time
frame, regulations of the policy will depend on the state Federal financing comes through block
grants, to the individual states, strict work requirements in order to qualify for federal aid; and
the lifetime limits on the number of years to receive aid. Since TANF is dictated by federal and
state statue, there are four goals in the law 1, to provide assistance to needy families so that
children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives, 2, end the dependence
of needy parents on government benefit by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, 3,
prevent and reduce the incidence of out of wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical
goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and 4, encourage the
formation and maintenance of two parent families (CBPP ).
For Michigan the TANF policy requirements are: TANF applicants must meet both the
state and federal government guidelines for the program. The federal government requires that
individuals meet the monetary and non-monetary state guidelines, complete work-related
activities, provide paternity information about the children in the household, and report as
required by the state. The federal guidelines have been built into each sates program, as this is
required in order for states to receive the block grants that fund TANF. Therefore, it is really
only necessary that applicants be aware of and meet the requirements as outlined by the state of
Michigan. In order to qualify for FIP benefits in Michigan, applicants must live in state and be

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legal immigrants or U.S. citizens. Countable assets are limited to $3000. Those who receive
TANF in Michigan must satisfy the conditions of the work rules. Use Michigan Assistance and
Referral Service (MARS) to determine eligibility. In Michigan, FIP benefits are available to
eligible residents for a maximum of 48 months (4 years). In 2005, the maximum TANF benefit
for a family of three was $459 per month or $5508 per year. FIP benefits are higher in counties
with higher unemployment rates. The food stamp is a federal program run by state and local
agencies; it is for low income families. In most states the same rules for TANF apply for food
stamps. If you meet the requirements for TANF, you meet the requirements for food stamps.
(TANF Program Eligibility) Michigan follows the federal and their states guidelines previously
stated, as well as polices in place to address the concern. The nature of the problem are that
needy families, who usually are head by a single parent, need assistance and help getting back in
to the work force to be able to provide for their families.
After the first few years of the social welfare reform, TANF caseloads did drop,
recipients employment rose, and child poverty lessened, this was during a time of economic
growth. In 2001 there was an economic backlash, mothers employment declined, and childhood
poverty got higher. Again, while employment rates did improve among mothers in the early
years of TANF they started to spiral downward more than a decade ago. Researchers have
shown that other factors have contributed to the high rate of success in the early years, for
example the economic growth of that era. Also, whereas small families left the program because
they have returned to work, other families have left because their time limits were up or that they
were failing to comply with the regulations, rules, and requirements. There are reported barriers
that families have and that are hard for them to overcome, for example; mental and physical

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obstacles can occur, substance abuse, domestic violence, disabilities, illness, child care, and
transportation that are unforeseen circumstances that can hinder the policy process.
What is proven to be working and not working especially for at risk populations are
really up to dispute based on research and state by state evidence. The people that opposes and
have criticized the program argues that programs like TANF are ineffective, they promote
dependency on the government, and are that they encourage negative behaviors that keep people
in poverty. Some states who were very dissatisfied with AFDC program did seek to get waivers
against regulated that were specifically set in place for the program. The waivers will include
states to be able to enforce work requirements for welfare recipients. Due to evaluation of the
success of the programs, many types of mandatory welfare-to-work program in the early 1990s
were reviewed and while it was shown that such programs led to increase of employment and
decrease in welfare enrollment, there was not much to prove that former welfare recipient
income had increased. Looking at liberals views on the program and conservative views, its
evident that each side has different ideas on the outcomes of the programs will be effective. For
instance Liberal views showed that welfare reform should enhance the opportunities for mothers
to receive training and job experience that will help them support their families by making a
higher income. Conservatives views showed that will they believed in emphasizing work
requirements and putting time limits on welfare benefits that will provide block grants for states
to fund programs for poor families, they wanted to promote self-esteem for women to really
become be able to provide role models for mothers to be able to build a strong household to
provide productive daily routines. While both liberals and conservatives agreed on the fact that
families need to transition from government assistance to the work force, they did have opposing
ideas on how to accomplish that. Liberals thought that the reform that liberals were looking to

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enforce would have a negative impact on already stressed parents, that their ideas will deepen the
poverty for families. Later in the Clinton Administration as was discussed earlier in this paper
TANF replaced the AFDC program and radically replaced the way the government and states
determine recipients eligibility for aid to needy families. The policy is expected to work by the
federal government giving block grants to states to assist with state funding as well to give to
needy families so that they have temporary assistance to get back to the work force and to help
them avoid becoming homeless. This entitlement gives families cash assistance for low income
families, the families do have to be eligible. Under the TANF program states have the discretion
to say who is eligible for the assistance and services. States must use these finds to serve families
with children. Some of the requirements in order to receive TANF benefits are that recipients
that may have a few exceptions must work soon after they are job ready, or no later than when
their time frame ends. Recipients are supposed to participate in work activities for at least 30
hours per week. The failure to participate in these work requirements may lead to the
termination of benefits.
The resources and opportunities that the policy is expected to provide is the cash benefits
and assistance of work related programs that help individuals prepare to get back to the work
force, again along with the rules and regulations that are in place federally and through state
policy.

Needy families with children will be covered by the policy through the federal and state

funding available. The policy is implemented through federal and state laws that have become
the infrastructure the policy through the history of the welfare program. The short term and the
long term goals of the policy started with the idea to help single mothers with children so that
they can care for their children adequately. The short term was intended to temporarily help

POLICY ANALYSIS PAPER

these families get back on their feet so that they can support themselves financially and the long
term goal was to keep these families off assistance by keeping them in the work force.
I went to the DHS office in Inkster to interview a worker. I was not sure what to
expect exactly, though I did have a few ideas thinking that I was going to meet a worker at the
desk who was going to answer my questions, then I would be on my way. I was pleasantly
surprised to of had the experience that I had. It did not start well though, I visited the office on a
day where there was a power outage in Redford and the office in Inkster was chaotic. Luckily I
came across Ms. Myra Hill a program director at DHS who has her MSW from Wayne State
University, at first seemed reluctant to assist me since I was not a worker, and was not a
necessarily a client but as a social work student who explained to her why I was there, she
directed me personally to her office while she gave me her opinion and thoughts on the TANF
policy. Right in front of me, I witness while she kept her door open, never turning a worker who
needed assistance or a caller on the telephone who needed help with a family in their district
away. She displayed in front of me infinite flexibility which is what I learned in that a social
worker needs in the field, I was taught this in my first semester in the BSW program from one of
my professors. She also displayed in front of me warmth and the sense of a person who is truly
living their out their passion as a social worker who is dedicated to help those in need.
Witnessing all of the above was a true inspiration, especially when she started to give me her
opinion on the program. Mrs. Hill explained to me that the programs intent was assisting needy
families temporarily; she went on to explain that when speaking of needy families there really
cannot be an exact time frame to do this. How can you possibly put a time frame to assist
families when everyones needs vary? I never thought of it that way, though Mrs. Hill is in
support of the idea that was originally implanted with the program she feels that there is still a lot

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of work that needs to shape the program so that there will be more success rates, now figuring
out ways to successfully shape this program and to fundamentally make it work will take a lot of
trial and error which has pretty much been the case over decades. Mrs. Hill went on to tell me
that the time limits are 60 months for federal and 48 months for the state of Michigan. Mrs. Hill
feels that needy families should be work ready; her views seem to side more with the liberal
point of views. Mrs. Hill continues to state that the legislators who put this plan together had a
good perception of what is entailed to help this population; she said that everything is started
with a plan. The importance is how the plan is implemented and the success rate of the plan that
is in effect. Now how the policy is actually working and whether or not it is successful is based
on the perspective of the person who is evaluating it. The programs that Mrs. Hill talked about
that are in effect with TANF is Michigan Works that provides work supporting tools like training
and job reinforcement. Mrs. Hill talks about the cash assistance that is available for recipients,
for individuals who have been laid off, that have exhausted their 401 k and that are looking for
resources to help them get off their feet. She stated that it is very important for these individuals
to receive counseling on how to deal with all the stress that is going on in their lives. She says
Its difficult to concentrate on going back to work when there is so much emotional stress that is
happening in ones life. Mr.s Hills final comment is focused on looking to remove barriers that
a family may face when dealing with trying to become financially independent. The barriers that
a family has to deal with involve managing everything alone, trying to find work and in the
meantime take care of ones family (Hill, Myra). Interviewing Mrs. Hill was a true pleasure; she
gave me some encouraging words and told me to not give up on my dream, that it is very
important to focus on the wellbeing of others but to not forget about oneself as well.

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The administrative auspices under whom the policy was lodged goes along with the
history of the program, the agencies and organizations that oversee, evaluate and coordinate the
policy are the federal and state correspondents. Discussions about the effectiveness of the
program have spoken about the decline in the number of families on welfare since the program
went into effect. The formal or informal criteria that determine the effectiveness of TANF is the
number of recipients who use the assistance compared to the employed and unemployed
workers. There is not really a gauge on how long the policy is planned to be in existence, based
on fundamental facts and research the program will be existence based on how long it is needed
by families or how long legislation and authorities keep the program aboard. The funding
mechanisms once again are in place by federal and state, given by block grants. The knowledge
and scientific grounding for the policy is established by the amount of history and background
information on the policy that has been established over the years of what works and doesnt
work regarding procedures and policies. The goals of the policy are legal, just, and democratic
given by the fact that it has passed many legislations and policymakers for the embitterment of
the population in need, which are the needy families. The goals of the policy do contribute to
greater social equality by enhancing the lives of the people who need the assistance and are
eligible for the programs that are entailed. The goals of the policy help redistribution of income,
resources, rights, entitlements, rewards, opportunities, and status because of rules and regulations
specific to federal and state requirements to receive the assistance. To get an idea of what others
countries implement; other industrialized countries have tried other ways to transfer money to
low income families, who are opposed to strict means-tested programs like TANF (Karger,
Stoesz pg. 230).

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The goals of the policy does contribute to a better quality of life for the target population, which
is needy families, one of the major goals is to increase work among welfare recipients. The goals
will adversely affect the quality of the life of this target population by helping the families while
they go through a life transition. It is up to debate whether or not TANF contributes to positive
relations between the target population and society overall depending on whos perspective you
are looking at, while some feel that the program promotes dependency other feels that it is a
good source to help families in need. The goals of TANF are consistent with the values of
professional social work, because the program overall helps a needy population and advocates
for them as far as providing a resource for needy families.
In conclusion, The TANF program which has been in place since 1997 it is a program that
has been revamped to help needy families to find work so that they can support their families and
have a better life. My personal critique of the policy is that it was implanted with good
intentions and has been rearranged and modifies to cater to the different needs of different
people. Though there are many different ideas of how the program is actually working I feel that
overall the program is out there in the United States helping these needy families and reassuring
society that though things may not be prefect there are resources out there to help if needed.

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References
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (2013). CBPP: 820 First Street, NE, Suite 510
Washington, DC 200

Karger, H. J. and Stoesz, D. (2010). American Social Welfare: A Pluralist

Approach Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Hill, Myra. DHS. Wednesday October 9th, 2013

TANF Program Elgibility. Tanf program.com/tanf-eligibility. 2013