Welfare Reform: Information on TANF Balances (08-SEP-03,
GAO-03-1094).
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation
Act of 1996 made sweeping changes to the nation's key welfare
program for needy families. It established the $16.5 billion
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, which
provides to the states federal funds to support low-income
families and help these families reduce their dependence on
welfare. TANF provides states significant flexibility--within
federal guidelines--to determine who is to be served and what
services to provide. The welfare legislation also fundamentally
changed how the federal government funds assistance for
low-income families, shifting much of the fiscal risk for welfare
programs to the states. Under TANF, states receive a fixed amount
of TANF funds each year and, if costs rise, states must find a
way of financing the additional costs. To better understand
states' spending patterns for TANF funds as the Congress debates
the program's reauthorization, the Chairman of the House
Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means,
asked us to provide information on (1) TANF balances, including
the amount of funds transferred to states' child care and social
services block grants, that remain unspent and (2) the extent to
which these balances reflect reserves available for future use.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-03-1094
ACCNO: A08350
TITLE: Welfare Reform: Information on TANF Balances
DATE: 09/08/2003
SUBJECT: Block grants
Budgetary reserves
Disadvantaged persons
Federal/state relations
Financial management
Funds management
Grants to states
Intergovernmental fiscal relations
Obligated budget balances
Public assistance programs
Reprogramming of appropriated funds
State-administered programs
Unexpended budget balances
Welfare benefits
Federal funds
Workfare
Appropriations/funds transfers
HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families Block Grant
******************************************************************
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GAO-03-1094
Report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways
and Means, House of Representatives
United States General Accounting Office
GAO
September 2003 WELFARE REFORM Information on TANF Balances
GAO- 03- 1094
Page i GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform Letter 1 Appendix I Briefing Slides 6
Contents
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Page 1 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
September 8, 2003 The Honorable Wally Herger Chairman, Subcommittee on
Human Resources Committee on Ways and Means House of Representatives
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act of 1996 made sweeping changes to the nation*s key
welfare program for needy families. It established the $16.5 billion
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant, which provides
to the states federal funds to support low- income families and help these
families reduce their dependence on welfare. TANF provides states
significant flexibility* within federal guidelines* to determine who is to
be served and what services to provide. States also have the flexibility
to transfer up to 30 percent of their TANF block grant each year to their
child care or social services block grants. 1 Along with this flexibility,
states must meet federal requirements designed to ensure that TANF
assistance is transitional in
nature and that parents receiving aid take steps to become employed. The
welfare legislation also fundamentally changed how the federal government
funds assistance for low- income families, shifting much of the fiscal
risk for welfare programs to the states. Before welfare reform, any
increased costs for states* welfare programs were shared by the federal
government and the states. Under TANF, however, states receive a fixed
amount of TANF funds each year and, if costs rise, states must find a way
of financing the additional costs. To manage these fiscal risks, states
may, in any given year, set aside or reserve some of their annual TANF
block grant funds for times when the annual grants are insufficient to
cover current spending needs. 2 1 Maximum transfers to the Social Services
Block Grant (SSBG) have been set at 10 percent
of federal TANF funds since 1997. 2 Reserved funds must be used to provide
ongoing, basic aid (such as cash assistance) to needy families, and
therefore lose some of their flexibility. United States General Accounting
Office Washington, DC 20548
Page 2 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
To better understand states* spending patterns for TANF funds as the
Congress debates the program*s reauthorization, 3 you asked us to provide
information on (1) TANF balances, including the amount of funds
transferred to states* child care and social services block grants, that
remain unspent and (2) the extent to which these balances reflect reserves
available for future use. To address these questions, we interviewed
program and finance officials at the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), which oversees the TANF, child care, 4 and the social
services block grants. We reviewed U. S. Treasury balance reports as of
July 31, 2003, the most recent available, and used this information to
estimate TANF balances through September 30, 2003 (the end of fiscal year
2003). While states can save some of their federal funds each year, they
are not allowed to draw those funds from the U. S. Treasury until they
actually spend those funds. 5 While balances recorded by Treasury provide
some information on the level of unspent TANF funds, they do not
distinguish TANF funds transferred to the other block grants from those
that remained within the TANF program.
To determine the amount of unspent TANF transfers, we reviewed the data
states reported to HHS on their annual financial reports for each of the
three block grants for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002, the most
recent state reports available. Although state reports on the child care
and social service block grant balances do not identify the TANF
transfers, per se, we were able to estimate them, based on the assumption
that states were likely to use the more restricted child care and social
3 Since October 1, 2002, the TANF program has been operating under
extensions. On June 30, 2003, the President signed a bill that extended
TANF and other related programs, on fiscal year 2002 terms, through
September 30, 2003. (P. L. 108- 40).
4 This block grant represents only one of the funding streams considered
part of the Child Care and Development Fund that provides states federal
funds to subsidize child care for low- and moderate- income families and
to promote child care quality.
5 This provision is in accordance with the Cash Management Improvement Act
of 1990. This act settled a long- standing dispute between the federal
government and the states over disbursement of funds for federal programs
administered by the states. The act helps to ensure that neither party
incurs unnecessary interest costs in the course of federal government
disbursements. See U. S. General Accounting Office, Financial Management:
Implementation of the Cash Management Improvement Act, GAO/ AIMD- 96- 4
(Washington, D. C.: Jan. 8, 1996).
Page 3 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
service dollars before spending the more flexible TANF funds. 6 The fiscal
year 2002 reports also provided information on the range of balances among
the states, which was not readily available from the more recent Treasury
balance reports. We conducted this review in accordance with generally
accepted government auditing standards from July 2003 through August 2003.
On September 2, 2003, we briefed you on the results of our analysis. This
report formally conveys the information provided during that briefing. In
summary, we found the following: Based on spending through July 31, 2003*
the most recent data available* we estimate that the TANF balance will be
about $5.6 billion on September 30, 2003. While data were not readily
available to project how much of the balance might be comprised of TANF
transfers to the child care and social services block grants, we did
estimate that unspent transfers represented about 30 percent of the TANF
balance for fiscal year 2002.
The information available on TANF balances is not sufficient to assess the
availability of reserves to help states meet future needs. We found that
the current reporting requirements do not provide reliable, consistent
information regarding states* plans for their balances. 7 As a result, it
is difficult to determine what portion of any reported balance is already
committed or how much is reserved for future use on TANF- related
expenditures. The importance of distinguishing between a committed balance
and a real reserve becomes more apparent when comparing states. Although
we cannot tell from state reports how much of their balance is committed,
when we analyzed state TANF balances as of September 30, 2002, including
our estimates of unspent TANF transfers, we found they varied
considerably. While many states had large balances, others did not. The
variations suggest that, at the end of fiscal year 2002, some states may
have been better positioned than others to meet current and future needs.
6 Once TANF funds are transferred to the Child Care and Development Block
Grant (CCDBG) and SSBG they cannot be saved indefinitely; each grant has
specific and different rules governing the time frame within which states
must obligate and spend any transferred funds. However, as established in
program guidance, states can transfer funds back to TANF, within specific
time frames, to avoid losing access to those funds.
7 See U. S. General Accounting Office, Welfare Reform: Challenges in
Maintaining a Federal- State Fiscal Partnership, GAO- 01- 828 (Washington,
D. C.: Aug. 10, 2001).
Page 4 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
While the fixed block grant structure creates opportunities for states to
establish reserves for the future and/ or expand programs or develop new
services when welfare caseloads fall, states can face fiscal challenges
when their caseloads or program costs rise. 8 We recently reported that
states are in one of the most challenging fiscal crises to confront them
in years. 9 In a limited review of five states* Arizona, Iowa, Montana,
Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin* we reported that each of the five planned to
dip into some of their unspent TANF balances to fund their programs during
the next fiscal year.
Welfare reform ushered in a new fiscal partnership between the states and
the federal government in supporting the nation*s low- income families and
helping them avoid welfare dependence. In this new fiscal partnership,
sound fiscal management practices suggest that it would be prudent for
states to develop some contingency plans* including establishing reserves
from federal funds to meet the needs of their low- income families over
time. However, the data currently required of states do not provide
sufficient information to help the Congress and federal oversight
officials assess the adequacy of states* reserves. Moreover, we have
previously reported on state officials* concerns that leaving large TANF
balances* without any way to identify the amount of funds set aside as
reserves* might signal that these funds were not needed and, as a result,
state officials felt pressures to spend down their balances quickly.
In our earlier work, we provided your committee with options, including
improving reporting requirements, that might provide states with more
incentives to save. 10 We are reiterating our recommendation that the
Secretary of HHS work with the states to provide for more transparent
reporting of their plans for their unspent balances. Reporting
requirements should enable collection of data that will assist
policymakers in their oversight responsibilities and, while care should be
taken to avoid unnecessary reporting burdens on the grant recipients,
comparable data 8 In contrast to the federal government that can run
budget deficits, states face limitations*
including legislative restrictions, constitutional balanced budget
mandates, or conditions imposed by the bond market* on their ability to
increase spending, especially in times of fiscal stress. 9 U. S. General
Accounting Office, Welfare Reform: Information on Changing Labor Market
and State Fiscal Conditions, GAO- 03- 977 (Washington, D. C.: July 15,
2003). 10 U. S. General Accounting Office, Welfare Reform: Challenges in
Saving for a *Rainy Day*
GAO- 01- 674T (Washington, D. C.: Apr. 26, 2001).
Page 5 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
on state obligations, expenditures, and reserves of federal funds are
critical for effective oversight of federal programs.
We provided a draft of this briefing to officials at HHS for their
technical comments and incorporated their comments where appropriate. We
are sending copies of this report to relevant congressional committees and
other interested parties and will make copies available to others upon
request. This report will also be available at no charge on GAO*s Web site
at http:// www. gao. gov. If you or your staff have any questions please
contact Cynthia M. Fagnoni at (202) 512- 7215 or Paul L. Posner at (202)
512- 9573. Gale C. Harris and Bill J. Keller also made key contributions.
Cynthia M. Fagnoni, Managing Director Education, Workforce, and Income
Security Issues
Paul L. Posner, Managing Director Federal Budget Issues and
Intergovernmental Relations
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 6 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
Appendix I: Briefing Slides
Welfare Reform: Information on TANF Balances Briefing to the Staff of the
House Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means
September 2, 2003
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 7 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
2
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act, of 1996
Gave states more responsibility for managing programs of assistance and
moving low- income families from welfare to employment. The act
* shifted fiscal risks to the states through the TANF* block grant;
created latitude for reserves, funding transfers, and carryovers; and
underscored need for fiscal management and contingency
planning. *Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
States Have More Responsibilities under Welfare Reform Introduction
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 8 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
3
Key Questions
To better understand states* spending patterns as the Congress debates
reauthorization of the TANF program, you asked us to provide information
on
TANF balances, including the amount of transferred funds that remain
unspent, and the extent to which these balances reflect reserves
available for future use.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 9 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
4
Scope and Methodology
To provide information on the TANF balances, including unexpended TANF
transfers, we used U. S. Treasury data through July 31, 2003* the most
recent data
available* to estimate the TANF balance for the end of this fiscal year;
reviewed (1) states* 2002 annual financial reports to Health and Human
Services (HHS), and (2) fund balances for these grants on account with the
U. S. Treasury as of September 30, 2002, to calculate the share of the end
of year 2002 TANF balance that had been transferred to states* Child Care
and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) 1 and Social Services Block Grant
(SSBG) programs; and
reviewed program rules and other program documents and interviewed
program and finance officials at HHS to better understand how states spend
their block grant funds.
1 This block grant represents only one of the funding streams considered
part of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) that provides states
federal funds to subsidize child care for low- and moderate- income
families and to promote child care quality.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 10 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
5
Summary
Based on the most recent data available, we estimate that the TANF
balance will be about $5. 6 billion at the end of this fiscal year. Our
estimate consists of
funds states will have left unspent in their TANF accounts and funds
states will have left unspent after the funds are
transferred to the other block grants. Although TANF transfers represent
a significant supplement to child care and social services block grants,
data were not available
to track recent state spending of transferred TANF funds separately from
the other block grant funds. However, we estimated that about 30 percent
of the fiscal year 2002 balance represented funds that had been
transferred.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 11 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
6
Summary (cont.)
Current reporting does not provide consistent, reliable information on
how much of the balances are truly committed or available for future
needs. States are not required to report on their plans for their
unspent
balances. Information on reserves by state is important. Even though we
cannot
tell how much of their balances are committed, our estimates of state
balances as of September 30, 2002, showed great variation, suggesting that
some states may have been better positioned than others to provide TANF-
related services to low- income families in the midst of the current state
fiscal crises.
We have reported that improved reporting requirements could provide
states with more incentives to engage in contingency planning, including
establishing reserves, for their TANF programs.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 12 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
7
Background States Have Greater Flexibility under TANF Than under Previous
Welfare Programs
States can use federal funds to design and finance programs for
lowincome families, determine who is served, and what services to provide;
use federal TANF funds without fiscal year limitation and save a portion
of those funds for contingencies and future rising costs; and
transfer up to 30 percent of the TANF grant each year to the CCDBG and
SSBG. 1
States must report quarterly on how they have spent federal TANF funds
to HHS, which oversees all three block grants.
1 Maximum transfers to the SSBG have been set at 10 percent of federal
TANF funds since 1997.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 13 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
8
Background (cont.) Federal TANF Grants Have Certain Program and Financial
Requirements
States must design programs that emphasize the transitional nature of
assistance for welfare recipients and importance of employment;
(For example, states faced financial penalties if they did not place
increasing percentages of adult TANF recipients into work- related
activities.)
maintain a significant portion of their own historic spending for
lowincome families, known as *maintenance of effort* (MOE);
not draw down funds held in reserve at the U. S. Treasury until needed
for a specific expenditure; and spend funds they have transferred to
CCDBG and SSBG according to
the rules and time limits of those grants or, within the time limits
established and program guidance, transfer the funds back to TANF.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 14 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
9
TANF Balances Consist of
Total federal TANF awards that states report they have not spent,
plus
Total TANF awards that states have transferred to the CCDBG and the SSBG
but have not spent,
and
Total TANF funds allocated to territories and tribes that have not been
spent, and
Funds states have spent, but that may not have cleared the account.
Treasury Child Care and Development Block
Grant Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant
Social Service Block Grant Territories and Tribes
States Background (cont.)
Source: GAO analysis. Note: Solid arrows represent TANF funds
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 15 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
10
We Estimate the TANF Balance Will Fall to $5.6 Billion by the End of
Fiscal 2003
Since 2001, states have spent more TANF funds, including those funds
transferred to other block grants each year, than they receive in their
annual awards.
While TANF balances are large, states are drawing more heavily upon
them. Question 1
Source: GAO analysis of HHS and U. S. Treasury data. *Estimated balance
for 2003. 0
2 4
6 8
10 12 Billions
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003* TANF Balances TANF Funding
0 5
10 15
20 25
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003* Billions
Appropriated Spent
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 16 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
11
States Are Using TANF Transfers to Supplement Other Block Grants
States* transfers to their child care block grant 1 now equal the amount
directly appropriated to that grant.
Transfers to the SSBG have served to replace some of the funds cut from
that grant. Question 1
0 1
2 3 5
4
CCDBG SSBG
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Source: GAO analysis of data from HHS.
Billions
TANF Transfers 1 Child care block grant amounts include only funds
appropriated to the CCDBG and not other funding streams that comprise the
CCDF.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 17 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
12
Unspent TANF Transfers Estimated at About 30 Percent of FY 2002 Balance
65% At the end of fiscal year (FY) 2002
Treasury recorded $8. 9 billion in unspent TANF funds. Of that amount:
Question 1
4% 5%
26% We estimate that about $2. 3 billion (26 percent) had been transferred
to CCDBG. We estimate that about $352 million (4 percent) had been
transferred to SSBG.
States reported that they left $5.8 billion (65 percent) unspent for their
TANF programs. We estimate that about
5 percent*$ 436 million* was reported spent but had not cleared the
Treasury account by the end of the fiscal year or were TANF funds that had
been awarded to territories and
tribes, not to states. Source: GAO analysis of data from HHS and the U. S.
Treasury.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 18 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
13
Current Reporting Yields Limited Data for Assessing Adequacy of Reserves
States* year- end reports provide detailed information on expenditures;
but they do not provide consistent, reliable information on states*
balances. States report balances as either unliquidated obligations or
unobligated balances.
As we reported in 2001 1 the information states provide on these reports
is not compiled consistently across all states.
The lack of consistency is largely due to differences in the way states
administer their welfare programs. For example, states with county
administration can record an obligation when they pass authority to spend
funds to the counties regardless of whether the county has made any
commitment to spend those funds, whereas states that administer their
welfare programs directly can only record an obligation when they have a
specific commitment to spend those funds. While an unliquidated
obligation implies that there is some underlying
commitment on these funds, it is not possible to know if these funds are
available for future contingencies. Question 2
1 U. S. General Accounting Office Welfare Reform: Challenges in
Maintaining a Federal- State Fiscal Partnership, GAO- 01- 828 (Washington,
D. C.: Aug. 10, 2001).
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 19 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
14
Current Reporting Yields Limited Data for Assessing Adequacy of Reserves
(cont.)
Under current reporting requirements, states that have established
reserves must report such funds as unobligated* thereby providing no
information on states* plans for these funds nor the ability to assess the
adequacy of any reserves.
Little progress has been made to create better reporting since August
1998 when we first recommended that HHS work with the states to provide
for more transparent reporting by the states of their unspent balances.
HHS officials said they expect to undertake a comprehensive review of
the current reporting requirements once TANF is reauthorized.
Information on balances by state is important for oversight
purposes. Question 2
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 20 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
15
States* Fiscal Year 2002 TANF Balances Varied Considerably
Question 2
50% 25- 49.9% 10- 24.9% 0- 9.9%
Our estimates of the FY 2002 TANF balance, including TANF transfers, for
each state are calculated as a share of each state*s annual TANF grant
plus their supplemental grant for population increases.
50% 24 states 25- 49.9% 15 states 10- 24.9% 5 states 0- 9.9% 7 states
Source: GAO analysis of HHS data.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 21 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
16
States Cite Few Incentives to Create Reserves for TANF Programs
Access to federal funds for more than 1 fiscal year provided states with
flexibility to better manage their programs by reserving some funds to
manage the downside fiscal risks of the TANF
program and reducing some of the pressures-- which can lead to wasteful
spending- to spend all available funds before the end of any given fiscal
year.
In spite of this flexibility, state officials feared that leaving large
TANF balances might signal that these funds were not needed and they felt
pressures to spend down their balances quickly. 1 We have previously
provided this committee 1 with options, including
improving reporting requirements, that might provide states with more
incentives to save.
1 See for example, U. S. General Accounting Office, Welfare Reform:
Challenges in Saving for a *Rainy Day*, GAO- 01- 674T (Washington, D. C.:
Apr. 26, 2001). Question 2
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 22 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform
17
Concluding Observations
The Congress and other federal oversight officials need consistent,
reliable information in order to assess the adequacy of state TANF
reserves.
In a block grant environment decisions regarding how much to save and
how much to invest in programs that help families make the transition from
public assistance to independence have become largely a state
responsibility made under conditions of considerable uncertainty.
Reporting requirements should enable collection of data that will assist
policymakers in their oversight responsibilities.
We reiterate our recommendation that HHS should work with the states to
provide for more transparent reporting by the states of their unspent
balances.
Appendix I: Briefing Slides Page 23 GAO- 03- 1094 Welfare Reform (130298)
18
Appendix 1: Estimation Methodology
To estimate the TANF balance as of September 30, 2003, we compared
actual spending through July 31, 2003, with the corresponding period in
2002 reported by the U. S. Treasury. We then projected August and
September 2003 spending based on actual rates of spending in August and
September 2002. To estimate the level of TANF funds that were
transferred to other grants and were left unspent as of September 30,
2002, we
reviewed state annual financial reports for all three grant programs and
assumed that states would spend funds directly appropriated to the CCDBG
and SSBG first, preserving the flexibility of the TANF funds. We
consulted with officials from the Congressional Budget Office,
the Congressional Research Service, and HHS*s Administration for Children
and Families on our methodology.
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