[Background Material and Data on Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means (Green Book)]
[Program Descriptions]
[Section 7. Aid to Families with Dependent Children and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (Title IV-A)]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 
[1998 Green Book] SECTION 7. AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND TEMPORARY 
               ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TITLE IV-A)

                                CONTENTS

Overview
Aid to Families With Dependent Children
  Basic Federal Rules
  Brief History
  Interaction of AFDC With Other Benefit Programs
  Participation in Multiple Means-Tested Programs
  National AFDC Data: Expenditures, Benefits, and Caseloads, 
            Fiscal Years 1970-96
  State AFDC Data: Benefits, Expenditures, and Caseloads
  Financing of AFDC
  National Data: Characteristics of AFDC Recipients
  State Data: Characteristics of AFDC Recipients
  Waivers from Federal AFDC Law Section 1115 Demonstration 
            Projects
  AFDC Quality Control
The Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS)
  Purpose and Administration
  Employability Plan and Case Management
  JOBS Activities
  Exemptions, Child Care, and Participation Requirements
  Targeting of JOBS Funds
  Funding of JOBS and Supportive Services
  Indian Tribes and JOBS
  Welfare-to-Work Efforts: Some Assessments
Emergency Assistance
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  Basic Outline of Program
  TANF Funding
  TANF for Indians
  State TANF Plans
  State TANF Data
Welfare-to-Work Grants
  Funding of Welfare-to-Work Grants
  Use of Welfare-to-Work Funds
Welfare Dynamics
  Duration on Welfare
  Exits and Returns to Welfare
  Intergenerational Patterns of Welfare Use
Adolescent and Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing and Use of AFDC
  Trends Over Time
  First Births to Unmarried Women
  Links to AFDC Use
Legislative History
References

                                OVERVIEW

     Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), 
established in the depression year of 1935 as a matching grant 
program to enable States to aid needy children without fathers 
at home, was repealed 61 years later by Public Law 104-193. 
Effective July 1, 1997 (earlier in most States, by their 
choice) AFDC was replaced by a block grant to States for 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The new block 
grant also replaced two AFDC-related programs: Job 
Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), which provided 
education, work, and training for AFDC adult recipients, and 
Emergency Assistance for Needy Families (EA).
     This section describes the programs in this order: AFDC, 
JOBS, EA, and TANF. It concludes with discussions about welfare 
dynamics and adolescent and nonmarital childbearing.
     In recent years, AFDC law (title IV-A of the Social 
Security Act) entitled States to unlimited Federal matching 
funds for State-set benefits and their administration, EA, and 
child care for AFDC recipients and for former recipients who 
worked their way off the program. It offered capped entitlement 
funds for JOBS and ``at-risk'' child care, which subsidized 
care for families needing it to avert AFDC eligibility. In 
contrast, TANF provides a fixed block grant based on recent 
Federal funding for the replaced programs ($16.5 billion 
annually through fiscal year 2002) plus expanded child care 
funding in a new child care block grant. In its peak year, 
fiscal year 1994, AFDC served an average of 5 million families, 
more than 1 in every 7 U.S. families with children. The fiscal 
year 1994 AFDC Program cost $14.2 billion in Federal funds, 
slightly less than 1 percent of the Federal budget, plus $11.9 
billion in State and local funds.
     TANF greatly enlarges State discretion in operating family 
welfare, and it ends the entitlement of individual families to 
aid. Under TANF, States decide what categories of needy 
families to help (AFDC law defined eligible classes and 
required States to aid families in these classes if their 
income was below State-set limits). Under TANF, States decide 
whether to adopt financial rewards and penalties to induce work 
and other desired behavior. Also, States set asset limits (AFDC 
law imposed an outer limit) and continue to set benefit levels. 
Attached to the TANF Block Grant are some Federal conditions. 
For instance, to receive full grants States must achieve 
minimum work participation rates and spend a certain sum of 
their own funds on behalf of eligible families (``maintenance-
of-effort'' rule). They must require recipients to work in 
order to continue receiving aid after, at most, 24 months of 
benefits. TANF also contains prohibitions. For example, States 
may not use TANF funds for a family with a member who already 
received 60 months of TANF aid as an adult. Table 7-1 
summarizes some major differences between old and new cash 
welfare programs for families with children.

                             TABLE 7-1.--SOME KEY DIFFERENCES: AFDC/EA/JOBS AND TANF                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           AFDC/EA/JOBS (old law)                        TANF (new law)         
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal funding                Unlimited for AFDC and EA. Capped entitlement   Fixed grant, plus extras (for    
                                for JOBS. (Federal share of AFDC and JOBS       population growth/low Federal   
                                costs varied inversely with State per capita    spending per poor person, loan  
                                income.)                                        funds, contingency funds,       
                                                                                bonuses for performance and     
                                                                                reducing out-of-wedlock births),
                                                                                and (2 years only) welfare-to-  
                                                                                work grants.                    
State funding                  Matching required for each Federal dollar.      States must spend 75 percent of  
                                                                                ``historic'' level (100 percent 
                                                                                for contingency funds) and must 
                                                                                provide matching for contingency
                                                                                funds.                          
Categories eligible            Children with one parent or with an             Set by State.                    
                                incapacitated or unemployed second parent.                                      
Income limits                  Set by State.                                   Set by State.                    
Benefit levels                 Set by State.                                   Set by State.                    
Entitlement                    States required to aid all families eligible    TANF expressly denies entitlement
                                under State income standards.                   to individuals.                 
Work requirement               JOBS Program had participation requirements,    By 2002, States must have 50     
                                but participation did not require work.         percent of their caseload in    
                                                                                specified work activities.      
Exemptions from work           Parents (chiefly mothers) with child under age  None, but States may exempt      
 requirement                    3 (under age 1, at State option).               single parents caring for child 
                                                                                under 1.                        
Work trigger                   None.                                           Work (as defined by State)       
                                                                                required after maximum of 2     
                                                                                years of benefits.              
Time limit for benefits        None.                                           5-year limit (20 percent hardship
                                                                                exceptions allowed).            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN

                          Basic Federal Rules

     AFDC payments were allowed for needy children who were 
deprived of parental support or care because their father or 
mother was absent from the home continuously, incapacitated, 
deceased, or unemployed. Payments also were permitted for the 
child's needy caretaker relative (usually the mother), for 
another person in the home deemed essential to the child's 
well-being, and for a pregnant woman in her third trimester of 
pregnancy.
     Eligibility for AFDC ended on a child's 18th birthday, or 
at State option upon a child's 19th birthday if the child were 
a full-time student in a secondary or technical school and 
might reasonably be expected to complete the program before 
reaching age 19. Ineligible for AFDC were illegal aliens, 
strikers, recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and 
children for whom foster care payments were made.
     States were allowed to deny AFDC for the child of an 
unmarried parent under age 18 (and that parent) unless they 
lived in an adult-supervised supportive arrangement. States 
also could treat minor mothers as ``adult caretakers'' of their 
own children and permit them to head their own AFDC household.
     Federal law set outer income and resource limits for AFDC 
eligibility and required that all income received by an AFDC 
recipient or applicant be counted against the AFDC grant except 
income explicitly excluded by definition or deduction. The law 
required States to count as available to the child part of the 
income of a stepparent in the home and (if the child's own 
mother were a minor) part of the income of a grandparent living 
in the home. Under court rulings, States were required to 
provide aid to all persons who were in classes eligible under 
Federal law and whose income and resources were within State-
set limits. Thus, an individual's entitlement to AFDC varied 
from State to State.
     As a condition of AFDC eligibility, a parent was required 
to assign child support and spousal support rights to the State 
and to cooperate in establishing paternity of a child, 
obtaining child support payments, and identifying a third party 
who might be liable to pay for medical services for the child. 
As another condition of AFDC eligibility, Federal law required 
most able-bodied parents to participate in the JOBS Program 
unless their youngest child was under 3 years old, and it 
allowed States to mandate JOBS participation of parents with 
children as young as 1. At the same time, States were required 
to guarantee care for an AFDC child under age 13 if it were 
needed to permit the parent to work, train, or attend school.
     Federal funds paid from 50 to 78 percent of fiscal year 
1996 AFDC benefit costs in a State (55 percent on average) and 
50 percent of administrative costs in all States. AFDC was a 
voluntary program for States and was operated in all 50 States, 
the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands. Although American Samoa was authorized to participate, 
it did not.
     To operate AFDC, States needed approval by the Department 
of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of written AFDC plans. They 
were required to operate the program statewide and apply their 
need standards uniformly within the State or locality to all 
families in similar circumstances. States were permitted to 
adopt separate urban and rural benefit schedules and to vary 
benefits by region, with differences usually reflecting shelter 
costs. The law required State plans to provide an opportunity 
for a fair hearing for those whose claims were denied. States 
were at liberty to pay as much in benefits as they chose, or as 
little, with one exception. Medicaid law forbade them to reduce 
AFDC ``payment levels'' below those in effect on May 1, 1988 
(or, if higher, those effective on July 1, 1987).
     After October 1, 1990, State AFDC Programs were required 
to offer AFDC to children in two-parent families who were needy 
because of the unemployment of one of their parents (AFDC-UP). 
Eligibility for AFDC-UP was limited to families whose principal 
wage earner was unemployed (working fewer than 100 hours 
monthly) but who had worked at least 6 of the last 13 quarters, 
or engaged in school or training for 4 of these quarters.
     States were required to provide Medicaid to families 
enrolled in AFDC and to provide transitional Medicaid benefits 
of up to 12 months for those who lost AFDC eligibility as a 
result of increased hours of, or increased income from, 
employment (these provisions apply also to the new TANF 
Program). States also were required to provide subsidized child 
care for up to 12 months to families who lost AFDC eligibility 
as a result of employment.
     Table 7-2 summarizes enrollment and spending trends during 
AFDC's 61-year history. When the program began, benefits were 
allowed only for children (not their parents), and it was 
called Aid to Dependent Children. In the early years enrollment 
was less than 1 percent of the U.S. population; in the peak 
year (fiscal year 1994) it reached 5.5 percent of the 
population. Program growth was most rapid in the 1960s and 
1970s. This was the period of Great Society initiatives, 
including establishment of Medicaid, which increased the value 
of AFDC. The proportion of U.S. families with children who were 
enrolled in AFDC more than doubled from fiscal year 1960 to 
fiscal year 1970 (from 3.1 to 6.6 percent) and rose by three-
fourths again in the next decade (to 11.5 percent). Adjusted 
for price inflation (expressed in fiscal year 1996 dollars), 
benefit expenditures climbed from $5.4 billion in fiscal year 
1960 to $16.8 billion in fiscal year 1970. Average AFDC 
benefits, again in fiscal year 1996 dollars, peaked at $734 
monthly in fiscal year 1970. Thereafter, food stamps, funded 
100 percent by Federal dollars, became a nationwide income 
supplement for AFDC families.

                             Brief History

 Purpose
    Federal law gave three purposes of AFDC: to encourage the 
care of needy children in their own homes (original 1935 
purpose), to strengthen family life (added in 1956), and to 
promote family self-support (1956).
 Optional coverage
    Initial eligibility was limited to needy children (under 
age 16 and with only one able-bodied parent at home). Congress 
later allowed States to aid these other persons with AFDC 
funds:
    --the needy mother or other caretaker relative, effective 
            in 1950;
    --child of an unemployed parent and that parent (AFDC-
            Unemployed Parent), effective in 1961;
    --second parent in a family with an incapacitated or 
            unemployed parent, effective in 1962;
    --``any other individual'' in the home deemed essential to 
            the child, known as the ``essential person'' 
            option, effective in 1968; and
    --an unborn child, in last trimester of mother's pregnancy, 
            effective in 1981.

                                              TABLE 7-2.--AFDC SUMMARY DATA, SELECTED FISCAL YEARS, 1936-96                                             
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                            Measure                              1936    1940     1950    1960     1970      1980     1990      1994     1995      1996 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benefit expenditures (millions of dollars) \1\................      23     123      520   1,021     4,082   11,540    18,539   22,797    22,032   20,411
    In 1996 dollars \2\.......................................     260   1,373    3,419   5,407    16,803   22,445    22,414   24,082    22,643   20,411
     Federal share (percent)..................................       7      33       44      60        54       54        55       55        55       54
Administrative cost (millions of dollars) \3\.................     0.4     9.5       40     109       881    1,479     2,661    3,301     3,521    3,266
    In 1996 dollars \2\.......................................     4.5     106      263     577     3,627    2,877     3,217    3,487     3,619    3,266
    Federal share (percent)...................................      34      40       50      50        65       51        51       51        50       50
Average monthly no. (thousands) \4\                                                                                                                     
    Families..................................................     162     372      651     803     1,909    3,574     3,974    5,046     4,869    4,553
        With unemployed parents...............................   (\6\)   (\6\)    (\6\)   (\6\)        78      141       204      363       335      302
    Recipients................................................     546   1,222    2,233   3,073     7,429   10,497    11,460   14,226    13,619   12,649
    Children..................................................     404     895    1,661   2,370     5,494    7,220     7,755    9,590     9,275    8,673
Average AFDC family size \5\..................................    3.37    3.28     3.43    3.83      3.89     2.94      2.88     2.82      2.80     2.78
Average monthly family benefit................................      28      28       67     106       178      269       389      376       377      374
    In 1996 dollars \2\.......................................     322     312      440     559       734      523       470      397       387      374
AFDC enrollment, as percent of                                                                                                                          
    U.S. families with children...............................      NA     2.1      3.2     3.1       6.6     11.5      12.3     14.8      14.2     13.3
    Total population..........................................     0.4     0.9      1.5     1.7       3.7      4.6       4.6      5.5       5.2     4.8 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Benefit expenditures for 1936-60 are from U.S. Department of Health and Education (DHEW), Expenditures for Public Assistance Payments and for       
  Administrative Costs, by Program and Source of Funds, Fiscal Years 1936-70 NCSS Report F-5; 1936 data are for 5 months only. Later data are from table
  7-3, prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), but unlike that table, exclude foster care payments made in 1980.           
\2\ The Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for all Urban Consumers was used to adjust current dollars for inflation.                                          
\3\ For years before 1980, administrative costs include some expenditures for services.                                                                 
\4\ Enrollment data for 1936-60 are December numbers from the 1970 Social Security Annual Statistical Supplement (table 136). For later years data are  
  fiscal year monthly averages from table 7-5, prepared by DHHS, but, unlike that table, exclude foster care recipients in 1980.                        
\5\ Calculated by dividing total recipients by the number of families. This understates actual family size for 1936-50 because the mother or other care 
  giver was not included as a recipient until after fiscal year 1950.                                                                                   
\6\ Program did not exist.                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                        
NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Congressional Research Service.                                                                                                                

 Mandatory coverage
    Beginning in 1984, Congress required States to aid certain 
parents:
    --second parent in families with an incapacitated or 
            unemployed parent, effective in 1984 (previously, 
            some States did not cover the spouse of an 
            incapacitated or unemployed parent);
    --families of unemployed parents, effective in October 
            1990. (States that previously did not offer AFDC-UP 
            were allowed to limit it to 6 months yearly.)
 Age of eligible child
    Congress gave States the option of aiding children older 
than 15 as follows: children aged 16 and 17 if regularly 
attending school, effective in 1940; students aged 18-20 in 
high school or a course of vocational or technical training, 
1964; and students aged 18-20 in college or university, 1965. 
However, in 1981, Congress ended a child's eligibility on his 
18th birthday or at State option, if he were still in high 
school, on his 19th birthday.
Treatment of income of family members
    In 1981 Congress required States to treat a portion of the 
income of an AFDC child's stepparent (living in the same home) 
as available to the child. Congress required that any parent 
and brother or sister of a needy child who lived in his home 
(except for SSI recipients) must be included in the AFDC 
assistance unit of the child and, thus, share income with the 
family, effective in 1984.
 Name of program
     Effective in 1962, Congress changed the name of the 
program from ``Aid to Dependent Children'' to ``Aid to Families 
with Dependent Children.''
 Social services
     In 1962, Congress increased the Federal reimbursement rate 
for social services to AFDC families and opened up eligibility 
for services to former and potential AFDC families. The 
matching rate was raised to 75 percent (previously services 
were reimbursed at a 50 percent rate, along with other 
administrative costs). Table 7-2 shows the resulting rise in 
the overall Federal share of AFDC administrative costs in 
fiscal year 1970. Later, in 1975, Congress replaced open-ended 
funding for social services with a block grant in a new title 
XX of the Social Security Act. This removed social services 
from the AFDC administrative cost account.
 Foster care
    Effective in 1962, Congress authorized payments for foster 
care for AFDC-eligible children. This policy responded to a 
ruling by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (now 
DHHS) that States would no longer be permitted to deny AFDC to 
a needy child on the basis of ``unsuitable'' home conditions; 
States were to continue aid to the child in the home while 
making arrangements for the child to live elsewhere. In 1980, 
Congress established a program of adoption assistance and 
foster care for welfare children in a new part IV-E of the 
Social Security Act (see section 11).
 Work requirements
    Seeking to halt the rise in welfare rolls and responding to 
the growing numbers of working mothers, Congress ordered 
States, effective in 1968, to set up a work or training program 
called Work Incentive (WIN) for ``appropriate'' AFDC 
recipients. In 1971, Congress required WIN assignment of 
mothers with no child below age 6. The Family Support Act of 
1988 replaced WIN with the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills 
Training Program (JOBS) in a new part IV-F of the Social 
Security Act. This legislation required States, to the extent 
resources allowed, to engage most mothers with no child below 
age 3 in education, work, or training under JOBS.
 Work rewards
    Beginning in 1969, States were required to permit an AFDC 
child who was a student to retain all part-time earnings 
without reducing the family's benefit check. When setting up 
WIN to take effect in 1968, Congress offered permanent 
disregard of a portion of earnings as a financial reward for 
earnings of AFDC adults. Previously only work expenses were 
deducted from adult earnings counted against the AFDC check in 
most States. The new law required States also to disregard the 
first $30 earned monthly and one-third of remaining earnings. 
The result was that working recipients would not lose AFDC 
eligibility until gross earnings were 150 percent of their 
basic benefit plus $30 monthly plus 150 percent of expenses. In 
1981, Congress repealed the permanent work incentive bonus 
(disregard of one-third of every extra dollar), confining it to 
the first 4 months of a job. After 4 months of a job, States 
were to disregard a standard allowance only plus actual child 
care expenses, up to a ceiling. For instance, after 12 months 
on a job, a standard sum of $75 monthly (later raised to $90) 
was to be disregarded. In deciding eligibility of applicants, 
States were to count all earnings except the standard allowance 
and child care costs. In 1981, Congress also imposed a Federal 
gross income limit (150 percent of the need standard, later 
raised to 185 percent). In 1988, Congress required States not 
to count as income against the AFDC grant any earned income 
credit (EIC) payments received by an AFDC working parent and to 
disregard these payments as a resource for 2 months.
 Welfare-to-work programs
    In 1981, Congress gave States authority to design and test 
their own ``welfare-to-work'' WIN Programs. Further, it 
authorized job search, work relief (Community Work Experience 
Programs--CWEP) and subsidization of a job with the AFDC 
benefit (work supplementation). The Family Support Act of 1988, 
which established the JOBS Program, greatly enlarged funding 
for welfare-to-work efforts; it also required all States, at 
least for part of the year, to offer aid to families of 
unemployed parents.
 Child support enforcement
    When the Child Support Enforcement Program was enacted in 
1975 as a new part IV-D of the Social Security Act, Congress 
required AFDC applicants and recipients to assign child support 
or spousal support rights to the State and to cooperate with 
the State in establishing paternity and in obtaining support 
payments. In 1984 Congress required States to ``pass through'' 
to the AFDC family up to $50 monthly collected in child 
support, adding it to the family's unreduced AFDC benefit.
 Funding
    In the 1935 act, Congress set the Federal share of AFDC 
payments at 33 percent, up to individual payment maximums of 
$18 for the first child and $12 for additional children. Thus, 
for the first child, the maximum Federal share was $6. 
Subsequently matching maximums were increased and based on 
average spending per recipient. In 1956, variable matching 
rates were established, providing more generous Federal 
reimbursement for States with lower per capita income. But 
these variable rates applied only to average expenditures, up 
to a ceiling, above specified amounts per recipient. In 1965, 
when Medicaid was established, Federal matching for every AFDC 
dollar became available. States that implemented Medicaid were 
allowed to use its open-ended matching formula for total AFDC 
benefits as well. Medicaid matching rates, inversely related to 
State per capita income, have a statutory floor of 50 percent 
and a ceiling of 83 percent. In fiscal year 1997 the actual top 
rate is 77.09 percent, in Mississippi. A special matching rate 
of 75 percent and funding ceilings applied to AFDC in Guam, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
 Waivers from AFDC law
    Section 1115 of the Social Security Act, established in 
1962, allowed waiver of specified parts of AFDC law (namely, 
provisions setting forth requirements for State plans) in order 
to enable a State to carry out a project that the Secretary 
judged likely to promote the objectives of AFDC. Presidents 
Reagan, Bush, and Clinton all promoted use of waivers for State 
experimentation. The Reagan administration established an 
interagency low-income opportunity board to promote and 
facilitate waivers; the Clinton administration approved waivers 
from more than 40 States, many of them for statewide reforms, 
before passage on August 22, 1996 of the law repealing AFDC.

            Interaction of AFDC With Other Benefit Programs

 Medicaid
    States were required to provide Medicaid to AFDC recipients 
and to offer 12 months of transitional medical coverage to 
those who lost AFDC eligibility because of earnings. During the 
second 6 months of transitional coverage, States could limit 
the scope of benefits; they also could impose a monthly premium 
on families whose income, net of necessary child care expenses, 
exceeded 100 percent of the Federal income poverty guidelines. 
The monthly premium could not exceed 3 percent of the family's 
gross income. States also were required to provide Medicaid 
coverage to all members of AFDC-UP families during months when 
they were not paid cash benefits because of a State-imposed 
time limit (described above under Brief History). States were 
permitted to offer Medicaid to ``medically needy'' families 
whose income was above AFDC limits but not more than one-third 
above the maximum AFDC payment for a family of their size. 
(``Medically needy'' income limits for aged and disabled 
persons also were based on 133\1/3\ percent of AFDC maximum 
payment levels for their size of ``family.'')
Food stamps
    All AFDC families were income-eligible for food stamps 
unless they lived in a larger household, and more than 85 
percent of AFDC families usually received food stamps. The Food 
Stamp Program treated AFDC as countable cash income. For every 
extra dollar of AFDC income, food stamps were reduced by about 
30 cents; at the same time, when AFDC payments declined, food 
stamps were increased by about 30 cents per lost AFDC dollar. 
Thus, if an AFDC recipient were penalized by one dollar for 
violating a program rule, food stamps reduced the net loss to 
70 cents. The interaction between AFDC and the Food Stamp 
Program had important financial implications for States. If a 
State wanted to increase the income of its AFDC recipients, it 
had to increase AFDC by $1.43 to obtain an effective $1 
increase in the recipient's total income ($1.00/0.7 = $1.43).
 Earned income credit (EIC)
     Parents with earnings below specified limits, including 
those who leave welfare with a job, are eligible for a cash 
supplement from the U.S. Treasury in the form of an earned 
income credit (EIC). For tax year 1997, the maximum credit for 
a tax filer with one child is $2,210. For two or more children 
the maximum credit is $3,656 ($305 monthly rate), received for 
earnings between $9,140 and $11,930. At higher levels credits 
are phased out. For families with more than one child, the EIC 
ends at adjusted gross income of $29,290. EIC is a refundable 
credit; persons with income below the taxation threshold 
receive the credit as a direct payment from the U.S. Treasury. 
Federal law required that EIC payments be ignored as income 
(and for 2 months as a resource) in determining AFDC 
eligibility and benefits, but the new welfare law permits 
States to decide treatment of EIC by TANF. Food stamps, 
Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and some housing 
programs must ignore EIC as income.
 Child support enforcement
     As a condition of AFDC eligibility, families and 
applicants were required to assign their rights to child or 
spousal support to the State and to cooperate with the State in 
establishing the paternity of a child born outside of marriage 
and in obtaining support payments. (TANF law prohibits aid for 
a person who has not assigned support rights to the State and 
sets minimum penalties for failure to cooperate with child 
support.) Child support payments made on behalf of an AFDC 
child were paid to the child support agency rather than 
directly to the family. If the child support collection were 
insufficient to disqualify the family from AFDC, the family 
received its full monthly AFDC grant plus the first $50 of the 
child support payment for that month. The law required States 
to disregard this $50 in making AFDC benefit calculations. In 
some of the States with need standards above maximum benefits, 
additional amounts of child support were disregarded. The 
remainder of the monthly child support payment was distributed 
to reimburse the State and Federal Governments in proportion to 
their assistance to the family. If the family's income, 
including the child support payment, were sufficient to make 
the family ineligible for AFDC, future child support payments 
were made by the noncustodial parent to the family, usually 
through an intermediary such as the local child support agency 
or office of the court clerk.
 Social Security
    In AFDC, Social Security benefits were treated as unearned 
income; thus, AFDC benefits were reduced by $1 for each dollar 
of Social Security benefits. Under 1984 law, Social Security 
survivor benefits received by one AFDC child were counted as 
income available to other family members.
 Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
    The SSI recipient (whether a child or an adult) was not 
regarded as a part of the AFDC unit. Thus, his needs could not 
be taken into account in determining the AFDC benefit level. 
Nor could any of his income or resources (including non-SSI 
income) be counted as available to the AFDC family.
Interaction example
     Table 7-3 and chart 7-1 illustrate the interaction of the 
old AFDC Program with food stamps, Medicaid, and the earned 
income credit (EIC) for a mother with two children at various 
earning levels, as of January 1997. The example assumes the 
family lives in Pennsylvania, which still was operating AFDC at 
the start of 1997. Calculations are made after the mother has 
been working for 4 months and has lost the disregard of one-
third of ``residual'' earnings, those remaining after 
subtraction of a $120 standard allowance.
 Other benefit programs
    AFDC enrollment qualified children for free school meals 
(if their school had a meal program). Mothers enrolled in AFDC 
automatically met income standards for benefits from the 
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and 
Children (WIC). AFDC recipients also were eligible for help 
from the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). States could 
grant automatic eligibility for the Low-Income Home Energy 
Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to AFDC families. However, not all 
AFDC families received benefits from these programs (see tables 
15-1 through 15-3). Some AFDC families received housing 
subsidies (which reduce the family's rent to 30 percent of 
countable income). Thus, if a family's AFDC benefit rose (or 
fell), its public housing or section 8 

        TABLE 7-3.--EARNINGS AND BENEFITS FOR A MOTHER OF TWO CHILDREN WITH DAY CARE EXPENSES AFTER 4 MONTHS ON JOB, JANUARY 1997--(PENNSYLVANIA)       
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Taxes                                               
                                                        Food                      -----------------------------------------     Work      ``Disposable''
           Earnings               EIC      AFDC \1\  stamps \2\      Medicaid         Social       Federal                  expenses \4\    income \5\  
                                                                                     Security    income \3\   State income                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0............................          0     $5,052      $2,746  Yes.............            0             0             0            0         $1,798  
$2,000.......................       $800      4,892       2,434  Yes.............         $153             0             0         $600          9,373  
4,000........................      1,200      3,292       2,554  Yes.............          306             0             0        1,200          9,540  
5,000........................      2,000      2,492       2,614  Yes.............          383             0             0        1,500         10,223  
6,000........................      2,400      1,692       2,674  Yes.............          459             0             0        1,800         10,507  
7,000........................      2,800        892       2,734  Yes.............          536             0             0        2,100         10,790  
8,000........................      3,200          0       2,822  Yes \6\.........          612             0             0        2,400         11,010  
9,000........................      3,600          0       2,642  No \7\..........          689             0             0        2,700         11,853  
10,000.......................      3,656          0       2,462  No..............          765             0             0        3,000         12,353  
12,000.......................      3,641          0       2,102  No..............          912             0             0        3,600         13,231  
15,000.......................      3,009          0       1,562  No..............        1,148             0          $420        4,200         13,803  
20,000.......................      1,954          0           0  No..............        1,530             0           560        5,200         14,664  
30,000.......................          0          0           0  No..............        2,295        $1,560           840        5,400         19,905  
50,000.......................          0          0           0  No..............        3,825         4,944         1,400        5,400        43,431   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Assumes these deductions: $120 monthly standard allowance (which would drop to $90 after 1 year on the job) and child care costs equal to 20 percent
  of earnings, up to maximum of $350 for two children.                                                                                                  
\2\ Assumes these deductions: 20 percent of earnings, $134 monthly standard deduction and child care costs equal to 20 percent of wages, up to maximum  
  of $320 for two children. (If family also received the maximum shelter deduction, food stamp benefits would be $75 higher monthly.)                   
\3\ Head of household rates for 1997. The dependent care tax credit reduces tax liability at earnings of $15,000 and above.                             
\4\ Assumed to equal 10 percent of earnings up to maximum of $100 monthly, plus child care costs equal to 20 percent of earnings up to a maximum of $350
  for two children.                                                                                                                                     
\5\ In addition, the benefits from Medicaid could be added, but are not, since the extent to which they increase disposable income is uncertain.        
\6\ Family would qualify for Medicaid for 12 months after leaving cash welfare. State must offer Medicaid to all children up to age 6 whose family      
  income is not above 133 percent of the Federal poverty guideline (ceiling of $17,769 for a family of three in 1997) and to children over age 6 born   
  after September 30, 1983 (up to age 13\1/3\ in January 1997) whose family income is below the poverty guideline ($13,330 for a family of three).      
\7\ After losing her Medicaid transitional benefits, to regain eligibility mother must spend down on medical expenses to State's medically needy income 
  limit ($5,604 for a family of three in September 1996).                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Congressional Research Service.                                                                                                                

housing subsidy generally declined (or rose) by 30 cents per 
dollar of the AFDC change. Although the law permitted AFDC 
State programs to count a family's housing subsidy as income to 
the extent that it duplicated the amount for housing in the 
AFDC maximum payment schedule, all but four States ignored 
housing subsidies (October 1990 data). If the AFDC grant 
included a sum designated for actual housing costs, the family 
in subsidized housing was required by law to pay that amount as 
rent even if it exceeded 30 percent of countable income.

 CHART 7-1. DISPOSABLE INCOME AT VARIOUS WAGE LEVELS, MOTHER OF THREE, 
                      PENNSYLVANIA, JANUARY 1997 





     Note: ``Net wages'' equal gross earnings minus taxes and 
assumed work expenses, shown in table 7-3. Food stamps, AFDC, 
and the dependent care tax credit all take account of child 
care costs.

    Source: Congressional Research Service.

             Participation in Multiple Means-Tested Programs

     In 1995, according to unpublished data from the Current 
Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census 
(1996a), 4.5 million households included a member who received 
AFDC (or State/local general assistance (GA)). These cash 
welfare benefits averaged $3,935 per household ($328 monthly). 
The annual value of noncash needs-tested benefits received by 
members of some of these households were:
    --Food stamps, average household value $2,306 (received by 
            82.6 percent of the AFDC/GA households);
    --Free or reduced-price school lunches, average value $622 
            (54.4 percent of the households);
    --Housing assistance, average value $2,650 (28.6 percent of 
            the households);
    --Supplemental Security Income (SSI) cash aid, average 
            household value $5,380 (15.4 percent of the 
            households); and
    --Medicaid, average ``fungible'' value $2,057 (97.5 percent 
            of the households). The Census Bureau calculates 
            the fungible value of Medicaid by counting Medicaid 
            benefits to the extent that they free up resources 
            that could have been spent on medical care.
    The Census Bureau (1996b) also reports (unpublished table 
based on the Current Population Survey) that in 1995, 71.1 
million persons, 27 percent of the population, lived in 
households in which a member received means-tested cash aid 
(excluding EIC payments) or noncash aid. By form of aid, they 
numbered: cash welfare (AFDC, GA, or SSI) 27.2 million persons, 
10.3 percent of the population; food stamps, 28.0 million 
persons, 10.6 percent; Medicaid, 47.2 million persons, 17.9 
percent; public or subsidized housing, 11.7 million persons, 
4.5 percent.

National AFDC Data: Expenditures, Benefits, and Caseloads, Fiscal Years 
                                1970-96

     This section presents a statistical picture of AFDC in its 
last 27 years, from fiscal year 1970 to fiscal year 1996. In 
this period total expenditures for benefits rose by 400 percent 
(table 7-4), but more than three-fourths of this increase was 
caused by price inflation. In constant value (fiscal year 1996) 
dollars, benefit spending rose by 21 percent (table 7-2). 
Administrative costs rose by less than the inflation rate and 
declined as a share of total program costs--from 18 percent in 
fiscal year 1970 to 14 percent in fiscal year 1996 (and were 
relatively lower in the 1980s). Part of the decline represents 
a change in composition of administrative costs; until fiscal 
year 1976 they included spending for social services.
     The relative cost of aid for unemployed parent families 
versus single-parent families is shown in table 7-5. In fiscal 
year 1970, when the two-parent program was optional, 5.7 
percent of benefits were paid on behalf of unemployed parent 
families; in fiscal year 1996 when the program was mandatory, 
9.7 percent. This table also shows the rise in child support 
collections used to reimburse AFDC benefit payments. In fiscal 
year 1976, the first year of the Child Support Enforcement 
Program, these collections represented 3.1 percent of Federal-
State benefit payments; in fiscal year 1996, 11.1 percent.
    Table 7-6 shows that the average monthly number of AFDC 
families more than doubled from fiscal year 1970 to fiscal year 
1990 and reached an all-time peak of 5 million in fiscal year 
1994. As a share of all U.S. families with children under age 
18 (table 7-2), AFDC families climbed from 6.6 percent in 
fiscal year 1970 to a record high of 14.8 percent in fiscal 
year 1994. In the last decade, AFDC monthly benefits averaged 
$378 per family, $132 per recipient. In current dollars, family 
benefits set record highs of $389 in fiscal years 1990 and 
1992, but in constant value (fiscal year 1996) dollars, they 
peaked in fiscal year 1970 at $734 (table 7-7). The maximum 
AFDC payment for a family of four in the median State (ranked 
by size of benefit) fell more than 50 percent in real value 
from 1970 to 1996, from $910 to $450 in 1996 dollars. Part of 
the decline was offset by the availability of food stamps, 
which are indexed for price inflation.

                TABLE 7-4.--TOTAL, FEDERAL, AND STATE AFDC EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEARS 1970-96 \1\               
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          Federal share              State share                  Total         
            Fiscal year            -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Benefits  Administrative  Benefits  Administrative  Benefits  Administrative
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970..............................    $2,187     \2\ $572       $1,443         $186       $4,082     \2\ $881   
1971..............................     3,008          271        2,469          254        5,477          525   
1972..............................     3,612          240        2,942          241        6,554           NA   
1973..............................     3,865          313        3,138          296        7,003          610   
1974..............................     4,071          379        3,300          362        7,371          740   
1975..............................     4,625          552        3,787          529        8,412        1,082   
1976..............................     5,258          541        4,418          527        9,676        1,069   
1977..............................     5,626          595        4,762          583       10,388        1,177   
1978..............................     5,701          631        4,890          617       10,591        1,248   
1979..............................     5,825          683        4,954          668       10,779        1,350   
1980..............................     6,448          750        5,508          729       11,956        1,479   
1981..............................     6,928          835        5,917          814       12,845        1,648   
1982..............................     6,922          878        5,934          878       12,857        1,756   
1983..............................     7,332          915        6,275          915       13,607        1,830   
1984..............................     7,707          876        6,664          822       14,371        1,698   
1985..............................     7,817          890        6,763          889       14,580        1,779   
1986..............................     8,239          993        6,996          967       15,235        1,960   
1987..............................     8,914        1,081        7,409        1,052       16,323        2,133   
1988..............................     9,125        1,194        7,538        1,159       16,663        2,353   
1989..............................     9,433        1,211        7,807        1,206       17,240        2,417   
1990..............................    10,149        1,358        8,390        1,303       18,539        2,661   
1991..............................    11,165        1,373        9,191        1,300       20,356        2,673   
1992..............................    12,258        1,459        9,993        1,378       22,250        2,837   
1993..............................    12,270        1,518       10,016        1,438       22,286        2,956   
1994..............................    12,512        1,680       10,285        1,621       22,797        3,301   
1995..............................    12,019        1,770       10,014        1,751       22,032        3,521   
1996..............................    11,065        1,633        9,346        1,633       20,411       3,266    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed the AFDC Program as of 
  July 1, 1997.                                                                                                 
\2\ Includes expenditures for services.                                                                         
                                                                                                                
NA--Not available.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                
 Note.--Administrative costs include child care administration, work program, ADP, FAMIS, fraud control, SAVE   
  and other State and local administrative expenditures. Benefits include AFDC-Basic and AFDC-UP expenditures;  
  child support reimbursement is not included. Numbers may not add due to rounding.                             
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                


   TABLE 7-5.--FEDERAL AND STATE AFDC BENEFIT PAYMENTS UNDER THE SINGLE PARENT AND UNEMPLOYED PARENT PROGRAMS,  
                                            FISCAL YEARS 1970-96 \1\                                            
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Single    Unemployed     Child              
                           Fiscal year                            parent \2\    parent    support \3\  Total \4\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970............................................................      $3,851        $231           0      $4,082
1971............................................................       4,993         412           0       5,405
1972............................................................       5,972         422           0       6,394
1973............................................................       6,459         414           0       6,873
1974............................................................       6,881         324           0       7,205
1975............................................................       7,791         362           0       8,153
1976............................................................       8,825         525        $286       9,064
1977............................................................       9,420         617         423       9,614
1978............................................................       9,624         565         472       9,717
1979............................................................       9,865         522         597       9,790
1980............................................................      10,847         693         593      10,947
1981............................................................      11,769       1,075         659      12,185
1982............................................................      11,601       1,256         771      12,086
1983............................................................      12,136       1,471         865      12,742
1984............................................................      12,759       1,612         983      13,388
1985............................................................      13,024       1,556         901      13,679
1986............................................................      13,672       1,563         951      14,284
1987............................................................      14,807       1,516       1,071      15,252
1988............................................................      15,243       1,420       1,197      15,466
1989............................................................      15,889       1,350       1,287      15,952
1990............................................................      17,059       1,480       1,416      17,123
1991............................................................      18,529       1,827       1,603      18,753
1992............................................................      20,130       2,121       1,822      20,429
1993............................................................      19,988       2,298       1,963      20,323
1994............................................................      20,393       2,404       2,060      20,737
1995............................................................      19,820       2,212       2,165      19,867
1996............................................................      18,438       1,973       2,270     18,141 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed the AFDC Program as of 
  July 1, 1997.                                                                                                 
\2\ Includes payments to two-parent families where one adult is incapacitated.                                  
\3\ Total AFDC collections (including collections on behalf of foster care children) less payments to           
  recipients.                                                                                                   
\4\ Net AFDC benefits--gross benefits less those reimbursed by child support collections.                       
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                


                            TABLE 7-6.--HISTORICAL TRENDS IN AFDC ENROLLMENTS AND AVERAGE PAYMENTS, FISCAL YEARS 1970-96 \1\                            
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Average monthly number of:  (in thousands)               Average monthly 
                                                                  --------------------------------------------------------------------      benefit     
                           Fiscal year                                                                         Unemployed  Unemployed ------------------
                                                                   Families \2\  Recipients \2\  Children \2\    parent      parent                     
                                                                                                                families   recipients  Family  Recipient
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970.............................................................       1,909          7,429          5,494            78         420    $178       $46 
1971.............................................................       2,532          9,556          6,963           143         726     180        48 
1972.............................................................       2,918         10,632          7,698           134         639     187        51 
1973.............................................................       3,123         11,038          7,965           120         557     187        53 
1974.............................................................       3,170         10,845          7,824            95         434     194        57 
1975.............................................................       3,342         11,067          7,928           101         451     210        63 
1976.............................................................       3,561         11,339          8,156           135         593     226        71 
1977.............................................................       3,575         11,108          7,818           149         659     242        78 
1978.............................................................       3,528         10,663          7,475           127         567     250        83 
1979.............................................................       3,493         10,311          7,193           113         504     257        87 
1980.............................................................       3,642         10,597          7,320           141         612     274        94 
1981.............................................................       3,871         11,160          7,615           209         881     277        96 
1982.............................................................       3,569         10,431          6,975           232         976     300       103 
1983.............................................................       3,651         10,659          7,051           272       1,144     311       106 
1984.............................................................       3,725         10,866          7,153           287       1,222     322       110 
1985.............................................................       3,692         10,813          7,165           261       1,131     339       116 
1986.............................................................       3,747         10,995          7,294           253       1,101     352       120 
1987.............................................................       3,784         11,065          7,381           236       1,035     359       123 
1988.............................................................       3,748         10.920          7,326           210         929     370       127 
1989.............................................................       3,771         10,935          7,370           193         856     381       131 
1990.............................................................       3,974         11,460          7,755           204         899     389       135 
1991.............................................................       4,375         12,595          8,515           268       1,148     388       135 
1992.............................................................       4,769         13,625          9,225           322       1,348     389       136 
1993.............................................................       4,981         14,144          9,539           359       1,489     373       131 
1994.............................................................       5,046         14,226          9,590           363       1,509     376       134 
1995.............................................................       4,869         13,619          9,275           335       1,383     377       135 
1996 \3\.........................................................       4,553         12,649          8,673           302       1,241     374      134  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed the AFDC Program as of July 1, 1997.                           
\2\ Includes unemployed parent families.                                                                                                                
\3\ Preliminary data.                                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                        
 Note.--AFDC benefit amounts have not been reduced by child support collections.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        


 TABLE 7-7.--HISTORIC TRENDS IN AVERAGE AFDC PAYMENTS AND IN MAXIMUM BENEFITS FOR A FAMILY OF FOUR IN THE MEDIAN
                     STATE, CURRENT AND CONSTANT DOLLARS, \1\ SELECTED FISCAL YEARS 1970-96                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Fiscal year                             
              AFDC payments              -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                           1970    1975    1980    1985    1990    1992    1994    1995    1996 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average monthly benefit per family......    $178    $210    $274    $339    $389    $389    $376    $377    $374
    In fiscal year 1996 dollars.........     734     631     533     495     470     435     397     387     374
Average monthly benefit per person......      46      63      94     116     135     136     134     135     134
    In fiscal year 1996 dollars.........     189     189     183     169     163     152     142     139     134
Maximum benefit in July for a family                                                                            
 unit of four with no income in the                                                                             
 median State (ranked by benefit size)                                                                          
 \2\....................................     221     264     350     399     432     435     435     435     450
    In fiscal year 1996 dollars.........     910     793     681     582     522     486     460     447    450 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The constant dollar numbers were calculated by use of the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-
  U).                                                                                                           
\2\ Among the 50 States and the District of Columbia.                                                           
                                                                                                                
 Note.--AFDC benefit amounts have not been reduced by child support enforcement collections.                    
                                                                                                                
 Source: Family Support Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Median State benefits     
  provided by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). Table prepared by CRS.                                  

         State AFDC Data: Benefits, Expenditures, and Caseloads

 Maximum benefits, by State, January 1997
    By January 1, 1997 more than half of the States had TANF 
plans in effect. Table 7-8 shows maximum AFDC/TANF benefits for 
a one-parent family of three persons by State at the start of 
1997. All but four jurisdictions retained their July 1, 1996 
AFDC maximum benefit schedule. Maryland and Vermont increased 
benefits; California and the District of Columbia reduced 
benefits. Maximum cash benefits in Alaska ($923) were almost 
eight times as large as in Mississippi ($120). Addition of food 
stamps narrowed the range. Combined benefits for an Alaskan 
family of three with no countable income ($1,246) were somewhat 
less than triple those of a comparable family in Mississippi 
($435).
     Table 7-9 presents maximum AFDC/TANF benefits, as of 
January 1, 1997, for families of one to six persons. Generally, 
the amounts shown applied both to one- and two-parent families, 
but some States paid higher amounts to the latter group. For 
average size families (three persons) with no countable income, 
benefits in the median State averaged $126 per recipient. For 
units of one person (a child with an ineligible caretaker, or a 
pregnant woman), the median State paid a maximum of $214. Per 
recipient amounts declined with family size: four-person units, 
$114 per recipient; five-person units, $105; and six-person 
units, $97.
 AFDC coverage of children, by State, selected years
     Table 7-10 (columns 1-5) presents the percentage of 
children enrolled in AFDC by State for selected years. It shows 
wide variation among States. For example, the share of all 
children receiving AFDC ranged in 1970 from 3.1 percent in New 
Hampshire to 16.8 percent in the District of Columbia. The 
differences reflect disparities in income eligibility limits, 
which are set by States, and economic and demographic 
conditions.
     For decennial census years (1970, 1980, and 1990), table 
7-10 (columns 6-8) compares AFDC child enrollment to the number 
of children in the State who meet the Census Bureau's 
definition of poverty. For the United States, this ratio rose 
from 59 percent in 1970 to 67 percent in 1990. For some States 
the ratio of AFDC children to poor children exceeded 100 
percent, even though effective AFDC income eligibility limits 
were below poverty thresholds in virtually all States. The 
probable explanation is that AFDC eligibility was based on 
monthly income and circumstances in contrast to the count of 
poor children, which depends on annual money income. The result 
is that some families, poor enough to qualify for AFDC at some 
time during the year, might have had money income in other 
parts of the year that brought their total up to or above the 
poverty threshold.

              TABLE 7-8.--NEED STANDARD AND MAXIMUM AFDC/TANF AND FOOD STAMP BENEFITS, ONE-PARENT FAMILY OF THREE PERSONS,\1\ JANUARY 1997              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Gross                                                                                       
                                                            income                                                           Combined      AFDC benefits
                                                          limit (185  100 percent    Maximum     Food stamp    Combined    benefits as a   as a percent 
                       State name                         percent of  of ``need''   AFDC grant  benefit \3\    benefits     percent of        of 1997   
                                                             need                      \2\                                 1997 poverty       poverty   
                                                          standard)                                                       guidelines \4\  guidelines \4\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................       $1,245         $673         $164         $315         $479             43              15 
Alaska \5\.............................................        1,955        1,057          923          323        1,246             90              66 
Arizona................................................        1,783          964          347          315          662             60              31 
Arkansas \5\...........................................        1,304          705          204          315          519             47              18 
California.............................................        1,360          735          565          261          826             74              51 
Colorado \5\...........................................          779          421          356          315          671             60              32 
Connecticut............................................        1,613          872          636          239          875             79              57 
Delaware \5\...........................................          625          338          338          315          653             59              30 
District of Columbia \5\...............................        1,317          712          398          311          709             64              36 
Florida................................................        2,002        1,082          303          315          618             56              27 
Georgia \5\............................................          784          424          280          315          595             54              25 
Guam \5\...............................................        1,245          673          673          434        1,107            100              61 
Hawaii \5\.............................................        2,109        1,140          712          472        1,184             93              56 
Idaho \5\..............................................        1,833          991          317          315          632             57              29 
Illinois \5\...........................................        1,830          989          377          315          692             62              34 
Indiana................................................          592          320          288          315          603             54              26 
Iowa...................................................        1,571          849          426          302          728             66              38 
Kansas.................................................          794          429          429          302          730             66              39 
Kentucky...............................................          973          526          262          315          577             52              24 
Louisiana..............................................        1,217          658          190          315          505             45              17 
Maine..................................................        1,023          553          418          305          723             65              38 
Maryland...............................................          956          517          377          315          692             62              34 
Massachusetts..........................................        1,045          565          565          261          826             74              51 
Michigan:                                                                                                                                               
     Washtenaw County..................................        1,151          622          489          292          752             68              41 
     Wayne County......................................        1,084          586          459          284          772             70              44 
Minnesota \5\..........................................          984          532          532          271          803             72              48 
Mississippi............................................          681          368          120          315          435             39              11 
Missouri...............................................        1,565          846          292          315          607             55              26 
Montana................................................        1,032          558          438          299          737             66              39 
Nebraska...............................................          673          364          364          315          679             61              33 
Nevada.................................................        1,423          769          348          315          663             60              31 
New Hampshire..........................................        3,210        1,735          550          265          815             73              50 
New Jersey \5\.........................................        1,822          985          424          303          727             65              38 
New Mexico \5\.........................................          720          389          389          314          702             63              35 
New York:                                                                                                                                               
    (New York City)....................................        1,067          577          577          257          834             75              52 
    (Suffolk County)...................................        1,301          703          703          219          922             83              63 
North Carolina.........................................        1,006          544          272          315          587             53              24 
North Dakota \5\.......................................          797          431          431          301          732             66              39 
Ohio...................................................        1,758          950          341          315          656             59              31 
Oklahoma...............................................        1,193          645          307          315          622             56              28 
Oregon.................................................          851          460          460          292          752             68              41 
Pennsylvania \5\.......................................        1,136          614          421          304          725             65              38 
Puerto Rico \5\........................................          666          360          180           NA          180             16              NA 
Rhode Island \5\.......................................        1,025          554          554          264          818             74              50 
South Carolina.........................................          999          540          200          315          515             46              18 
South Dakota...........................................          938          507          430          301          731             66              39 
Tennessee..............................................        1,252          677          185          315          500             45              17 
Texas..................................................        1,389          751          188          315          503             45              17 
Utah...................................................        1,051          568          426          302          728             66              38 
Vermont................................................        2,226        1,203          639          238          878             79              58 
Virgin Islands \5\.....................................          555          300          240          405          645             58              22 
Virginia \5\...........................................          727          393          354          315          669             60              32 
Washington \5\.........................................        2,281        1,233          546          266          812             73              49 
West Virginia \5\......................................        1,833          991          253          315          568             51              23 
Wisconsin..............................................        1,197          647          517          275          792             71              47 
Wyoming................................................        1,247          674          360          315          675             61              32 
                                                        ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Median AFDC State \6\..............................  ...........  ...........          377          315          692             62             34  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ In most States these amounts apply also to two-parent families of three (where the second parent is incapacitated or unemployed). Some, however,    
  increase benefits for these families.                                                                                                                 
\2\ In States with area differentials, figure shown is for area with highest benefit.                                                                   
\3\ Food stamp benefits are based on maximum AFDC/TANF benefits shown and assume deductions of $384 monthly ($134 standard household deduction and $250 
  maximum allowable deduction for excess shelter cost) in the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia. In the other four jurisdictions these  
  maximum allowable food stamp deductions are assumed: Alaska, $663; Hawaii, $546; Guam, $573; and the Virgin Islands, $302. If only the standard       
  deduction were assumed, food stamp benefits would drop by about $75 monthly in most of the 48 contiguous States and in the District of Columbia.      
  Maximum food stamp benefits from October 1996 through September 1997 are $315 for a family of three, with these exceptions: (urban) Alaska, $401;     
  Hawaii, $522; Guam, $464; and the Virgin Islands, $495.                                                                                               
\4\ The 1997 poverty guidelines for a family of three are: $1,111 per month for the 48 contiguous States and the District of Columbia; $1,389 for       
  Alaska; and $1,278 for Hawaii.                                                                                                                        
\5\ These jurisdictions did not yet have TANF plans in effect on January 1, 1997.                                                                       
\6\ Ranked by size of maximum benefit among the 50 States and the District of Columbia.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                        
NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                        
Note.--Puerto Rico does not have a Food Stamp Program; instead a cash nutritional assistance payment is made.                                           
                                                                                                                                                        
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service from information provided by a telephone survey of the States.                             


                       TABLE 7-9.--MAXIMUM AFDC/TANF BENEFITS BY FAMILY SIZE, JANUARY 1997                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                        Size of filing unit (family)            
                           State                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                               1        2        3        4        5        6   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................................     $111     $137     $164     $194     $225     $252
Alaska \1\................................................      514      821      923    1,025    1,127    1,229
Arizona...................................................      204      275      347      418      489      561
Arkansas \1\..............................................       81      162      204      247      286      331
California \2\ \3\........................................      279      456      565      673      767      861
Colorado \1\..............................................      214      280      356      432      512      590
Connecticut \2\...........................................      402      513      636      741      835      935
Delaware \1\..............................................      201      270      338      407      475      544
District of Columbia \1\..................................      251      312      398      486      561      660
Florida...................................................      180      241      303      364      426      487
Georgia \1\...............................................      155      235      280      330      378      410
Guam \1\..................................................      420      537      673      776      874      985
Hawaii \1\................................................      418      565      712      859    1,006    1,153
Idaho \1\.................................................      205      251      317      382      448      513
Illinois \1\ \2\..........................................      212      278      377      414      485      545
Indiana...................................................      139      229      288      346      405      463
Iowa......................................................      183      361      426      495      548      610
Kansas \2\................................................      267      352      429      497      558      619
Kentucky..................................................      186      225      262      328      383      432
Louisiana \2\.............................................       72      138      190      234      277      316
Maine.....................................................      198      312      418      526      632      739
Maryland..................................................      167      295      377      455      527      579
Massachusetts \3\.........................................      383      474      565      651      741      832
Michigan:                                                                                                       
   Wayne County...........................................      276      371      459      563      659      792
   Washtenaw County.......................................      305      401      489      593      689      822
Minnesota \1\.............................................      187      437      532      621      697      773
Mississippi...............................................       60       96      120      144      168      192
Missouri..................................................      136      234      292      342      388      431
Montana...................................................      261      349      438      527      615      703
Nebraska..................................................      222      293      364      435      506      577
Nevada....................................................      229      289      348      408      468      528
New Hampshire.............................................      414      481      550      613      673      754
New Jersey \1\............................................      162      322      424      488      522      616
New Mexico \1\............................................      231      310      389      469      548      627
New York:                                                                                                       
  New York City...........................................      352      468      577      687      800      884
  Suffolk County..........................................      446      576      703      824      949    1,038
North Carolina............................................      181      236      272      297      324      349
North Dakota \1\..........................................      223      333      431      517      591      653
Ohio......................................................      203      279      341      421      493      549
Oklahoma..................................................      190      238      307      380      445      509
Oregon....................................................      310      395      460      565      660      755
Pennsylvania \1\ \2\......................................      215      330      421      514      607      687
Puerto Rico \1\...........................................      132      156      180      204      228      252
Rhode Island \1\..........................................      327      449      554      632      710      800
South Carolina............................................      119      159      200      241      281      321
South Dakota..............................................      304      380      430      478      528      578
Tennessee.................................................       95      142      185      226      264      305
Texas.....................................................       78      163      188      226      251      288
Utah......................................................      246      342      426      498      567      625
Vermont \2\...............................................      438      539      639      719      805      861
Virgin Islands \1\........................................      120      180      240      300      360      420
Virginia \1\ \2\..........................................      220      294      354      410      488      534
Washington \1\............................................      349      440      546      642      740      841
West Virginia \1\.........................................      149      201      253      312      360      413
Wisconsin \2\.............................................      248      440      517      617      708      766
Wyoming \2\...............................................      195      320      360      390      450      510
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
    Median State \4\......................................      214      310      377      455      527     579 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These jurisdictions did not yet have TANF plans in effect on January 1, 1997.                               
\2\ These States (like Michigan and New York) have regional or urban/rural benefit schedules. Amounts shown are 
  for highest benefit area.                                                                                     
\3\ Benefit amounts are higher than shown for persons exempt from work.                                         
\4\ Median State among 50 States and the District of Columbia, ranked by benefit size.                          
                                                                                                                
Source: Table prepared by Congressional Research Service on the basis of a telephone survey.                    


                    TABLE 7-10.--AFDC COVERAGE OF CHILDREN, BY STATE, SELECTED YEARS 1970-96                    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                     Percent of all children receiving      AFDC children as a  
                                                                   AFDC                     percentage of poor  
                      State                      ----------------------------------------        children       
                                                                                         -----------------------
                                                   1970    1980    1990    1995    1996    1970    1980    1990 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................     8.8    11.0     8.8     8.1     7.4    30.6    36.4    36.5
Alaska..........................................     5.3     8.4     7.8    12.3    12.6    37.6    52.4    68.4
Arizona.........................................     7.0     5.6     9.0    11.4    10.3    39.6    25.3    40.9
Arkansas........................................     6.0     9.2     8.3     7.1     6.4    19.6    29.8    32.9
California......................................    14.4    15.6    17.1    21.1    20.4   115.2    77.3    93.7
Colorado........................................     7.4     6.8     8.1     7.6     6.8    58.8    43.3    53.1
Connecticut.....................................     6.6    11.7    11.0    14.5    13.6    86.3    80.7   102.9
Delaware........................................     8.5    14.5     9.0     9.7     9.0    69.6    70.6    75.1
District of Columbia............................    16.8    39.9    30.6    42.7    44.0    75.4   123.9   120.2
Florida.........................................     8.4     8.4     9.4    13.2    11.5    44.6    34.8    50.3
Georgia.........................................    10.6    10.3    12.1    14.2    12.8    44.7    37.4    60.0
Hawaii..........................................     7.1    14.9    10.6    14.3    14.4    69.6    78.8    91.7
Idaho...........................................     4.8     4.6     3.7     4.8     4.6    38.2    22.2    23.0
Illinois........................................     8.3    14.9    15.0    15.5    14.4    76.7    80.9    87.9
Indiana.........................................     3.6     7.4     7.3     8.8     6.9    39.2    46.1    51.4
Iowa............................................     5.1     9.0     9.0     9.1     8.2    51.4    57.8    62.6
Kansas..........................................     6.1     7.9     8.0     7.9     7.0    51.4    49.5    56.3
Kentucky........................................     8.7    11.3    12.4    13.2    12.4    35.4    41.1    50.1
Louisiana.......................................    12.8    12.0    16.4    14.0    13.1    43.2    41.5    52.2
Maine...........................................     9.4    12.4    11.6    12.3    11.8    65.9    54.8    84.1
Maryland........................................     8.0    12.8    10.9    12.0    10.9    71.2    78.8    96.8
Massachusetts...................................     9.0    15.2    12.6    12.4    10.7   102.4    89.0    95.3
Michigan........................................     7.0    18.0    17.6    15.7    13.9    74.3   105.1    94.8
Minnesota.......................................     4.9     8.2     9.6     9.1     9.3    51.8    59.6    75.3
Mississippi.....................................    12.1    16.0    17.4    14.0    12.7    29.7    41.8    51.7
Missouri........................................     7.8    10.6    10.8    12.7    11.6    53.1    54.7    60.6
Montana.........................................     4.7     6.1     8.5     9.3     8.8    35.8    31.8    41.8
Nebraska........................................     4.7     5.8     6.9     6.5     6.1    38.9    35.1    49.9
Nevada..........................................     6.1     4.6     5.5     7.7     6.5    69.3    32.3    41.5
New Hampshire...................................     3.1     6.2     3.9     6.2     5.4    39.0    45.7    52.3
New Jersey......................................    10.9    16.1    12.0    11.0     9.8   120.3    90.7   106.0
New Mexico......................................    10.5     9.3     8.5    13.5    13.0    40.0    32.2    30.6
New York........................................    13.8    16.3    15.7    18.0    17.0   109.8    68.3    82.3
North Carolina..................................     5.7     8.6     9.6    12.0    10.4    24.9    34.5    55.6
North Dakota....................................     3.8     4.7     6.0     5.7     5.4    23.6    23.7    34.8
Ohio............................................     5.9    12.3    15.0    14.6    13.4    60.0    73.1    84.0
Oklahoma........................................     8.9     7.8     9.3     9.7     8.4    46.2    37.0    42.9
Oregon..........................................     8.2     8.4     8.5     9.0     7.4    77.0    52.6    53.7
Pennsylvania....................................     9.2    13.9    12.5    13.9    12.7    85.5    77.0    79.9
Rhode Island....................................     9.9    15.2    13.6    17.0    16.6    84.6    84.1    98.4
South Carolina..................................     5.0    11.8     8.8    10.0     9.5    17.8    42.4    41.7
South Dakota....................................     5.4     6.3     6.8     6.0     5.8    29.1    24.1    33.4
Tennessee.......................................     8.7     9.5    12.0    14.6    13.7    36.1    35.4    57.2
Texas...........................................     6.0     5.4     9.0     9.9     8.9    23.9    22.1    36.9
Utah............................................     6.0     5.0     4.9     4.6     4.0    56.7    32.1    39.1
Vermont.........................................     5.7    10.3     9.7    11.5    10.7    50.0    51.7    80.3
Virginia........................................     4.8     8.3     7.0     8.0     7.0    27.2    41.4    52.7
Washington......................................     7.6     9.5    12.0    13.1    12.3    78.7    62.1    82.3
West Virginia...................................    11.8    10.9    15.6    15.6    14.6    49.3    44.9    59.5
Wisconsin.......................................     4.0    11.3    12.4    10.8     9.1    45.1    80.2    83.7
Wyoming.........................................     3.7     3.4     7.1     7.3     6.8    31.4    31.3    49.3
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total..................................     8.8    11.7    12.2    13.5    12.6    58.9    56.3   66.7 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table prepared by Congressional Research Service. Data sources: AFDC enrollment--1970, July 1970 numbers; 1980, 
  December 1980 numbers; fiscal year monthly averages for 1990, 1995 and 1996. All AFDC data are from the U.S.  
  Department of Health and Human Services and its predecessor; 1970 and 1980 data include foster care children. 
  Population data are from U.S. Census Bureau. Poor children are those whose family money income for the        
  preceding year--1969, 1979, and 1989, respectively--fell short of the poverty threshold. Numbers of all       
  children are from decennial census publications for 1970, 1980, and 1990; 1995 data are July 1, 1994          
  estimates; 1996 data are July 1, 1996 estimates.                                                              

 Administrative costs and AFDC enrollment, by State, fiscal year 1996
    Costs of administering AFDC benefits in fiscal year 1996 
varied widely among the States, as shown by table 7-11. Per 
family they ranged from a low of $227 (less than $20 monthly) 
in Louisiana to a peak of $1,583 in Oregon. Administrative 
costs exceeded $1,000 per family in 12 other States: Delaware, 
Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, and Wisconsin. 
This table also shows that more than half of the fiscal year 
1996 AFDC caseload lived in six States: California, 20 percent; 
New York, 10 percent; Texas, 6 percent; Illinois, Florida, and 
Ohio, 5 percent each.

 TABLE 7-11.--AVERAGE MONTHLY NUMBER OF AFDC FAMILIES AND RECIPIENTS, TOTAL BENEFIT PAYMENTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE 
                      COSTS AND AVERAGE PAYMENT PER FAMILY AND RECIPIENT, FISCAL YEAR 1996                      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Total       Average        Average      Average monthly     Total     Admin.  
                               assistance     monthly        monthly        payment per      admin.    cost per 
            State               payments   caseload \1\  recipients \1\ ------------------- cost \2\     AFDC   
                                 (mill.)      (thous.)       (thous.)    Family  Recipient   (mill.)  family \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama......................      $75.1          42             105       $148     $59        $22.0       $520 
Alaska.......................      107.4          12              36        731     247         10.0        819 
Arizona......................      228.3          63             172        300     111         47.5        749 
Arkansas.....................       51.6          23              58        189      74         13.2        581 
California...................    5,907.5         896           2,626        549     187        587.6        656 
Colorado.....................      129.2          35              99        304     109         23.1        653 
Connecticut..................      322.9          58             162        463     166         31.5        543 
Delaware.....................       34.7          10              23        279     124         12.0      1,157 
District of Columbia.........      120.8          26              70        391     143         22.6        877 
Florida......................      679.7         212             561        267     101        131.6        621 
Georgia......................      384.8         130             353        246      91         60.2        462 
Guam.........................       14.1           2               8        550     150          1.6        741 
Hawaii.......................      173.3          22              67        657     217          9.8        447 
Idaho........................       30.1           9              23        278     109          8.8        974 
Illinois.....................      832.9         224             655        310     106        119.7        534 
Indiana......................      153.5          53             148        242      86         29.7        562 
Iowa.........................      131.1          33              89        333     122         19.7        600 
Kansas.......................       97.9          25              68        324     119         25.4      1,012 
Kentucky.....................      191.4          72             175        222      91         32.5        453 
Louisiana....................      130.1          71             236        154      46         16.0        227 
Maine........................       98.6          20              56        401     147          6.3        309 
Maryland.....................      285.2          74             204        321     116         89.2      1,203 
Massachusetts................      559.9          88             237        528     197         93.0      1,053 
Michigan.....................      778.8         178             527        365     123        159.8        898 
Minnesota....................      332.6          58             171        476     162         62.1      1,066 
Mississippi..................       67.8          48             129        118      44         16.7        349 
Missouri.....................      254.0          83             232        256      91         24.4        295 
Montana......................       45.5          11              31        350     121          6.9        640 
Nebraska.....................       53.5          14              39        315     115         21.5      1,521 
Nevada.......................       48.4          15              38        272     107         14.4        972 
New Hampshire................       49.8          10              24        435     171         12.1      1,267 
New Jersey...................      462.5         112             288        344     134        150.6      1,345 
New Mexico...................      152.7          34             101        376     126         15.7        465 
New York.....................    2,929.3         433           1,189        563     205        550.7      1,271 
North Carolina...............      299.6         113             278        221      90         68.7        607 
North Dakota.................       21.0           5              13        358     131          4.6        941 
Ohio.........................      762.8         207             546        308     116         90.0        435 
Oklahoma.....................      121.9          39             105        262      97         42.5      1,095 
Oregon.......................      154.5          33              87        385     148         52.9      1,583 
Pennsylvania.................      821.9         190             544        360     126        102.1        537 
Puerto Rico..................       63.4          51             155        104      34         14.6        287 
Rhode Island.................      125.3          21              58        492     179         10.1        476 
South Carolina...............      100.9          46             119        184      71         31.5        688 
South Dakota.................       21.6           6              16        300     110          4.3        711 
Tennessee....................      189.8          99             260        160      61         38.9        393 
Texas........................      496.0         255             684        162      60        104.4        409 
Utah.........................       64.2          15              40        363     133         22.4      1,514 
Vermont......................       55.6           9              25        512     183          6.1        673 
Virgin Islands...............        4.2           1               5        249      70          0.7        502 
Virginia.....................      199.2          65             162        256     103         38.5        593 
Washington...................      584.8          99             274        493     178         78.4        792 
West Virginia................      101.5          37              95        231      89         11.5        315 
Wisconsin....................      291.0          60             170        404     142         91.6      1,526 
Wyoming......................       16.7           5              13        295     109          3.8        806 
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total...............   20,411.1       4,553          12,649        374     134      3,265.9        717 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Preliminary data.                                                                                           
\2\ Administrative costs include child care administration, work program, ADP, FAMIS, fraud control, SAVE, and  
  other State and local administrative expenditures.                                                            
\3\ Average annual administrative cost per family.                                                              
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                

 AFDC-unemployed parent families, by State, fiscal year 1996
    The distribution of unemployed-parent (AFDC-UP) families 
was very uneven among States (table 7-12). More than half (54 
percent) of these families were in California. Two-parent 
families accounted for 18 percent of the California caseload, 
but only 7 percent of the national total.
 Need standards and maximum benefits, by State, selected years
    From 1970 to 1997, AFDC benefit levels declined in real 
value in all States (but rose in Puerto Rico); in the same 
period need standards declined in real value in all but 11 
States (tables 7-13 and 7-14). In the median State, ranked by 
size of benefit level, maximum AFDC benefits fell 50 percent in 
this period, from $751 (expressed in January 1997 dollars) to 
$377. As noted earlier, some of the benefit erosion was offset 
by expansion of the Food Stamp Program, which provides 100-
percent federally funded benefits that are adjusted for price 
inflation.

       TABLE 7-12.--AFDC-UP RECIPIENTS OF CASH PAYMENTS AND AMOUNTS OF PAYMENTS BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1996      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Average monthly 
                                                      UP money      Average    Average number     payment per:  
                       State                          payments     number of    of recipients ------------------
                                                    (thousands)  families \1\        \1\       Family  Recipient
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...........................................         $108           83             355     $108       $25 
Alaska............................................       16,869        1,810           8,338      777       169 
Arizona...........................................        5,635        1,251           5,465      376        86 
Arkansas..........................................          934          240             963      324        81 
California........................................    1,228,319      161,782         657,970      633       156 
Colorado..........................................        1,704          444           1,538      320        92 
Connecticut.......................................       21,265        3,253          13,543      545       131 
Delaware..........................................          433          115             446      314        81 
District of Columbia..............................          997          145             693      572       120 
Florida...........................................       11,889        2,640          10,423      375        95 
Georgia...........................................        1,167          325           1,282      299        76 
Guam..............................................        1,764          189           1,038      779       142 
Hawaii............................................       15,211        1,614           7,345      785       173 
Idaho.............................................        1,221          293           1,240      347        82 
Illinois..........................................       39,354        9,840          41,724      333        79 
Indiana...........................................        4,895        1,333           5,669      306        72 
Iowa..............................................       13,337        3,122          12,528      356        89 
Kansas............................................        5,211        1,151           4,515      377        96 
Kentucky..........................................        9,917        3,046          11,136      271        74 
Louisiana.........................................          542          217           1,092      208        41 
Maine.............................................       10,394        1,650           6,835      525       127 
Maryland..........................................        2,050          460           1,975      371        86 
Massachusetts.....................................       20,027        2,647          11,258      631       148 
Michigan..........................................      105,268       19,700          84,975      445       103 
Minnesota.........................................       27,011        3,948          18,923      570       119 
Mississippi.......................................           54           33             130      136        34 
Missouri..........................................        4,221        1,105           4,064      318        87 
Montana...........................................        5,317          934           4,072      474       109 
Nebraska..........................................        2,978          644           2,745      385        90 
Nevada............................................        1,059          279           1,071      317        82 
New Hampshire.....................................          718          130             558      459       107 
New Jersey........................................       14,989        2,865          12,078      436       103 
New Mexico........................................        7,643        1,191           5,575      535       114 
New York..........................................      108,901       17,788          72,439      510       125 
North Carolina....................................        6,709        2,190           8,288      255        67 
North Dakota......................................          420           73             355      479        99 
Ohio..............................................       54,534       12,053          47,933      377        95 
Oklahoma..........................................        1,024          261             977      328        87 
Oregon............................................       12,017        2,181           8,753      459       114 
Pennsylvania......................................       29,824        6,402          26,793      388        93 
Rhode Island......................................        3,284          485           1,965      564       139 
South Carolina....................................          531          181             816      244        54 
South Dakota......................................          156           35             192      367        67 
Tennessee.........................................        3,321        1,392           5,290      199        52 
Texas.............................................       14,047        5,934          23,925      197        49 
Utah..............................................          455          101             452      377        84 
Vermont...........................................        6,861        1,257           4,987      455       115 
Virgin Islands....................................            0            0               0        0         0 
Virginia..........................................        2,745          516           2,099      444       109 
Washington........................................      102,560       14,123          59,891      605       143 
West Virginia.....................................       15,148        4,447          16,794      284        75 
Wisconsin.........................................       28,033        3,676          17,723      635       132 
Wyoming...........................................          227           53             229      356        83 
                                                   -------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total....................................    1,973,298      301,628       1,241,463      545       132 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Preliminary data.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                

 Total AFDC benefit expenditures, by State, selected years
    Total AFDC benefit expenditures by State for fiscal years 
1990-96 are presented in table 7-15. Nationally benefit outlays 
rose from $18.5 billion in fiscal year 1990 to an all-time peak 
of $22.8 billion in fiscal year 1994, then declined to $22.0 
billion and $20.4 billion in the next 2 years. Measured in 1996 
value dollars, U.S. benefit spending increased from $22.4 
billion in fiscal year 1990 to a peak of $24.1 billion in 
fiscal year 1994, as shown on table 7-2. AFDC benefit outlays 
in fiscal year 1996 were smaller than in fiscal year 1994 in 
all jurisdictions except: Guam (up 16.5 percent); Hawaii (6.3 
percent); Nevada (0.6 percent); New Mexico (6.1 percent); New 
York (0.6 percent); and the Virgin Islands (20.0 percent).

                           Financing of AFDC

 Federal funding shares
    The Federal share of a State's AFDC benefit payments was 
determined by the matching formula specified for Medicaid in 
title XIX of the Social Security Act. Within limits, the 
Federal Medicaid matching rate is inversely related to State 
per capita income squared. If State per capita income equals 
the national average, the Federal share is 55 percent; if State 
per capita income is not more than 5.4 percent above average, 
the share is between 50 and 55 percent; if State per capita 
income is below average, the share is above 55 percent. Thus, 
Federal matching for AFDC benefit payments varied from State to 
State, ranging from 50 percent in 11 States and the District of 
Columbia to 78.07 percent in Mississippi in fiscal year 1996, 
the last full year of AFDC. Table 7-16 presents State Medicaid 
matching rates for selected fiscal years 1984-98. It shows that 
California, Colorado, Washington, and Wyoming, which received 
the minimum 50 percent Federal share in 1984-85, now receive a 
higher match rate because their comparative per capita income 
position has declined. Mississippi's relative position 
improved, reducing the Medicaid rate to 77.22 percent for 
fiscal year 1997.

                               TABLE 7-13.--AFDC NEED STANDARD FOR A THREE-PERSON FAMILY BY STATE, SELECTED YEARS 1970-97                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                               Percent  
                                                        July      July     July     July    January   January   January   January   January   change in 
                        State                         1970 \1\    1975     1980     1985   1990 \2\  1994 \2\  1995 \2\  1996 \2\  1997 \2\  real value,
                                                                                                                                             1970-97 \3\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.............................................      $184     $180     $192     $384      $578      $673      $673      $673      $673          -10
Alaska..............................................       350      350      457      719       846       975     1,022     1,028     1,057          -26
Arizona.............................................       212      233      233      233       621       964       964       964       964           11
Arkansas............................................       149      245      234      234       705       705       705       705       705           16
California..........................................       351      316      480      587       694       715       715       730       735          -49
Colorado............................................       193      217      290      421       421       421       421       421       421          -47
Connecticut.........................................       283      346      475      569       649       680       872       872       872          -24
Delaware............................................       245      245      266      287       333       338       338       338       338          -66
District of Columbia................................       229      286      394      654       712        72       712       712       712          -24
Florida.............................................       189      195      195      400       838       991       991     1,050     1,082           40
Georgia.............................................       177      193      193      366       414       424       424       424       424          -41
Guam................................................        NA       NA      261      265       330       330       330       330       673           NA
Hawaii..............................................       226      428      468      468       964     1,140     1,140     1,140     1,140           24
Idaho...............................................       238      345      371      554       554       991       991       991       991            2
Illinois............................................       232      261      288      657       777       890       936       963       989            5
Indiana.............................................       272      307      307      307       320       320       320       320       320          -71
Iowa................................................       247      309      360      497       497       849       849       849       849          -16
Kansas..............................................       243      321      345      391       409       429       429       429       429          -57
Kentucky............................................       208      185      188      197       526       526       526       526       526          -38
Louisiana...........................................       172      164      402      579       658       658       658       658       658           -6
Maine...............................................       277      277      415      510       652       553       553       553       553          -51
Maryland............................................       249      259      270      455       548       507       517       517       517          -49
Massachusetts.......................................       268      259      379      439       539       579       579       565       565          -48
Michigan:                                                                                                                                               
    Washtenaw County................................        NA       NA       NA      592       611       587       587       587       622           NA
    Wayne County....................................       219      333      425      557       575       551       551       551       586          -34
Minnesota...........................................       256      330      417      528       532       532       532       532       532          -49
Mississippi.........................................       202      241      220      286       368       368       368       368       368          -55
Missouri............................................       285      325      312      312       312       846       846       846       846          -27
Montana.............................................       221      201      259      428       434       511       530       541       558          -38
Nebraska............................................       281      279      310      350       364       364       364       364       364          -68
Nevada..............................................       269      279      285      285       550       699       699       699       769          -30
New Hampshire.......................................       262      308      346      389       506     1,648     1,674     2,034     1,735           62
New Jersey..........................................       302      310      360      404       424       985       985       985       985          -20
New Mexico..........................................       167      197      220      258       264       357       381       389       389          -43
New York:                                                                                                                                               
    New York City...................................       279      332      394      474       577       577       577       577       577          -49
    Suffolk County..................................        NA       NA       NA      579       703       703       703       703       703           NA
North Carolina......................................       168      183      192      492       544       544       544       544       544          -21
North Dakota........................................       232      283      334      371       386       409       431       431       431          -54
Ohio................................................       207      346      346      652       739       879       901       924       950           13
Oklahoma............................................       179      217      282      471       471       471       645       645       645          -12
Oregon..............................................       229      369      282      386       432       460       460       460       460          -51
Pennsylvania........................................       265      296      332      614       614       614       614       614       614          -43
Puerto Rico.........................................       180      108      102      180       180       360       360       360       360          -51
Rhode Island........................................       229      278      340      409       543       554       554       554       554          -41
South Carolina......................................       162      178      187      187       419       440       440       524       540          -18
South Dakota........................................       264      289      321      329       377       491       507       507       507          -53
Tennessee...........................................       179      179      179      339       387       426       500       583       677           -7
Texas...............................................       198      155      155      494       574       574       751       751       751           -7
Utah................................................       223      327      480      693       516       552       568       568       568          -38
Vermont.............................................       287      402      670      883       973     1,124     1,148     1,173     1,203            3
Virgin Islands......................................        NA      131      209      209       300       300       300       300       300           NA
Virginia............................................       240      298      344      393       393       393       393       393       393          -60
Washington..........................................       258      315      458      777       907     1,158     1,178     1,252     1,233           17
West Virginia.......................................       220      275      275      497       497       497       991       991       991           10
Wisconsin...........................................       214      383      522      628       647       647       647       647       647          -26
Wyoming.............................................       246      240      315      360       360       674       674       674       674          -33
                                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Median State \4\................................       232      279      321      401       539       579       645       645       586          -38
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data on three-person families were not published or reported before 1975. Thus, the 1970 data were derived by reducing the reported four-person need
  standard by the proportional difference between three- and four-person AFDC need standards as shown in the July 1975 DHEW reports.                    
\2\ CRS survey data.                                                                                                                                    
\3\ Real percentage change, calculated assuming a January 1997 CPI-U value of 159.1 relative to the July 1970 value of 39.0.                            
\4\ Among 50 States and the District of Columbia, ranked by size of need standard.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                        
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Table compiled by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) on the basis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services and CRS.      


                              TABLE 7-14.--AFDC MAXIMUM BENEFIT FOR A THREE-PERSON FAMILY BY STATE, SELECTED YEARS 1970-97                              
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                Year                                                    
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                               Percent  
                   State                                                                                                                      change in 
                                              July      July     July     July    January   January   January   January   January   January  real value,
                                            1970 \1\    1975     1980     1985   1990 \2\  1992 \2\  1994 \2\  1995 \2\  1996 \2\  1997 \2\     1970-97 
                                                                                                                                                 \3\    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................       $65     $108     $118     $118      $118      $149      $164      $164      $164      $164          -38
Alaska....................................       328      350      457      719       846       924       923       923       923       923          -31
Arizona...................................       138      163      202      233       293       334       347       347       347       347          -38
Arkansas..................................        89      125      161      192       204       204       204       204       204       204          -44
California................................       186      293      473      587       694       663       607       607       607       565          -26
Colorado..................................       193      217      290      346       356       356       356       356       356       356          -55
Connecticut...............................       283      346      475      569       649       680       680       680       636       636          -45
Delaware..................................       160      221      266      287       333       338       338       338       338       338          -48
District of Columbia......................       195      243      286      327       409       409       420       420       420       398          -50
Florida...................................       114      144      195      240       294       303       303       303       303       303          -35
Georgia...................................       107      123      164      223       273       280       280       280       280       280          -36
Guam......................................        NA       NA      261      265       330       330       330       330       330       673           NA
Hawaii....................................       226      428      468      468       602       666       712       712       712       712          -23
Idaho.....................................       211      300      323      304       317       315       317       317       317       317          -63
Illinois..................................       232      261      288      341       367       367       367       377       377       377          -60
Indiana...................................       120      200      255      256       288       288       288       288       288       288          -41
Iowa......................................       201      294      360      360       410       426       426       426       426       426          -48
Kansas....................................       222      321      345      391       409       422       429       429       429       429          -53
Kentucky..................................       147      185      188      197       228       228       228       228       262       262          -56
Louisiana.................................        88      128      152      190       190       190       190       190       190       190          -47
Maine.....................................       135      176      280      370       453       453       418       418       418       418          -24
Maryland..................................       162      200      270      329       396       377       366       373       373       377          -43
Massachusetts.............................       268      259      379      432       539       539       579       579       565       565          -48
Michigan:                                                                                                                                               
    Washtenaw County......................        NA       NA       NA      447       546       489       489       489       489       489           NA
    Wayne County..........................       219      333      425      417       516       459       459       459       459       459          -49
Minnesota.................................       256      330      417      528       532       532       532       532       532       532          -49
Mississippi...............................        56       48       96       96       120       120       120       120       120       120          -47
Missouri..................................       104      120      248      274       289       292       292       292       292       292          -31
Montana...................................       202      201      259      354       359       390       401       416       425       438          -47
Nebraska..................................       171      210      310      350       364       364       364       364       364       364          -48
Nevada....................................       121      195      262      285       330       372       348       348       348       348          -30
New Hampshire.............................       262      308      346      389       506       516       550       550       550       550          -49
New Jersey................................       302      310      360      404       424       424       424       424       424       424          -66
New Mexico................................       149      169      220      258       264       324       357       381       389       389          -36
New York:                                                                                                                                               
    New York City.........................       279      332      394      474       577       577       577       577       577       577          -49
    Suffolk County........................        NA       NA       NA      579       703       703       703       703       703       703           NA
North Carolina............................       145      183      192      246       272       272       272       272       272       272          -54
North Dakota..............................       213      283      334      371       386       401       409       431       431       431          -50
Ohio......................................       161      204      263      290       334       334       341       341       341       341          -48
Oklahoma..................................       152      217      282      282       325       341       324       324       307       307          -50
Oregon....................................       184      337      282      386       432       460       460       460       460       460          -39
Pennsylvania..............................       265      296      332      364       421       421       421       421       421       421          -61
Puerto Rico...............................        43       43       44       90        90       180       180       180       180       180            3
Rhode Island..............................       229      278      340      409       543       554       554       554       554       554          -41
South Carolina............................        85       96      129      187       206       210       200       200       200       200          -42
South Dakota..............................       264      289      321      329       377       404       417       430       430       430          -60
Tennessee.................................       112      115      122      153       184       185       185       185       185       185          -60
Texas.....................................       148      116      116      167       184       184       184       188       188       188          -69
Utah......................................       175      252      360      376       387       402       414       426       426       426          -40
Vermont...................................       267      322      492      583       662       673       638       650       656       639          -41
Virgin Islands............................        NA      131      209      171       240       240       240       240       240       240           NA
Virginia..................................       225      268      310      354       354       354       354       354       354       354          -61
Washington................................       258      315      458      476       501       531       546       546       546       546          -48
West Virginia.............................       114      206      206      249       249       249       249       253       253       253          -46
Wisconsin.................................       184      342      444      533       517       517       517       517       517       517          -31
Wyoming...................................       213      235      315      360       360       360       360       360       360       360          -59
                                           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Median State \4\......................       184      235      288      332       364       372       366       377       389       377         -50 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data on three-person families were not published or reported before 1975. Thus, the 1970 data were derived by reducing the reported four-person     
  maximum benefit amount by the proportional difference between three- and four-person AFDC maximum benefit as shown in the July 1975 DHEW reports.     
\2\ CRS survey data.                                                                                                                                    
\3\ Real percentage change, calculated assuming a January 1997 CPI-U value of 159.1 relative to the July 1970 value of 39.0.                            
\4\ Among 50 States and the District of Columbia.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                                        
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Table compiled by Congressional Research Service (CRS) on the basis of data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CRS.     


                   TABLE 7-15.--TOTAL AFDC BENEFIT EXPENDITURES BY STATE, FISCAL YEARS 1990-96                  
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  Fiscal year                                   
            State            -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 1990        1991        1992        1993        1994        1995        1996   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................       $61.5       $67.5       $85.1       $95.5       $91.9       $82.6       $75.1
Alaska......................        59.5        76.8        96.3       110.6       112.5       107.3       107.4
Arizona.....................       138.4       177.8       242.6       268.7       265.9       251.2       228.3
Arkansas....................        57.0        60.0        61.1        59.8        57.4        48.8        51.6
California..................     4,954.9     5,519.8     5,828.3     5,855.0     6,088.3     6,125.4     5,907.5
                                                                                                                
Colorado....................       136.7       149.9       162.5       164.0       158.2       142.8       129.2
Connecticut.................       295.2       347.2       376.9       386.3       397.0       383.1       322.9
Delaware....................        28.7        32.6        37.3        39.7        39.7        36.4        34.7
District of Columbia........        84.0        97.5       102.4       112.6       126.3       124.1       120.8
Florida.....................       417.5       515.1       733.1       804.7       806.2       763.8       679.7
                                                                                                                
Georgia.....................       320.7       376.4       420.3       432.1       427.9       414.4       384.8
Guam........................         5.0         7.1         7.8         9.2        12.1        13.7        14.1
Hawaii......................        98.8       107.9       125.3       143.4       163.0       172.8       173.3
Idaho.......................        19.5        22.2        24.0        28.5        30.3        31.6        30.1
Illinois....................       838.7       892.2       882.6       882.9       913.5       882.1       832.9
                                                                                                                
Indiana.....................       169.9       193.2       218.2       224.8       228.2       196.6       153.5
Iowa........................       152.4       160.2       164.3       163.3       169.2       149.4       131.1
Kansas......................       105.1       108.7       119.2       125.9       123.1       113.6        97.9
Kentucky....................       179.1       204.1       213.1       210.0       198.3       182.6       191.4
Louisiana...................       188.0       188.1       181.8       176.9       168.4       151.1       130.1
                                                                                                                
Maine.......................       101.3       113.2       118.3       117.1       107.5       101.1        98.6
Maryland....................       295.8       330.4       333.3       316.5       313.8       307.9       285.2
Massachusetts...............       630.3       665.6       750.9       749.9       729.7       646.1       559.9
Michigan....................     1,211.3     1,184.1     1,162.0     1,190.1     1,132.2       999.8       778.8
Minnesota...................       355.0       370.7       387.0       384.0       379.4       356.0       332.6
                                                                                                                
Mississippi.................        86.3        87.9        88.8        86.9        81.7        75.1        67.8
Missouri....................       228.0       250.6       273.9       283.8       286.9       275.6       254.0
Montana.....................        40.4        42.0        45.7        49.1        48.9        48.3        45.5
Nebraska....................        58.6        61.2        65.3        65.6        61.6        56.7        53.5
Nevada......................        27.2        32.1        41.0        44.0        48.1        51.6        48.4
                                                                                                                
New Hampshire...............        31.8        45.3        54.4        56.0        61.9        56.9        49.8
New Jersey..................       451.4       488.7       527.2       538.2       531.3       509.8       462.5
New Mexico..................        60.6        86.2       105.9       119.1       143.9       154.1       152.7
New York....................     2,254.4     2,480.9     2,944.3     2,658.4     2,913.1     3,042.3     2,929.3
North Carolina..............       246.7       303.6       335.3       353.4       352.5       334.4       299.6
                                                                                                                
North Dakota................        24.3        25.0        27.5        28.1        25.6        22.6        21.0
Ohio........................       877.2       935.1       984.0       980.5     1,015.8       849.1       762.8
Oklahoma....................       132.1       152.2       169.2       172.0       165.2       152.0       121.9
Oregon......................       145.2       177.2       200.1       202.4       196.7       180.8       154.5
Pennsylvania................       798.3       827.3       906.1       917.7       934.8       904.7       821.9
                                                                                                                
Puerto Rico.................        71.5        75.2        75.3        76.8        73.9        68.3        63.4
Rhode Island................        99.0       117.2       128.4       134.2       136.0       133.6       125.3
South Carolina..............        95.7       107.4       119.2       118.0       115.1       107.1       100.9
South Dakota................        21.7        23.6        25.2        25.0        24.6        22.7        21.6
Tennesee....................       167.9       196.6       205.8       219.8       215.1       198.7       189.8
                                                                                                                
Texas.......................       415.9       473.3       516.5       532.3       544.3       519.8       496.0
Utah........................        64.1        70.7        75.5        78.0        77.3        69.7        64.2
Vermont.....................        48.1        54.6        67.0        65.7        64.9        61.9        55.6
Virgin Islands..............         2.9         3.3         3.5         3.5         3.5         4.3         4.2
Virginia....................       177.4       199.6       224.8       231.2       253.0       222.4       199.2
                                                                                                                
Washington..................       437.9       485.8       605.9       605.5       609.9       605.7       584.8
West Virginia...............       110.0       113.6       120.1       121.6       125.9       108.9       101.5
Wisconsin...................       440.4       447.1       453.3       441.2       424.7       389.4       291.0
Wyoming.....................        19.3        24.9        27.2        26.5        21.4        20.8        16.7
                             -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total..............    18,538.5    20,356.2    22,250.5    22,286.0    22,797.4    22,031.6    20,411.1
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                 

     For the outlying areas--Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin 
Islands--75 percent Federal matching was provided for AFDC 
benefits, but the law imposed a ceiling on total Federal funds 
for AFDC and several other programs, including Aid for Aged, 
Blind, or Disabled Adults. The ceilings were as follows in 
fiscal year 1996: Puerto Rico, $82 million; Guam, $3.8 million; 
and the Virgin Islands, $2.8 million (see section 12 for 
additional information on the territories).
     The Federal Government paid 50 percent of the costs of 
administering the AFDC Program in all jurisdictions.
 Non-Federal funding
    As shown in tables 7-17 and 7-18, some States required 
their localities to finance a portion of the non-Federal share 
of AFDC benefit payments and/or administrative costs.

           National Data: Characteristics of AFDC Recipients

     This section and the next section on characteristics of 
AFDC families by State use two main sources of data. For years 
1967-79, the sources were individual sample surveys of similar 
design conducted to gather information from agency case files. 
For 1983 and later years, data were derived from the National 
Integrated Quality Control System's (NIQCS) monthly sample of 
cases. The five subsections of text that explain selected 
aspects of AFDC recipients as revealed in national data are 
followed by the five tables (7-19 through 7-23), that contain 
the detailed data summarized by the text.
Characteristics of AFDC families, selected years
    The nature and size of AFDC families changed sharply over 
the years. Table 7-19 shows that the average AFDC family shrank 
from 4 to 3 persons from 1969 to 1979, and declined even 
further, to 2.8 persons in 1994-95. In 1969, one-half the AFDC 
families had more than two children; in 1995, only one-fourth. 
In 1969, 27 percent of the children had unwed parents, 94 
percent had two living parents, but only 16 percent lived with 
both parents. By 1995, the share of children with unwed parents 
had more than doubled, to 57 percent (no marriage tie replaced 
divorce or separation as the primary cause of a parent's 
absence), and although 98 percent of the children had two 
living parents, only 12 percent lived with both parents. The 
share of AFDC mothers with a high school degree increased from 
20 percent of those whose educational status was known to 45 
percent over the 27-year period; the share with some college 
increased from 3 percent of those whose educational status was 
known to 15 percent. The table shows a continued increase in 
the share of AFDC households that include a nonrecipient (48 
percent in fiscal year 1995 compared with 33 percent in 1969).

                   TABLE 7-16.--FEDERAL MEDICAID MATCHING RATES, SELECTED FISCAL YEARS 1984-98                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Fiscal year                                 
              State              -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1984-85    1988      1990      1992      1994      1996      1997      1998  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................     72.14     73.29     73.21     72.93     71.22     69.85     69.54     69.32
Alaska..........................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Arizona.........................     61.21     62.12     60.99     62.61     65.90     66.85     65.53     65.33
Arkansas........................     73.65     74.21     74.58     75.66     74.46     73.61     73.29     72.84
California......................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.23     51.23
Colorado........................     50.00     50.00     52.11     54.79     54.30     52.44     52.32     51.97
Connecticut.....................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Delaware........................     50.00     51.90     50.00     50.12     50.00     50.33     50.00     50.00
District of Columbia............     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Florida.........................     58.41     55.39     54.70     54.69     54.78     55.76     55.79     55.65
Georgia.........................     67.43     63.84     62.09     61.78     62.47     61.90     61.52     60.84
Guam \1\........................     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     50.00
Hawaii..........................     50.00     53.71     54.50     52.57     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Idaho...........................     67.28     70.47     73.32     73.24     70.92     68.78     67.97     69.59
Illinois........................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Indiana.........................     59.93     63.71     63.76     63.85     63.49     62.57     61.58     61.41
Iowa............................     55.24     62.75     62.52     65.04     63.33     64.22     62.94     63.75
Kansas..........................     50.67     55.20     56.07     59.23     59.52     59.04     58.87     59.71
Kentucky........................     70.72     72.27     72.95     72.82     70.91     70.30     70.09     70.37
Louisiana.......................     64.65     68.26     73.12     75.44     73.49     71.89     71.36     70.03
Maine...........................     70.63     67.08     65.20     62.40     61.96     63.32     63.72     66.04
Maryland........................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Massachusetts...................     50.13     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
Michigan........................     50.70     56.48     54.54     55.41     56.37     56.77     55.20     53.58
Minnesota.......................     52.67     53.98     52.74     54.43     54.65     53.84     53.60     52.14
Mississippi.....................     77.63     79.65     80.18     79.99     78.85     78.07     77.22     77.09
Missouri........................     61.40     59.27     59.18     60.84     60.64     60.06     60.04     60.68
Montana.........................     64.41     69.40     71.35     71.70     71.05     69.38     69.01     70.56
Nebraska........................     57.13     59.73     61.12     64.50     61.98     59.49     59.13     61.17
Nevada..........................     50.00     50.25     50.00     50.00     50.31     50.00     50.00     50.00
New Hampshire...................     59.45     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
New Jersey......................     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
New Mexico......................     69.39     71.52     72.25     74.33     74.17     72.87     72.66     72.61
New York........................     50.88     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00     50.00
North Carolina..................     69.54     68.68     67.46     66.52     65.14     64.59     63.89     63.09
North Dakota....................     61.32     64.87     67.52     72.75     71.13     69.06     67.73     70.43
Ohio............................     55.44     59.10     59.57     60.63     60.83     60.17     59.28     58.14
Oklahoma........................     58.47     63.33     68.29     70.74     70.39     69.89     70.01     70.51
Oregon..........................     57.12     62.11     62.95     63.55     62.12     61.01     60.52     61.46
Pennsylvania....................     56.04     57.35     56.86     56.84     54.61     52.93     52.85     53.39
Puerto Rico \1\.................     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00
Rhode Island....................     58.17     54.85     55.15     53.29     53.87     53.84     53.90     53.17
South Carolina..................     73.51     73.49     73.07     72.66     71.08     70.77     70.43     70.23
South Dakota....................     68.31     70.43     70.90     72.59     69.50     66.66     64.89     67.75
Tennessee.......................     70.66     70.64     69.64     68.41     67.15     65.64     64.58     63.36
Texas...........................     54.37     56.91     61.23     64.18     64.18     62.30     62.56     62.28
Utah............................     70.84     73.73     74.70     75.11     74.35     73.21     72.33     72.58
Vermont.........................     69.37     66.23     62.77     61.37     59.55     60.87     61.05     62.18
Virgin Islands \1\..............     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00     75.00
Virginia........................     56.53     51.34     50.00     50.00     50.00     51.37     51.45     51.49
Washington......................     50.00     53.21     53.88     54.98     54.24     50.19     50.52     52.15
West Virginia...................     70.57     74.84     76.61     77.68     75.72     73.26     72.60     73.67
Wisconsin.......................     56.87     58.98     59.28     60.38     60.47     59.67     59.00     58.84
Wyoming.........................     50.00     57.96     65.95     69.10     65.63     59.69     59.88    63.02 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Federal funds limited.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                
 Source: Federal Register.                                                                                      


TABLE 7-17.--FINANCING OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE OF AFDC BENEFIT PAYMENTS FOR
             STATES USING STATE AND LOCAL FUNDS, AUGUST 1996            
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Percent       Percent  
                    State                      State funds   local funds
------------------------------------------------------------------------
California \1\..............................         95.00           5.0
Colorado....................................         57.30          42.7
Indiana.....................................         60.00          40.0
Minnesota \2\...............................         85.00          15.0
Montana \3\.................................         66.60          33.3
New Jersey..................................         75.00          25.0
New York \4\................................         50.00          50.0
North Carolina \5\..........................         50.00          50.0
North Dakota \5\............................         75.00          25.0
Ohio \6\....................................         36.07           4.0
Wisconsin \7\...............................        100.00  ............
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Counties pay up to 100 percent of some types of emergency assistance
  costs.                                                                
\2\ Counties finance 90 percent of the non-Federal costs of the         
  Emergency Assistance Program.                                         
\3\ For all cases in State-administered counties and Indian cases in    
  State-supervised counties, State funds only.                          
\4\ For persons with State residence. For persons without State         
  residence, for persons eligible for public assistance and care under  
  AFDC and who are released from a State mental hygiene facility after a
  stay of 5 or more years, and for Indians living on reservations, State
  pays 100 percent of assistance.                                       
\5\ State pays 100 percent for Indians living on reservations.          
\6\ Percentage of total costs before deduction of Federal share.        
\7\ State pays State costs and up to 100 percent of local costs.        
  Localities pay foster care and institutional costs in excess of State 
  appropriations.                                                       
                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of   
  Health and Human Services.                                            

     The share of families reporting some earnings was 10 
percent in 1995, the highest since the 1981 law repealed a 
financial incentive for work, but well below the January 1973 
rate of 16 percent. Nine percent of the mothers reported having 
a job (5 percent said they had part-time jobs); compared with 
14 percent in 1979. Of AFDC families, 77 percent said they had 
no income other than AFDC. Some studies suggest that the actual 
percentage of AFDC mothers with other income is higher than 
table 7-19 shows. The Institute for Women's Policy Research 
(IWPR) studied data for mothers from four panels of the Survey 
of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), those for 1984, 
1986, 1987, and 1988. The data set comprised women who were 
single mothers for at least 12 out of 24 survey months and who 
received AFDC benefits for at least 2 of the 24 months. On 
average, women in the sample received AFDC for 18 months. The 
study found that 43 percent of the mothers worked at least 300 
hours during the 2 years: 20 percent combined work with welfare 
part of the time; the remaining 23 percent ``cycled'' between 
work and welfare. In all, 57 percent did not work: 26 percent 
were totally dependent on means-tested benefits and 31 percent 
``packaged'' AFDC with income from other family members 
(Spalter-Roth et al., 1995). Other research has found that many 
welfare mothers make ends meet by supplementing AFDC with 
unreported earnings and contributions. In a study of single 
AFDC mothers in four sites (Chicago, Boston, San Antonio, and 
Charleston), Edin (1995) found that 46 percent engaged in 
covert work to meet their expenses. Further, 86 percent 
received covert contributions from family or friends, 
boyfriends, absent fathers, or from other sources. The mothers 
obtained covert earnings by working for cash or under a false 
identity in the informal economy (39 percent of the sample) or 
by selling sex, drugs, or stolen goods (8 percent).

      TABLE 7-18.--FINANCING OF NON-FEDERAL SHARE OF COSTS OF AFDC      
   ADMINISTRATION FOR STATES USING STATE AND LOCAL FUNDS, AUGUST 1996   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
           State             Percent State funds    Percent local funds 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................  100 percent..........  Small unspecified    
                                                    portions for goods  
                                                    and facilities.     
Arkansas..................  100 percent in 50      25 counties          
                             counties; lesser       participate in      
                             proportion in 25       maintenance costs.  
                             counties.                                  
California \1\............  100 percent of State   30 percent of local  
                             costs; 70 percent of   costs.              
                             local costs.                               
Colorado..................  60 percent...........  40 percent.          
Indiana...................  100 percent of State   50 percent or more of
                             costs, plus up to 50   specified local     
                             percent of specified   costs.              
                             local costs.                               
Iowa......................  100 percent of State   100 percent of local 
                             and district costs.    costs.              
Maryland..................  100 percent of State   100 percent of local 
                             budgeted positions.    and nonbudgeted     
                                                    positions.          
Minnesota.................  Varies with State      100 percent.         
                             appropriations.                            
Mississippi...............  Varies according to    Varies according to  
                             county population.     county population.  
Missouri..................  100 percent..........  Varies on basis of   
                                                    voluntary           
                                                    contributions.      
Montana \2\...............  66.66 percent........  33.33 percent.       
Nebraska..................  Varies...............  Local funds used for 
                                                    some travel, rent,  
                                                    and equipment.      
New Jersey................  100 percent of State   100 percent of local 
                             costs.                 costs.              
New York..................  50 percent (or 100     50 percent.          
                             percent for Indians                        
                             living on                                  
                             reservations).                             
North Carolina............  100 percent of State   Portion of local     
                             costs and varying      costs not covered by
                             proportion of local    State appropriation.
                             costs, based on                            
                             prior actual                               
                             expenditures.                              
North Dakota..............  100 percent of State   100 percent of local 
                             costs.                 costs if able.      
Ohio......................  45.5 percent \3\.....  4.5 percent.         
South Dakota..............  100 percent of State   100 percent of local 
                             costs.                 costs.              
Virginia..................  60 percent...........  40 percent.          
Wisconsin.................  100 percent of State   Any costs in excess  
                             costs and up to 100    of State            
                             percent of local       appropriation.      
                             costs.                                     
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Counties pay 100 percent of non-Federal share of costs for emergency
  assistance cases involving removal of a child from the home.          
\2\ State pays all administrative costs in State-administered counties. 
\3\ Percentage of total cost before deduction of Federal share (50.0    
  percent).                                                             
                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of   
  Health and Human Services.                                            


                                                TABLE 7-19.--AFDC CHARACTERISTICS, SELECTED YEARS 1969-95                                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                   May    January    May    March                                                                       
                 Characteristic                    1969     1973    1975     1979   1983 \1\  1986 \1\  1988 \1\  1990 \1\  1992 \1\  1994 \1\  1995 \1\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average family size (persons)..................      4.0      3.6     3.2      3.0       3.0       3.0       3.0       2.9       2.9       2.8       2.8
Number of child recipients (percent of AFDC                                                                                                             
 cases):                                                                                                                                                
    One........................................     26.6       NA    37.9     42.3      43.4      42.7      42.5      42.2      42.5      42.6      42.4
    Two........................................     23.0       NA    26.0     28.1      29.8      30.8      30.2      30.3      30.2      30.0      30.4
    Three......................................     17.7       NA    16.1     15.6      15.2      15.9      15.8      15.8      15.5      15.6      15.5
    Four or more...............................     32.5       NA    20.0     13.9      10.1       9.8       9.9       9.9      10.1       9.6       9.6
    Unknown....................................  .......       NA  ......  .......       1.5       0.8       1.7       1.4       0.7       2.1       2.2
Basis for eligibility (percent of children):                                                                                                            
    Parents present:                                                                                                                                    
      Incapacitated............................  \2\ 11.                                                                                                
                                                       7     10.2     7.7      5.3       3.4       3.2       3.7       3.6       4.1       3.9       4.3
      Unemployed...............................  \2\ 4.6      4.1     3.7      4.1       8.7       7.4       6.5       6.4       8.2       8.7       7.8
    Parents absent:                                                                                                                                     
      Death....................................  \2\ 5.5      5.0     3.7      2.2       1.8       1.9       1.8       1.6       1.6       1.7       1.8
      Divorce or separation....................  \2\ 43.                                                                                                
                                                       3     46.5    48.3     44.7      38.5      36.3      34.6      32.9      30.0      26.5      25.4
      No marriage tie..........................  \2\ 27.                                                                                                
                                                       9     31.5    31.0     37.8      44.3      48.9      51.9      54.0      53.1      55.7      57.4
      Other reason.............................  \2\ 3.5      3.6     4.0      5.9       1.4       2.4       1.6       1.9       2.0       2.0       2.1
      Unknown..................................  .......  .......  ......  .......       1.7  ........  ........  ........       0.9       1.4       1.2
Education of mother (percent of mothers): \3\                                                                                                           
    8th grade or less..........................     29.4       NA    16.7      9.5        NA       4.8       5.5       5.8       4.9       4.0       5.7
    1-3 years of high school...................     30.7       NA    31.7     20.8        NA      14.3      14.7      16.5      18.8      17.6      16.5
    High school degree.........................     16.0       NA    23.7     18.8        NA      17.3      17.5      19.3      22.4      24.1      25.9
    Some college...............................      2.0       NA     3.9      2.7        NA       3.4       3.9       5.7       6.8       7.7       8.3
    College graduate...........................      0.2       NA     0.7      0.4        NA       0.5       0.6       0.4       0.5       0.5       0.6
    Unknown....................................     21.6       NA    23.3     47.8        NA      59.7      58.3      52.3      46.6      46.0      43.0
Age of mother (percent of mothers): \3\                                                                                                                 
    Under 20...................................      6.6       NA     8.3  \4\ 4.1   \4\ 3.6   \4\ 3.3   \4\ 3.4       7.9       7.6       6.3       6.1
    20-24......................................     16.7       NA   (\5\)  \6\ 28.                                                                      
                                                                                 0  \6\ 28.6  \7\ 33.6  \7\ 32.2  \6\ 23.8      24.5      24.6      24.6
    25-29......................................     17.6       NA   (\5\)     21.4      23.8  \8\ 20.0  \8\ 19.4      24.6      23.3      22.6      22.2
    30-39......................................     30.4       NA    27.9     27.2      27.9      30.1      31.5      32.0      32.7      34.9      34.9
    40 or over.................................     25.0       NA    17.6     15.4      15.7      13.0      13.4      11.7      11.8      11.5      12.2
    Unknown....................................      3.6       NA     3.0      4.0       0.3  ........  ........  ........       0.1  ........  ........
Ages of children (percent of recipient                                                                                                                  
 children):                                                                                                                                             
    Under 3....................................     14.9       NA    16.5     18.9      22.5      21.9      21.1      24.2      24.6      23.8      22.3
    3-5........................................     17.6       NA    18.1     17.5      20.1      21.1      21.0      21.5      21.7      22.1      22.6
    6-11.......................................     36.5       NA    33.7     33.0      31.5      32.4      33.3      27.5      32.4      31.7      32.7
    12 and over................................     31.0       NA    30.9     29.8      25.5      24.3      22.4      21.3      21.2      22.2      22.0
    Unknown....................................  .......       NA     0.8      0.9       0.3       0.1       1.3       0.0       0.0       0.3       0.3
Mother's employment status (percent): \3\                                                                                                               
    Full-time job..............................      8.2      9.8    10.4      8.7       1.5       1.6       2.2       2.5       2.2       3.3       3.8
    Part-time job..............................      6.3      6.3     5.7      5.4       3.4       4.2       4.2       4.2       4.2       4.6       5.2
Presence of income (percent of families):                                                                                                               
    With earnings..............................       NA     16.3    14.6     12.8       5.7       7.5       8.4       8.2       7.4       8.9       9.7
    No non-AFDC income.........................     56.0     66.9    71.1  \9\ 80.                                                                      
                                                                                 6  \9\ 86.8  \9\ 81.3  \9\ 79.6  \9\ 80.1  \9\ 78.9  \9\ 77.5  \9\ 77.0
Median months on AFDC since most recent opening     23.0     27.0    31.0     29.0      26.0      27.0      26.3      23.0      22.5      22.8      23.5
Race (percent of parents): \10\                                                                                                                         
    White......................................       NA     38.0    39.9     40.4      41.8      39.7      38.8      38.1      38.9      37.4      35.6
    Black......................................     45.2     45.8    44.3     43.1      43.8      40.7      39.8      39.7      37.2      36.4      37.2
    Hispanic...................................       NA     13.4    12.2     13.6      12.0      14.4      15.7      16.6      17.8      19.9      20.7
    Native American............................      1.3      1.1     1.1      1.4       1.0       1.3       1.4       1.3       1.4       1.3       1.3
    Asian......................................       NA       NA     0.5      1.0       1.5       2.3       2.4       2.8       2.8       2.9       3.0
    Other and unknown..........................      4.8      1.7     2.0      0.4        NA       1.4       1.9       1.5       2.0       2.1       2.2
Incidence of households (percent):                                                                                                                      
    Living in public housing...................     12.8     13.6    14.6       NA      10.0       9.6       9.6       9.6       9.2       8.3       8.0
    Participating in food stamp or donated food                                                                                                         
     program...................................     52.9     68.4    75.1     75.1      83.0      80.7      84.6      85.6      87.3      88.6      89.0
    Including nonrecipient members.............     33.1     34.9    34.8       NA      36.9      36.7      36.8      37.7      38.9      46.4      48.3
Father's relationship to youngest child                                                                                                                 
 (percent):                                                                                                                                             
    No father..................................       NA       NA      NA     84.7      89.8      91.2      91.6      92.0      89.4      89.4      90.2
    Natural father.............................       NA       NA      NA      9.6        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA
    Adoptive father............................       NA       NA      NA      0.0        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA
    Stepfather.................................       NA       NA      NA      5.6        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data are for the Federal fiscal year October-September. All percentages are based on the average monthly caseload during the year. Hawaii and the   
  territories are not included in 1983. Data for 1986 include Hawaii, but not the territories. Data after 1986 include the territories and Hawaii.      
\2\ Calculated on the basis of total number of families.                                                                                                
\3\ For years after 1983, data are for adult female recipients.                                                                                         
\4\ Under age 19.                                                                                                                                       
\5\ The percentage for 20-29 year olds was 43.1.                                                                                                        
\6\ The ages were 19-24 in 1979, 1983 and 1990.                                                                                                         
\7\ In 1986 and 1988 this age group was 19-25.                                                                                                          
\8\ In 1986 and 1988 this age group was 26-29.                                                                                                          
\9\ State collected child support directly beginning in 1975, removing one source of non-AFDC income.                                                   
\10\ For 1983, 12.6 percentage points where race was unknown were allocated proportionately across all categories.                                      
                                                                                                                                                        
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                        
 Note.--In 1995, 1.8 percent of AFDC cases had zero children (they were expectant mothers).                                                             
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        


                         TABLE 7-20.--EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF AFDC MOTHERS AND TENURE OF AFDC FAMILIES, \1\ SELECTED YEARS 1979-95                         
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Percent of total caseload                                      
                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Employment status                  March 1979                                                                                           
                                                      \2\       May 1982  1983 \3\  1986 \3\  1988 \3\  1990 \3\  1991 \3\  1992 \3\  1994 \3\  1995 \3\
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment status of mother (or other                                                                                                                   
 caretaker): \4\                                                                                                                                        
    No mother (caretaker).......................          8.3       12.2      8.7   ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........
    Full-time work, 30 or more hours per week...      \5\ 8.0    \5\ 1.3      1.5       1.6       2.1        2.5       2.2       2.2      3.2       3.7 
    Part-time work, fewer than 30 hours per week      \5\ 5.0    \5\ 4.3      3.4       4.2       4.2        4.2       4.2       4.2      4.5       5.1 
    Incapacitated...............................          6.0         NA      4.1       3.4       3.8   ........  ........  ........      4.1       4.7 
    At school or training.......................          2.6         NA      2.0       1.9       2.2       11.5      12.5      16.1     13.8      13.9 
    On layoff...................................          0.5         NA      0.8       0.2       0.2        0.2       0.1       0.2      0.2       0.2 
    Seeking work................................          9.1         NA       NA      27.3      27.6   \6\ 10.5  \6\ 11.2  \6\ 11.8      1.7       1.7 
    Other--needed at home or not actively                                                                                                               
     seeking work...............................         60.5       82.2     64.8      58.3      55.5   \7\ 68.6  \7\ 68.8  \7\ 65.1     71.7      70.2 
    Unknown.....................................  ...........  .........  ........  ........  ........       2.6       0.8       0.6      0.7       0.4 
Number of months on AFDC since most recent                                                                                                              
 opening:                                                                                                                                               
    Zero months.................................  ...........  .........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........  ........      2.8       2.6 
    1-6 months..................................         16.4       20.0     18.9      17.2      18.2       19.8      20.4      19.0     19.5      18.6 
    7-12 months.................................         12.5       12.4     13.1      12.6      13.2       14.4      14.8      15.2     13.8      12.9 
    13-24 months................................         16.7       16.2     16.6      17.2      17.3       18.4      19.2      19.3     18.0      17.2 
    25-36 months................................         11.4       12.6     12.0      11.8      11.2       11.9      12.2      12.8     11.8      12.4 
    37-60 months................................         15.3       14.2     15.4      14.9      15.0       13.7      12.8      14.1     15.4      15.9 
    61+ months..................................         26.9       23.5     23.7      25.9      24.9       21.7      20.5      19.6     18.6      20.3 
    Unknown.....................................          0.8        1.1      0.3       0.4       0.2      (\8\)       0.1       0.1      0.1       0.1 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See text about difference in data sources for 1979 and 1983 and later years. Note.--1982 data are from interim study.                               
\2\ Source: Committee staff tabulation of March 1979 AFDC recipients' data base.                                                                        
\3\ Fiscal year average monthly: 1983 data does not include Hawaii or the territories; 1986 data does not include the territories; 1988-95 data includes
  the territories and Hawaii.                                                                                                                           
\4\ Since 1986, the data are percent of female adult recipients.                                                                                        
\5\ Full-time work, 35 hours or more per week; part-time work, fewer than 35 hours per week.                                                            
\6\ For 1990-92, unemployed, not on layoff or strike.                                                                                                   
\7\ For 1990-92, not employed, not participating in any educational or training activities.                                                             
\8\ Less than 0.05 percent.                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                        
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Based on National Integrated Quality Control System's monthly sample of cases surveyed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.    


                                          TABLE 7-21.--PERCENTAGE OF AFDC FAMILIES WITH VARIOUS SOURCES OF NON-AFDC INCOME, \1\ SELECTED YEARS 1979-95                                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          Percentage of caseload with income type                       Average monthly amount for those with income type       
                                                            ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Income source                                                             Fiscal year                                                       Fiscal year                  
                                                               March    May  --------------------------------------------------  March    May  -------------------------------------------------
                                                             1979 \2\   1982  1986 \3\  1990 \3\  1992 \3\  1994 \3\  1995 \3\   1979    1982   1986 \3\  1990 \3\  1992 \3\  1994 \3\  1995 \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Earned income:                                                                                                                                                                                  
  Mother (or caretaker relative)...........................     12.0     5.3      6.2       6.9       6.1       7.0       7.9     $382    $261     $264      $318      $330      $379      $412 
  Father (or spouse of caretaker relative).................      0.6     0.4      1.0       1.1       1.1       1.6       1.6      323     244      271       332       325       434       473 
  Children (14 or older)...................................      0.1   (\4\)      0.3       0.3       0.2       0.4       0.3      206     398      323       301       358       300       438 
  Other adults.............................................      0.1      NA      0.2       0.1       0.1       0.1       0.1      265      NA      420       285       252       392       300 
  Public service...........................................      0.1      NA       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA      246      NA       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA 
OASDI......................................................      3.1     2.5      2.0       2.4       2.1       2.3       2.6      134     145      207       235       226       248       235 
Veterans' benefits.........................................      0.4      NA      0.2       0.2       0.1       0.1       0.1      128      NA      139       135       182       352       332 
Other government income....................................      0.4     0.4      0.3       0.3       0.7       0.9       0.8      143     134      131       105        96       129       295 
Unemployment compensation..................................      0.7     1.0      0.7       0.6       0.9       1.0       0.6      238     255      289       310       354       349       387 
Workers' compensation......................................      0.1   (\4\)      0.1       0.1       0.1       1.0       0.6      237     200      299       396       348       360       389 
Deemed income..............................................      0.2     0.3      0.1       0.1       0.2       1.0       0.6       63     159      153       132       186       349       387 
Contributions from other persons...........................      0.6     0.9       NA       1.5       1.6       1.0       0.6       72      79       NA       105       109       349       387 
Other cash income:.........................................      1.9     2.5  \5\ 2.0   \5\ 2.0   \5\ 4.2       9.6       9.7       81     251      128       105       162       410       417 
  SSI (Federal)............................................       NA      NA      3.0       1.1       1.3       1.3       1.3       NA      NA      334       442       436       742       707 
  Other public assistance or State SSI.....................       NA      NA      1.1       0.6       0.3       8.5       8.5       NA      NA      374       299       315       352       368 
In-kind income.............................................      0.4      NA       NA   \6\ 0.0        NA        NA        NA       71      NA       NA   \6\ 125        NA        NA        NA 
                                                            ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total...........................................     19.4      NA     18.7      19.9      21.1      22.5      22.7      299      NA      228       239       246       282       304 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See text about differences in data sources for 1979, 1983, and later years. Data for 1982 are from interim study.    \2\ Source: Committee staff tabulation of March 1979 AFDC recipients'  
  data base.    \3\ Fiscal year average monthly. Data for 1986 does not include the territories. The 1988-95 data include both Hawaii and the territories.    \4\ Less than 0.05 percent.    \5\
  Includes Federal SSI, State SSI, general assistance, income from assets and property and other unearned income.    \6\ EIC.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Source: Based on National Integrated Quality Control System's monthly sample of cases surveyed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                            


                                                          TABLE 7-22.--DISREGARDED INCOME FOR AFDC FAMILIES, \1\ SELECTED YEARS 1979-95                                                         
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Percent of caseload with disregard                                       Average amount for those with disregard                
                                          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                Disregards                                                          Fiscal year                                                               Fiscal year                       
                                             March    May  ------------------------------------------------------------ March   May  -----------------------------------------------------------
                                           1979 \2\   1982  1986 \3\  1989 \3\  1990 \3\  1992 \3\  1994 \3\  1995 \3\   1979   1982  1986 \3\  1989 \3\  1990 \3\  1992 \3\  1994 \3\  1995 \3\
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optional $5 disregard....................      1.1   (\4\)    (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)      $6  (\4\)    (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\)     (\4\) 
$30 and one-third of earned income \5\...     12.5     2.5      3.8       4.0       4.0       3.8       5.7       6.7     147    $62      $76       $83       $92       $89      $130      $172 
Child care...............................      3.9     1.3      1.5       1.7       1.2       1.4       1.5       1.6     101     86      106       119       128       153       154       137 
Other work expenses......................      8.4     5.2      6.2       6.9       6.7       6.3       7.1       7.8      95     54       76        77        89        92        98       102 
Cases with child care and other work                                                                                                                                                            
 expenses \6\............................      3.0      NA       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA     100     NA       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA 
Child support............................      0.1   (\7\)      3.0       5.1       4.9       4.7       5.1       4.8      93     NA   \8\ 47    \8\ 48    \8\ 48    \8\ 48    \8\ 48        48 
Other....................................      1.6     0.4       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA      77    100       NA        NA        NA        NA        NA        NA 
                                          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total...........................     13.8      NA      6.3       7.0       6.8       6.4       7.7       8.5     250     NA      146       153       171       177       211      224  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See text about differences in data sources for March 1979, 1983 and later years. Note.--1982 data are from interim study.                                                                   
\2\ Source: Committee staff tabulation of March 1979 AFDC recipients' data base.                                                                                                                
\3\ Average monthly for fiscal years.                                                                                                                                                           
\4\ Repealed by 1981 law.                                                                                                                                                                       
\5\ Limited to 4 months' duration by 1981 law; 1984 law extended $30 disregard to 12 months.                                                                                                    
\6\ In these cases, there was insufficient information in the data file to distinguish between child care and other work expenses.                                                              
\7\ Less than 0.05 percent.                                                                                                                                                                     
\8\ Average amount of $50 child support passthrough.                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 NA--Not available.                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Note.--The child support passthrough is not included in the total amount disregarded. It is part of unearned income rather than earned income.                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Source: Based on National Integrated Quality Control System's monthly sample of cases surveyed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                            


                             TABLE 7-23.--1995 AFDC CHARACTERISTICS BY UNIT TYPE \1\                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                  One adult                      Two adults     
                                                 ---------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                          Not                                   
         Characteristic            Total    No               Divorced   legally                                 
                                           adult     Not        or     separated    Other   Unemployed    Other 
                                                   married   legally       or      reasons    parent            
                                                            separated   divorced                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of units (in thousands)..   4,873     923     2,196        578        485       336         249       106
Percent of total................   100.0    18.9      45.1       11.9       10.0       6.9         5.1       2.2
Average monthly payment.........    $371    $272      $373       $383       $401      $367        $583      $490
Percent of total dollars paid                                                                                   
 out............................   100.0    13.9      45.3       12.3       10.8       6.8         8.0       2.9
Average number in assistance                                                                                    
 unit...........................     3.0     2.0       3.0        3.0        3.0       3.0         5.0       4.0
Food stamps:                                                                                                    
    Percent participating.......    89.3    72.3      93.2       93.7       93.4      90.2        96.7      90.9
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Percentage Distribution                           
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of recipients:                                                                                           
    One.........................    11.8    52.0     (\2\)        0.0        0.0      28.0         0.0       0.0
    Two.........................    36.5    29.3      49.1       32.4       29.4      27.3       (\2\)       6.1
    Three.......................    26.6    11.7      29.7       36.6       33.3      22.0        23.7      27.3
    Four........................    14.9     4.4      13.7       20.9       23.6      12.3        33.3      24.7
    Five........................     6.3     1.6       5.1        7.2        9.8       5.8        20.4      21.0
    Six.........................     2.4     0.6       1.6        1.8        2.8       2.5        11.4      13.3
    Seven or more...............     1.6     0.5       0.8        1.1        1.6       2.1        11.1       7.6
Number of nonrecipients:                                                                                        
    Zero........................    51.2     2.1      63.6       65.9       67.6      26.9        80.6      77.2
    One.........................    23.9    42.5      18.2       18.8       16.5      43.0        10.7      11.7
    Two.........................    12.0    24.8       9.0        8.7        9.1      15.5         3.2       6.2
    Three.......................     6.0    13.6       4.3        3.8        3.2       7.7         2.5       2.8
     Four or more...............     6.9    17.1       5.1        2.7        3.6       6.9         3.0       2.1
Shelter:                                                                                                        
    Owns or buying..............     4.0     5.4       1.8        5.7        3.9       6.3         7.7      12.2
    Homeless/emergency shelter..     0.3     0.1       0.4        0.3        0.3       0.6         0.1     (\2\)
    Public housing..............     8.0     6.2       9.9        6.4        7.3       6.9         4.2      11.6
    HUD rent subsidy............    12.1     7.6      14.0       15.6       11.1       9.4         9.7      12.9
    Other subsidy...............     2.4     1.5       2.6        2.6        2.7       2.7         2.0       3.4
    Private housing.............    64.2    66.1      62.4       61.8       66.4      67.1        74.0      56.4
    Rents free..................     6.9    11.0       6.8        5.4        6.4       5.3         2.0       2.7
    Group quarters \3\..........     1.6     1.6       1.9        1.9        1.5       1.1         0.2       0.3
Number of child recipients:                                                                                     
    Zero........................     2.1     0.0     (\2\)        0.0        0.0      28.0         0.1       7.2
    One.........................    42.4    52.0      49.1       32.4       29.4      27.3        23.7      27.3
    Two.........................    30.4    29.3      29.7       36.6       33.3      22.0        33.2      24.9
    Three.......................    15.5    11.7      13.7       20.9       23.0      12.3        20.5      19.9
    Four or more................     9.6     7.0       7.5       10.0       14.2      10.4        22.5      20.7
Race of parent:                                                                                                 
    White.......................    35.6    27.1      27.4       65.2       40.8      38.3        54.8      39.0
    Black.......................    37.2    40.5      49.5       15.1       28.0      26.8         8.2      17.6
    Hispanic....................    20.7    26.2      17.7       16.1       25.7      21.9        20.6      32.9
    Asian.......................     3.0     1.8       1.7        1.5        3.0       8.9        12.4       7.3
    Native American.............     1.3     1.4       1.3        1.2        1.3       1.1         1.6       1.7
    Unknown.....................     2.2     3.0       2.4        0.9        1.2       3.0         2.4       1.6
Age of youngest child in AFDC                                                                                   
 unit:                                                                                                          
    Under 3.....................    38.9    31.0      47.4       19.4       35.9      37.7        49.3      28.4
    3-5.........................    23.1    19.9      24.9       24.7       26.1      16.9        20.8      17.9
    6-11........................    23.7    27.7      19.2       35.5       25.4      22.0        19.9      25.6
    12-15.......................    10.0    14.5       6.3       15.6        9.5      12.5         7.1      16.3
    16-18.......................     3.7     6.8       1.9        4.8        3.1       6.2         2.4       7.5
    Unknown.....................     0.6     0.1       0.3      (\2\)      (\2\)       4.7         0.5       4.3
Number of months continuously on                                                                                
 AFDC:                                                                                                          
    6 or less...................    21.2    18.5      19.1       22.1       26.1      27.0        27.6      28.7
    7-12........................    12.9    12.1      12.8       12.6       14.8      13.1        13.7      13.3
    13-18.......................     9.4     9.6       9.2        9.2       10.6       7.2        11.4      10.0
    19-24.......................     7.8     8.3       7.7        9.0        7.1       7.6         6.3       7.5
    25-36.......................    12.4    13.0      12.6       12.0       11.6      10.8        12.8      10.5
    37-48.......................     8.7     8.8       9.1        9.5        7.2       7.7         8.5       5.9
    49-60.......................     7.1     7.0       7.6        7.4        6.4       5.6         6.7       6.0
    61-120......................    14.5    16.0      15.5       13.4       12.2      14.3         8.5      14.1
    121-180.....................     0.9     1.1       0.9        1.1        0.7       0.8         0.6       1.4
    181 and up..................     1.7     1.9       2.0        1.1        1.1       1.9         0.6       1.6
    Unknown.....................     3.2     3.6       3.4        2.6        2.3       4.0         3.4       1.0
Age of female adult recipient:                                                                                  
    11-18.......................     2.3  ......       3.3        0.2        0.6       3.6         1.4       0.9
    19-21.......................    12.4  ......      16.6        2.6        5.9      12.8         8.6      11.5
    22-25.......................    20.0  ......      24.2       12.3       17.6      12.7        17.0       9.9
    26-29.......................    17.2  ......      18.1       16.6       19.2      11.9        16.7       8.1
    30-34.......................    19.6  ......      17.7       27.9       22.7      16.2        19.1      13.5
    35-39.......................    14.9  ......      11.1       22.7       17.6      17.3        19.5      23.2
    40 and up...................    13.6  ......       8.9       17.6       16.4      25.5        17.8      32.6
    Unknown.....................   (\2\)  ......     (\2\)        0.1        0.0       0.0  ..........  ........
AFDC female adult employment                                                                                    
 status:                                                                                                        
    Employed full time..........     3.7  ......       3.6        4.9        4.5       2.5         3.5       1.5
    Employed part time..........     3.9  ......       3.7        6.0        3.2       3.1         5.2       1.9
    Employed other..............     1.2  ......       1.0        2.0        1.7       1.0         0.7       1.7
    Not employed................    80.2  ......      81.1       74.2       81.2      84.1        78.0      85.1
    Unemployed..................    10.4  ......      10.3       12.6        9.2       8.6        11.9       9.0
Percent with non-AFDC income....      23     3.9      23.2       40.0       25.5      27.0        41.3      25.2
Average monthly amount of income    $311    $171      $287       $248       $317      $350        $524      $525
Percent with earned income......     9.7     0.4       9.6       14.8       11.3       9.0        29.3      12.8
Average monthly earned income...    $431    $309      $431       $346       $415      $408        $543      $510
Percent of earned income                                                                                        
 disregarded....................    28.3    39.3      31.6       26.6       30.8      15.9        28.8      14.5
Percent with unearned income....    14.9     3.5      14.9       28.9       16.1      19.1        16.0      16.4
Average amount of unearned                                                                                      
 income.........................    $199    $153      $169       $165       $208      $301        $349      $401
Percent with countable assets...    17.4     6.9      14.3       30.1       19.6      24.4        37.2      26.2
Income of persons not in                                                                                        
 assistance unit:                                                                                               
    Percent with income.........    41.1    56.0      26.3       31.3       28.8      48.3        31.9      33.0
    Average monthly amount......    $499    $482      $514       $572       $622      $511        $531      $404
    Percent with earned income..    10.7    10.3      11.3       11.3       14.5       7.8         8.5       3.0
    Percent with public                                                                                         
     assistance income..........    29.2    47.0      11.8       14.8       10.0      39.6        21.2      27.3
    Percent with other unearned                                                                                 
     income.....................     8.1    11.1       5.0        8.4        6.8       8.0         3.1      3.3 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Characteristics information was not always available for 100 percent of cases. The number of missing cases, 
  to the extent there were any with respect to a particular characteristic, was small as a percent of the AFDC  
  family caseload (usually below 3 percent).                                                                    
\2\ Less than 0.05 percent.                                                                                     
\3\ The family composition of recipients in group quarters is unknown in 5.7 percent of cases.                  
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health and Human Services.                     

 Employment status of AFDC mothers and duration of enrollment, selected 
        years
    Table 7-20 provides more detail about the reported work/
nonwork status of mothers (or other caretakers) of AFDC 
children. The share of mothers needed at home or not actively 
seeking work was 70 percent in fiscal year 1995, compared to a 
recent low of 56 percent in 1988. After passage of the Family 
Support Act in 1988, which established the JOBS education, 
work, and training program, there was a sharp increase in the 
percentage of mothers at school or training from 2 percent in 
fiscal year 1988 to 14 percent in fiscal year 1995.
     Table 7-20 also reports that 36 percent of AFDC families 
in fiscal year 1995 had been enrolled in the program for more 
than 3 years, and 20 percent for more than 5 years, since the 
most recent opening of their case.
 Families with non-AFDC income, selected years
    In fiscal year 1995, 22.7 percent of AFDC families reported 
receiving non-AFDC income averaging $304 monthly from various 
sources (table 7-21). In 1979, 19.4 percent of AFDC families 
reported receiving specified forms of non-AFDC income averaging 
$299 per month ($649 in fiscal year 1995 dollars). The share of 
families reporting other public assistance or State-funded SSI 
benefits climbed from 1.1 percent in 1986 to 8.5 percent in 
fiscal years 1994-95. For those families with the following 
kinds of income, reported monthly amounts in fiscal year 1995 
averaged $438 in children's earnings, $412 in earnings of 
mothers or other caretaker relatives, and $707 in Federal SSI 
payments.
 Disregarded income for AFDC families, selected years
     Table 7-22 shows disregarded income of AFDC families by 
type. Among families that received the following kinds of 
income disregards, their fiscal year 1995 monthly value 
averaged: for child care expenses, $137; for other work 
expenses, $102; and for work incentive (disregard of $30 and 
one-third, time-limited), $172. In addition, an average of $48 
monthly was disregarded in child support collections 
distributed to the family. It should be noted that after 1979, 
less than 10 percent of AFDC families had disregard income from 
any of these sources in any year.
 Characteristics of various kinds of AFDC units
    Table 7-23 divides the 1995 AFDC caseload into seven 
mutually exclusive groups. Column 1 contains data on the entire 
caseload. Column 2 describes AFDC units with no adult 
recipient. They represented 18.9 percent of the AFDC units and 
13.9 percent of total payments. The average payment per case 
was $272 per month. These children-only cases comprise needy 
children with nonneedy or otherwise ineligible adult caretakers 
(usually relatives).
    Columns 3-6 present characteristics of more typical AFDC 
units--one adult with children. The one-adult caseload is split 
into four groups based on the reason for deprivation of the 
youngest child. Column 3 shows the most numerous group, unwed 
parents (usually mothers) with children. They account for 45 
percent of all AFDC units and expenditures. Column 4 shows 
cases of a divorced or legally separated parent, 12 percent of 
the total.
     Columns 7 and 8 present characteristics of cases with two 
adult recipients. Column 7 provides data about the unemployed 
parent (AFDC-UP) caseload; column 8 contains other two-parent 
cases, most of which have an incapacitated parent. In fiscal 
year 1995, AFDC-UP cases represented 5 percent of the total 
caseload and received 8 percent of total payments. The cases in 
which one parent is incapacitated tend to be older, as 
demonstrated by both the age of the mother and the age of the 
youngest child. The table indicates that the racial composition 
of the AFDC-UP caseload differs from that of the overall AFDC 
caseload. White parents represented 36 percent of all AFDC 
families in fiscal year 1995, but 55 percent of AFDC-UP 
families; black parents represented 37 percent of all families, 
but 8 percent of AFDC-UP families and 50 percent of unwed AFDC 
families. Hispanic families accounted for 21 percent of all 
families and AFDC-UP families and for 18 percent of unwed AFDC 
families. Of the overall caseload, 3 percent of parents were 
Asian and 1.3 percent were Native American.

             State Data: Characteristics of AFDC Recipients

    The four subsections of text below contain discussions of 
selected aspects of AFDC recipients as revealed in State-by-
State data. The four subsections are followed by the four 
tables (7-24 through 7-27) that contain the detailed data 
summarized by the text.
 Demographic characteristics of AFDC families, by State, fiscal year 
        1995
    Table 7-24 presents selected demographic characteristics, 
by State. For some characteristics, there is marked variation 
among the States. For example, the percentage of cases living 
in households with nonrecipients ranged from 15 percent in 
Hawaii to above 65 percent in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, and Virginia. The percentage of Native American 
cases, 1 percent for the United States as whole, exceeded 50 
percent in South Dakota and was 40 percent in North Dakota. The 
percentage of families with a Hispanic parent, 21 percent for 
the Nation, was 40 percent or more in Arizona, California, New 
Mexico, Texas, and (with 99.9 percent) Puerto Rico.
 Income characteristics of AFDC families, by State, fiscal year 1995
     Table 7-25 presents selected income characteristics, 
including the percent of units with earned income, unearned 
income, the disregard of child care costs, and the $30 and one-
third earnings disregard (time-limited). This table also 
provides the average monthly amount of these sources of income 
as well as information on the percent of units participating in 
the Food Stamp Program. Nationally, 9.5 percent of all AFDC 
families reported earned income, but the percentage exceeded 20 
percent in Iowa and Michigan. Nationally, monthly earnings 
averaged $431 for families reporting earnings; average earnings 
exceeded $500 in California, Connecticut, the District of 
Columbia, Guam, and Illinois.

                               TABLE 7-24.--SELECTED DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AFDC UNITS BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1995                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                            Percent of units              Percentage       Percentage distribution by race of natural or
                                                   ---------------------------------  distribution by age             adoptive  parent \1\ \2\          
                                          Average                                      of youngest child  ----------------------------------------------
                                Average  number in     With                                   \1\                                                       
             State               number  household  household   With no    With one ----------------------                                              
                                in unit   of unit    members     adult      adult                    6 or   White    Black   Hispanic   Asian    Native 
                                                      not in   recipient  recipient    0-2    3-5    more                                       American
                                                       unit                           yrs.    yrs.   yrs.                                               
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................      2.5       3.8        63.4      35.8       63.5     40.8   21.6   36.4     23.8     75.6       0.1      0.4       0.0
Alaska........................      3.1       3.5        28.3       6.5       78.8     33.8   25.2   39.9     47.7      9.3       3.6      3.9      35.2
Arizona.......................      2.8       4.4        67.5      27.0       69.7     40.3   25.8   31.7     35.1      8.1      40.8      0.7      14.8
Arkansas......................      2.7       4.2        66.0      27.8       70.6     38.1   23.9   36.5     44.1     55.2       0.3      0.1       0.0
California....................      3.0       4.3        59.0      21.2       65.5     37.9   22.1   36.5     25.6     17.7      40.0      8.8       0.9
                                                                                                                                                        
Colorado......................      2.8       3.2        28.9      15.8       80.4     36.5   25.4   34.0     43.4     15.7      37.8      1.2       1.1
Connecticut...................      2.8       3.4        35.7      11.8       83.1     36.9   22.0   38.8     30.6     31.2      36.0      1.1       0.1
Delaware......................      2.6       3.1        35.2      25.0       74.7     39.2   23.8   36.1     27.8     64.8       7.1      0.0       0.0
District of Columbia..........      2.8       3.6        41.9      16.1       82.4     43.2   22.2   32.3      1.3     96.7       1.8      0.2       0.0
Florida.......................      2.7       3.9        55.3      19.9       77.4     36.6   22.3   36.4     33.0     48.7      17.6      0.4       0.0
                                                                                                                                                        
Georgia.......................      2.7       3.6        49.1      22.1       76.5     36.6   23.0   38.7     24.4     73.4       1.3      0.8       0.0
Guam..........................      3.5       5.5        52.4       4.5       83.6     53.3   19.1   25.2      3.0      0.6       0.0     96.4       0.0
Hawaii........................      3.1       3.3        15.1      10.6       78.0     41.4   20.9   36.1     21.7      1.3       1.4     72.8       0.0
Idaho.........................      2.7       3.2        34.4      17.0       75.2     39.0   22.0   37.1     80.5      1.2      12.1      0.9       5.0
Illinois......................      3.0       3.9        47.5      14.4       80.4     43.9   22.7   31.1     30.3     56.6      11.9      1.0       0.1
                                                                                                                                                        
Indiana.......................      2.8       3.8        53.1      18.0       76.9     34.7   23.4   37.7     55.8     39.2       3.4      0.3       0.0
Iowa..........................      2.7       3.2        27.3      13.7       76.2     36.0   24.0   38.6     83.3     13.4       1.8      1.2       0.3
Kansas........................      2.8       3.7        45.7      17.8       73.9     41.5   21.2   34.6     62.4     27.9       6.6      1.9       1.3
Kentucky......................      2.5       3.6        55.5      22.7       70.7     32.2   21.0   44.8     80.5     18.9       0.2      0.3       0.0
Louisiana.....................      2.8       4.5        70.4      26.1       72.7     39.3   20.6   37.3     16.5     82.8       0.2      0.5       0.0
                                                                                                                                                        
Maine.........................      2.8       3.3        36.4       8.2       82.3     27.6   25.5   44.8     97.3      1.0       0.4      0.8       0.6
Maryland......................      2.7       3.5        44.6      16.0       82.4     29.9   27.6   36.5     25.7     70.4       0.8      0.8       0.1
Massachusetts.................      2.7       3.3        35.3      16.7       79.1     33.4   26.4   38.1     43.3     17.9      29.8      4.9       0.2
Michigan......................      2.9       3.4        31.0      12.2       79.0     37.4   25.4   32.5     42.8     52.1       3.0      0.6       0.7
Minnesota.....................      3.0       3.6        36.1      10.7       82.2     36.0   23.4   38.6     58.1     22.4       4.9      7.1       7.2
                                                                                                                                                        
Mississippi...................      2.9       4.5        68.9      25.0       74.9     39.4   22.0   37.5     17.8     81.8       0.0      0.0       0.4
Missouri......................      2.8       3.7        47.3      17.7       78.5     38.2   21.4   39.3     54.5     44.0       0.8      0.6       0.1
Montana.......................      3.0       3.3        22.0      10.1       77.7     37.6   21.2   39.8     66.3      0.3       1.9      0.5      30.8
Nebraska......................      2.6       3.7        53.5      28.8       66.8     41.1   20.5   32.5     62.4     24.0       6.8      1.7       4.5
Nevada........................      2.5       2.9        34.3      31.6       66.2     38.8   19.9   38.1     54.7     27.6      12.9      2.0       2.5
                                                                                                                                                        
New Hampshire.................      2.6       2.8        25.1      18.4       76.5     34.3   24.4   39.7     86.7      1.3       1.9      0.0       0.0
New Jersey....................      2.7       3.0        28.6      16.5       79.1     30.1   27.7   40.6     19.7     51.5      27.0      1.6       0.2
New Mexico....................      2.8       3.2        23.7      15.6       76.8     40.5   21.0   35.6     20.9      4.2      58.2      0.2      16.2
New York......................      2.8       3.4        33.9      14.5       74.5     35.0   22.8   35.6     21.5     35.4      36.3      0.9       0.2
North Carolina................      2.5       3.8        61.0      23.7       74.2     37.6   21.8   38.0     31.7     63.8       0.9      0.3       1.7
                                                                                                                                                        
North Dakota..................      2.7       3.1        24.7      12.5       83.5     35.5   26.0   35.8     56.6      0.7       2.0      0.7      40.1
Ohio..........................      2.7       3.6        49.8      21.0       72.8     35.9   21.8   36.0     52.8     44.1       2.5      0.4       0.1
Oklahoma......................      2.8       3.7        48.2      17.9       80.9     33.6   23.8   41.7     56.9     28.0       3.5      0.2      11.4
Oregon........................      2.7       4.0        59.1      22.9       69.1     38.7   22.7   36.8     79.3      7.8       7.7      2.9       2.0
Pennsylvania..................      2.9       3.3        27.5      11.8       79.3     36.5   22.7   37.5     43.7     43.7      11.1      1.1       0.1
                                                                                                                                                        
Puerto Rico...................      3.2       4.1        44.6      11.3       77.6     19.0   22.6   58.4      0.0      0.1      99.9      0.0       0.0
Rhode Island..................      2.8       3.3        30.8      11.8       83.9     40.7   24.0   33.5     57.0     13.9      17.4     10.9       0.4
South Carolina................      2.7       4.0        60.4      32.5       66.1     38.2   24.1   36.1     22.6     76.8       0.4      0.1       0.1
South Dakota..................      2.7       3.7        52.0      23.5       75.5     37.0   21.9   39.2     41.2      0.7       0.7      0.0      57.5
Tennessee.....................      2.7       3.8        54.4      20.4       77.4     35.2   21.6   40.8     48.5     50.6       0.4      0.2       0.0
                                                                                                                                                        
Texas.........................      2.7       4.1        61.8      25.8       71.0     39.8   22.0   37.7     20.9     33.7      44.5      0.8       0.0
Utah..........................      2.7       3.3        33.9      16.0       79.3     33.2   26.0   36.3     75.0      2.8      14.6      2.2       5.0
Vermont.......................      2.9       3.3        27.0       5.9       77.0     31.9   23.0   41.4     96.4      2.6       1.0      0.0       0.0
Virgin Islands................      3.7       4.1        25.2       8.9       90.1     43.2   23.6   33.2      1.3     55.8      21.6      0.0       0.0
Virginia......................      2.5       4.0        65.5      24.5       74.0     34.7   23.5   40.0     31.8     64.4       2.3      0.8       0.2
                                                                                                                                                        
Washington....................      2.9       3.8        47.3      14.8       69.4     36.4   23.7   38.1     69.4     10.8       8.5      6.4       4.1
West Virginia.................      2.7       3.5        43.7      17.4       67.1     31.0   24.8   42.7     90.4      8.3       0.1      0.1       0.1
Wisconsin.....................      3.0       3.7        46.6      21.2       71.5     42.0   20.8   32.2     42.8     40.4       8.5      4.2       2.7
Wyoming.......................      2.7       3.4        44.1      20.7       77.1     37.9   22.1   39.0     74.7      1.4      10.6      0.0      13.4
                               -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total................      2.8       3.8        48.3      18.9       73.8     38.9   23.1   37.4     35.6     37.2      20.7      3.0       1.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Percentages will not add to total as ``unknown'' and ``other'' are not included.                                                                    
\2\ All race categories are mutually exclusive.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        


                                      TABLE 7-25.--INCOME CHARACTERISTICS OF AFDC UNITS BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1995                                      
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Units with earned      Units with unearned    Units with child care    Units with  $30 + one-               
                                                 income                  income                 disregard             third disregard                   
                                        --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Percent of 
                 State                    Percent                 Percent                                                                    food stamp 
                                           of all   Average \1\    of all   Average \1\  Percent of  Average \1\  Percent of  Average \1\  participation
                                           units      dollars      units      dollars     all units     dollars    all units    dollars                 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................        3.6     $175.89        12.3     $140.28          0.6        (\2\)         1.7       (\2\)           88.8 
Alaska.................................       16.8      488.20        16.4      358.45          0.6        (\2\)        10.7     $144.35           71.6 
Arizona................................        5.8      251.00         5.5      160.69          0.5        (\2\)         3.4       78.14           92.1 
Arkansas...............................        4.4      248.64        18.4      166.17          1.3        (\2\)         2.9       82.00           86.4 
California.............................       15.3      555.81        15.3      340.74          2.8      $204.88        12.9      116.23           89.6 
Colorado...............................        9.2      400.14        13.3      138.24          2.0        (\2\)         3.3      106.10           90.2 
Connecticut............................       11.5      530.13        20.9      172.60          0.2        (\2\)         9.7      175.65           88.7 
Delaware...............................        6.5      238.52        19.1      105.19          0.6        (\2\)         4.9       (\2\)           83.6 
District of Columbia...................        1.0      568.33         5.7      277.55          0.2        (\2\)         0.3       (\2\)           90.5 
Florida................................        6.9      367.17        13.1      190.56          1.6        (\2\)         5.3      107.50           93.6 
Georgia................................        8.2      357.73        22.3      125.10          2.7       147.12         4.9       81.19           86.3 
Guam...................................        3.6      500.08        12.1      182.62          0.3        (\2\)         1.8       (\2\)           80.3 
Hawaii.................................        9.6      453.43         7.3      256.63          0.6        (\2\)         5.1      119.65           92.7 
Idaho..................................       11.1      334.72        18.0      152.19          1.9        (\2\)         9.0      130.83           81.4 
Illinois...............................       10.4      570.81        10.9      200.89          0.0        (\3\)         9.4      370.64           93.7 
Indiana................................        7.6      279.57        20.3      128.61          0.6        (\2\)         4.4       79.29           92.6 
Iowa...................................       27.5      483.66        19.8      131.77          6.2       127.38        20.2      177.26           88.3 
Kansas.................................        8.6      242.30        10.8      148.74          0.6        (\2\)         4.4       80.28           90.1 
Kentucky...............................       11.5      372.45        26.0       91.63          2.4       176.60         5.5       99.14           90.0 
Louisiana..............................        1.9      180.57        12.0      105.81          0.0        (\3\)         0.6       (\2\)           94.9 
Maine..................................       16.1      385.75        79.0      265.00          3.9        (\2\)         6.8      122.86           93.8 
Maryland...............................        4.2      366.77        30.4       51.05          1.1        (\2\)         3.0       90.32           91.8 
Massachusetts..........................        7.0      354.59        20.9      150.25          1.2        (\2\)         3.4      102.76           78.6 
Michigan...............................       23.0      425.16        15.9      214.84          6.1       152.79        14.8      221.34           94.4 
Minnesota..............................       13.3      338.14        25.3      127.30          3.4       142.94         5.9      107.89           90.2 
Mississippi............................        8.8      304.08        24.3       92.50          1.2        (\2\)         5.0       87.82           93.5 
Missouri...............................        4.9      340.85        16.4       72.75          1.0        (\2\)         2.5       92.84           89.9 
Montana................................       16.2      335.18        39.0      113.79          4.5        (\2\)         9.0      103.62           90.7 
Nebraska...............................       12.8      294.48         8.2      219.81          1.1        (\2\)         8.2       89.89           86.4 
Nevada.................................        3.7      284.20        20.4       92.93          0.2        (\2\)         3.2       (\2\)           81.6 
New Hampshire..........................        7.9      361.40        22.5      120.48          0.3        (\2\)         4.1       (\2\)           84.8 
New Jersey.............................        3.6      364.86         7.5      208.97          0.6        (\2\)         2.4      145.21           90.5 
New Mexico.............................        7.6      304.42         7.6      502.66          0.7        (\2\)         3.9       90.12           89.9 
New York...............................        4.9      413.86         9.2      168.01          0.5        (\2\)         2.7       86.56           95.3 
North Carolina.........................       11.4      326.56        21.7      186.18          1.2        (\2\)         5.2      123.33           77.7 
North Dakota...........................       15.1      257.87        20.4       66.73          4.3        (\2\)         8.9       76.85           86.2 
Ohio...................................        5.7      299.63        23.6       97.41          0.8        (\2\)         3.4       84.03           91.3 
Oklahoma...............................        5.9      278.96         7.2      203.92          0.0        (\2\)         2.9       97.92           91.4 
Oregon.................................       14.4      318.05        15.8      112.66          0.1        (\2\)         7.7       91.87           91.1 
Pennsylvania...........................        5.0      328.25         4.6      185.50          1.0        (\2\)         2.7       83.02           92.8 
Puerto Rico............................        0.7      159.10         2.4       67.78          0.0        (\3\)         0.1       (\2\)            0.0 
Rhode Island...........................        7.7      339.17        21.2      208.27          2.3        (\2\)         4.1       (\2\)           95.7 
South Carolina.........................        7.0      366.38        16.5      182.91          1.6        (\2\)         4.7      101.71           90.2 
South Dakota...........................       14.7      320.33        42.2      140.90          3.9        (\2\)         7.5       (\2\)           83.7 
Tennessee..............................       12.6      400.34        16.6      193.33          1.4        (\2\)         4.9       97.77           95.0 
Texas..................................        4.4      168.76         5.5       78.83          0.1        (\2\)         2.5       48.39           94.7 
Utah...................................       17.6      380.16        17.7      112.40          1.2        (\2\)        11.0      115.19           85.9 
Vermont................................       18.8      403.58        24.3      156.77          0.0        (\3\)        12.8      162.79           97.7 
Virgin Islands.........................        3.3      358.30         6.7       (\2\)          1.3        (\2\)         2.7       (\2\)           94.7 
Virginia...............................        6.6      290.25        13.8      132.21          0.4        (\2\)         4.0       95.25           86.6 
Washington.............................        8.0      307.17        12.8      243.94          0.1        (\2\)         4.5       96.75           88.0 
West Virginia..........................        1.3      123.71        16.1      136.10          0.0        (\3\)         0.4       (\2\)           92.7 
Wisconsin..............................       16.4      386.76        12.8      188.77          5.2       155.70         9.4       92.98           85.5 
Wyoming................................       17.2      454.79        13.3      140.10          0.3        (\2\)         9.8      144.97           90.2 
                                        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total.......................        9.5      431.46        14.7      189.95          1.6       172.10         6.5      137.89           89.8 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Average per unit with this item.                                                                                                                    
\2\ Fewer than 25 sample cases.                                                                                                                         
\3\ No sample cases.                                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        

 Shelter arrangements of AFDC families, by State, fiscal year 1995
    Table 7-26 gives a detailed percentage distribution of AFDC 
units by shelter arrangement. Notable variations among States: 
In 8 States, more than 1 out of 5 AFDC families lived rent 
free: Alabama, Arkansas, Guam, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, 
South Carolina, and Texas. In another 8 States, more than 1 out 
of 10 AFDC families owned or were buying their home: Alaska, 
Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, West 
Virginia, and Wyoming. Nationally, 8 percent of AFDC families 
lived in public housing; and another 12.1 percent received a 
rent subsidy from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD). Use of public housing was more than double 
the national AFDC average in Alabama, Alaska, the District of 
Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee. Nationwide, almost two-
thirds of AFDC families were in unsubsidized private housing. 
Except in Arkansas, Guam, and Mississippi, where rent-free 
housing dominated, most AFDC families in all States lived in 
unsubsidized private housing.
 Reason for lack of parental support for AFDC child, by State, fiscal 
        year 1995
     Table 7-27 provides a detailed percentage distribution of 
AFDC units by the reason for parental deprivation of the 
youngest child. The share of families with unwed parents 
(determined by adding those for whom paternity either was or 
was not established) exceeded 80 percent in the District of 
Columbia and the Virgin Islands, but was below 35 percent in 
Vermont. Nationally, paternity was established for only 42 
percent of nonmarital children, but many jurisdictions 
identified fathers of most of the children. These jurisdictions 
included Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Guam, Iowa, 
Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, North 
Dakota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, the Virgin 
Islands, and Washington. A parent's incapacity was the reason 
why 3.6 percent of U.S. AFDC children needed aid, but in three 
jurisdictions (Kentucky, Puerto Rico, and West Virginia) it 
accounted for at least 10 percent of the cases. Similarly, a 
parent's unemployment was the reason why 6.5 percent of U.S. 
AFDC children needed aid, but in four States (Alaska, 
California, Washington, and West Virginia) it accounted for 
more than double this proportion.

   Waivers from Federal AFDC Law Section 1115 Demonstration Projects

     Since 1962, section 1115 of the Social Security Act has 
authorized the Secretary of DHHS (and the predecessor Secretary 
of Health, Education, and Welfare) to waive specified 
requirements of the act in order to enable a State to carry out 
any experimental, pilot, or demonstration project that the 
Secretary judges likely to assist in promoting the objectives 
of AFDC. The Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations all 
adopted a liberal policy of granting waivers for State reforms. 
President Reagan created an interagency group (the Low Income 
Opportunity Advisory Board) to facilitate 

                                  TABLE 7-26.--AFDC FAMILIES BY TYPE OF SHELTER ARRANGEMENT BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1995                                  
                                                           [In percent except total families]                                                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                  Type of shelter arrangement                           
                                                                      ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Total                                                   Private                           
                           State                             families             Owns    Public     HUD     Other    housing   Shares    Rents         
                                                                       Homeless   or is   housing    rent     rent    with no    group    free   Unknown
                                                                                 buying            subsidy  subsidy   subsidy  quarters                 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................................     46,030      0.0      4.4      20.2     12.7      0.5      34.8       1.0    26.4      0.0
Alaska....................................................     12,426      0.6     15.0      18.9      9.5      5.6      42.0       0.0     8.5      0.0
Arizona...................................................     69,609      0.1      2.2       6.5      8.6      1.3      71.1       0.2    10.0      0.0
Arkansas..................................................     24,296      0.0      8.1      12.3     20.3      1.0      26.6       2.7    29.0      0.0
California................................................    919,471      0.2      1.5       1.9      5.8      1.6      87.6       0.8     0.6      0.0
Colorado..................................................     38,557      0.3      2.5       6.9     16.6      8.0      59.3       5.1     1.0      0.2
Connecticut...............................................     60,985      0.2      1.0      11.4     21.6      1.1      57.5       4.4     2.9      0.0
Delaware..................................................     10,775      1.2      4.0      15.1     21.3      0.6      52.8       4.3     0.6      0.0
District of Columbia......................................     26,789      0.8      0.0      19.3     20.4      2.2      51.3       2.2     2.7      1.1
Florida...................................................    230,807      0.1      2.3       3.9     11.5      0.4      77.0       0.3     4.0      0.6
Georgia...................................................    139,135      0.2      4.6      15.8      9.5      0.4      51.6       5.9    11.2      0.8
Guam......................................................      2,099      0.3      4.8       1.2     30.0      3.9      10.3       9.7    39.7      0.0
Hawaii....................................................     21,674      0.9      2.3       9.0     15.8      2.7      48.8       9.5    11.0      0.0
Idaho.....................................................      9,071      0.3      4.0       1.5     27.2      3.4      45.2       5.9    11.1      1.2
Illinois..................................................    236,205      0.3      1.7      10.0      9.5      1.9      69.5       1.1     6.1      0.0
Indiana...................................................     65,556      0.1      6.9       6.4     11.1      5.2      54.7       0.0    14.9      0.6
Iowa......................................................     36,435      0.1      9.5       4.5     22.3      1.2      54.8       3.3     4.3      0.0
Kansas....................................................     28,206      0.4      4.6       7.2     11.1      1.0      65.6       1.2     9.0      0.0
Kentucky..................................................     75,384      0.2     10.5       9.6     18.4      0.1      42.0       0.2    19.2      0.0
Louisiana.................................................     79,825      0.1      4.5      11.5     13.8      3.2      36.7       3.4    26.8      0.0
Maine.....................................................     21,694      0.4     19.1       7.4     13.2     10.7      45.7       1.0     2.5      0.0
Maryland..................................................     77,677      0.0      1.9       8.9     19.8      0.7      68.6       0.0     0.1      0.0
Massachusetts.............................................    100,852      1.0      0.9      13.1     20.6      9.5      52.5       2.4     0.2      0.0
Michigan..................................................    201,696      0.6      7.1       1.8      8.7      0.7      74.1       0.1     4.7      2.2
Minnesota.................................................     57,061      0.5     11.8      12.6     19.3      6.3      44.4       1.4     3.1      0.6
Mississippi...............................................     52,528      0.1      8.3       5.7     16.8      0.5      26.3       0.4    41.9      0.0
Missouri..................................................     89,298      0.4      5.9       5.4     19.9      1.5      55.4       1.8     9.7      0.0
Montana...................................................     11,508      0.3      6.4      13.0     27.3      3.4      45.9       2.4     1.3      0.0
Nebraska..................................................     14,828      0.5      5.4      10.7     25.9      1.4      48.4       3.1     4.5      0.0
Nevada....................................................     15,708      0.5      0.5       0.0     21.4      0.2      45.0       2.2    30.1      0.0
New Hampshire.............................................     10,800      0.0      1.0       9.8      9.8      1.9      68.3       7.9     0.3      1.0
New Jersey................................................    118,883      0.6      1.2       7.6      9.4      3.7      70.4       6.7     0.3      0.1
New Mexico................................................     34,444      0.1     11.9       9.6     16.6      2.7      43.9       6.3     8.6      0.2
New York..................................................    456,929      0.7      0.7      14.0     12.4      6.0      64.3       0.6     1.3      0.0
North Carolina............................................    125,503      0.0      1.1      12.1     11.6      1.6      68.1       1.4     4.1      0.0
North Dakota..............................................      5,215      0.7      9.5       5.9     47.4      2.6      20.4       4.9     8.6      0.0
Ohio......................................................    228,171      0.3      3.8       7.5     17.8      3.5      59.4       0.6     7.1      0.0
Oklahoma..................................................     44,790      0.0      4.6       2.4     25.1      6.8      38.3       4.2    18.7      0.0
Oregon....................................................     39,264      0.8      4.0       1.6     15.9      2.0      68.5       3.9     3.4      0.0
Pennsylvania..............................................    204,771      0.2      3.4      12.7      6.2      0.5      71.9       3.9     1.1      0.1
Puerto Rico...............................................     54,799      0.1     33.4      21.7      6.1      2.7      20.4       1.8    13.7      0.2
Rhode Island..............................................     22,194      0.0      2.4       9.6     20.6      0.8      58.7       6.0     1.9      0.0
South Carolina............................................     48,981      0.2      9.7       8.5     18.6      1.7      37.5       0.1    23.7      0.1
South Dakota..............................................      6,286      0.0      4.6       0.0     27.5     12.4      49.0       0.3     6.2      0.0
Tennessee.................................................    104,009      0.0      5.1      17.9     10.5      1.1      60.3       0.8     4.4      0.0
Texas.....................................................    274,505      0.3      7.4       6.3     13.5      1.4      42.4       0.4    28.3      0.0
Utah......................................................     16,648      0.3      1.7       2.4     23.2      2.2      62.3       4.8     2.8      0.2
Vermont...................................................      9,648      0.0      7.9       7.9     13.8      1.0      60.2       6.3     3.0      0.0
Virgin Islands............................................      1,308      1.0      2.0      59.1      1.3      1.7      15.0       0.3    19.3      0.3
Virginia..................................................     72,147      0.0      0.6      14.4     14.5      1.3      49.7       0.7     8.7     10.2
Washington................................................    101,949      0.6      3.7       5.9     14.6      2.5      71.0       0.6     0.8      0.3
West Virginia.............................................     38,404      0.5     15.5       4.4     19.5      0.5      43.6       0.8    14.8      0.4
Wisconsin.................................................     72,366      0.5      4.1       3.8     11.3      2.4      68.7       5.7     3.4      0.0
Wyoming...................................................      5,200      0.0     11.4       6.0     12.3      5.4      55.6       5.7     3.5      0.0
                                                           ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total............................................  4,873,398      0.3      4.0       8.0     12.1      2.4      64.2       1.6     6.9      0.3
                                                                                                                                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        


                         TABLE 7-27.--AFDC FAMILIES BY REASON FOR DEPRIVATION OF THE YOUNGEST CHILD, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1995                         
                                                           [In percent except total families]                                                           
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                 Parent absent                          
                                                                                              --------------------------------------------------        
                                                Total                   Parent       Parent                               Paternity                     
                   State                       families   Deceased  incapacitated  unemployed   Divorced   Separated,    established     Other   Unknown
                                                                                               or legally    but not  ----------------  absence         
                                                                                                separated    legally     Yes     No                     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama....................................       46,030      0.7          1.9           0.1         13.1         8.6    23.3    48.5       2.2      1.7
Alaska.....................................       12,426      1.2          3.8          13.9         20.1        13.3    25.6    18.7       3.0      0.6
Arizona....................................       69,609      1.3          4.0           1.3         12.3        16.8    21.4    39.3       2.1      1.5
Arkansas...................................       24,296      1.7          4.5           1.1         14.8        10.4    27.8    34.3       2.8      2.5
California.................................      919,471      2.1          4.7          16.1          9.6        10.8    15.0    36.1       4.6      0.9
Colorado...................................       38,557      0.8          5.6           1.8         16.6        11.8    20.5    37.0       4.5      1.5
Connecticut................................       60,985      1.8          1.5           7.9          9.4         8.1    41.7    24.6       3.5      1.5
Delaware...................................       10,775      1.9          1.9           0.0         14.5         5.9    45.1    26.2       3.4      1.2
District of Columbia.......................       26,789      2.4          1.4           1.0          3.5         4.0    13.1    70.7       3.0      1.0
Florida....................................      230,807      1.1          2.7           2.3         11.4        13.1    22.6    40.1       3.8      3.0
Georgia....................................      139,135      1.7          2.6           0.8         11.1        11.7    62.2     7.4       1.3      1.3
Guam.......................................        2,099      0.6          3.0           7.9         10.6         4.2    34.5    32.7       5.1      1.2
Hawaii.....................................       21,674      2.3          5.1           6.7         11.8        15.8    18.8    36.0       3.0      0.5
Idaho......................................        9,071      0.6          4.3           6.8         27.9        13.9    21.1    21.4       2.7      1.2
Illinois...................................      236,205      1.0          1.1           5.0          7.4        11.2    16.9    53.5       2.6      1.3
Indiana....................................       65,556      1.1          2.9           3.4         15.7        10.6    23.2    31.4       2.8      8.7
Iowa.......................................       36,435      0.7          2.9           9.1         23.8         7.9    30.7    22.5       1.4      1.2
Kansas.....................................       28,206      1.4          4.6           6.0         21.0         9.7    21.1    30.9       3.1      2.2
Kentucky...................................       75,384      1.2         10.9           6.9         17.2         9.6    19.1    31.5       1.0      2.6
Louisiana..................................       79,825      1.0          3.3           0.9          7.6        10.5    18.8    53.3       1.1      3.5
Maine......................................       21,694      1.0          4.9           8.9         26.1        10.9    29.0    16.1       1.8      1.4
Maryland...................................       77,677      1.1          1.0           0.8          5.6         6.9    29.9    33.4      11.1     10.2
Massachusetts..............................      100,852      1.9          3.5           3.6          9.9        11.6    33.7    32.8       2.0      1.0
Michigan...................................      201,696      1.4          1.9           8.0         11.7         7.0    28.7    31.1       4.0      6.3
Minnesota..................................       57,061      1.3          3.7           6.9         18.4         7.9    32.3    26.5       1.6      1.6
Mississippi................................       52,528      1.2          3.6           0.0          6.4        16.2    25.7    44.4       1.5      1.1
Missouri...................................       89,298      1.6          3.3           3.0         15.9        11.1    31.0    31.2       1.5      1.5
Montana....................................       11,508      1.9          6.1           6.9         22.3        11.4    22.3    24.7       3.7      0.8
Nebraska...................................       14,828      0.3          1.6           4.0         15.2        10.5    18.4    41.8       5.8      2.4
Nevada.....................................       15,708      1.0          0.7           3.0         14.2        18.2    18.7    39.6       4.5      0.2
New Hampshire..............................       10,800      0.6          4.4           3.2         22.2        12.7    29.2    23.8       2.5      1.3
New Jersey.................................      118,883      2.9          0.9           4.1          6.7         9.3    31.2    41.8       1.7      1.4
New Mexico.................................       34,444      1.7          4.7           5.2         14.1        13.9    18.7    37.6       2.7      1.4
New York...................................      456,929      1.6          2.9           5.1          7.2        14.2    38.6    20.6       4.1      5.7
North Carolina.............................      125,503      1.2          2.3           1.8         10.5        10.8    29.5    38.3       3.0      2.6
North Dakota...............................        5,215      2.0          3.6           1.6         22.7         3.3    43.4    18.4       3.2      1.6
Ohio.......................................      228,171      1.3          3.1           6.7         13.0        10.4    20.7    36.7       5.4      2.6
Oklahoma...................................       44,790      0.9          3.8           0.1         23.6        15.5    17.0    36.7       1.4      0.9
Oregon.....................................       39,264      1.3          2.9           7.5         17.0        15.8    26.7    25.8       1.5      1.7
Pennsylvania...............................      204,771      2.1          4.0           4.0         10.2         7.5    26.7    41.2       2.1      2.3
Puerto Rico................................       54,799      3.7         11.4           0.1         10.1        18.0    47.1     6.7       2.6      0.4
Rhode Island...............................       22,194      1.7          3.0           3.4         12.8        19.9    29.8    27.2       0.6      1.7
South Carolina.............................       48,981      1.1          3.1           0.6          8.2        18.0    27.6    38.9       0.1      2.6
South Dakota...............................        6,286      2.0          3.9           0.7         19.3         7.2    31.0    31.7       2.3      2.0
Tennessee..................................      104,009      1.9          4.4           2.1         16.1        11.9    23.2    35.4       3.3      1.9
Texas......................................      274,505      2.4          3.7           2.0         10.8        19.1    11.3    47.7       2.3      0.8
Utah.......................................       16,648      0.7          6.5           0.9         25.0        15.7    16.0    28.6       5.1      1.5
Vermont....................................        9,648      0.7          8.2          11.5         32.9         5.3    20.1    14.8       3.6      3.0
Virgin Islands.............................        1,308      0.7          1.0           0.7          3.3         2.0    65.8    24.6       0.3      1.7
Virginia...................................       72,147      1.0          2.8           0.4          9.7        14.9    25.6    41.8       2.2      1.8
Washington.................................      101,949      1.6          4.3          14.3         15.2        12.0    24.2    23.4       3.6      1.5
West Virginia..............................       38,404      0.7         10.8          14.5         19.4        15.9    14.8    21.2       1.4      1.4
Wisconsin..................................       72,366      1.4          3.1           6.7         11.1         5.8    31.2    31.3       7.5      1.9
Wyoming....................................        5,200      2.5          2.7           0.5         33.8         8.4    18.3    31.1       2.1      0.5
                                            ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total.............................    4,873,398      1.6          3.6           6.5         11.2        11.7    24.9    34.6       3.4      2.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                         

 action on waiver requests; President Bush stressed State 
innovations in his welfare reform strategy and required that 
demonstrations not increase annual Federal costs and that they 
provide for rigorous evaluation. President Clinton accelerated 
the waiver process and relaxed the cost neutrality rule by 
applying it over the life of the demonstration instead of each 
year. By mid-August 1996, shortly before passage of the 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation 
Act, the Clinton administration had approved more than 70 
waivers for more than 40 States, many of which were for 
statewide reforms. The 1996 law permits States to continue 
terms of existing waivers until their expiration, and many 
States have incorporated provisions of their AFDC waiver 
projects into their initial plans for TANF.
     AFDC waiver projects can be classified broadly as 
restricting or liberalizing some elements of the program. As of 
late February 1996, all but 10 States had received some 
waivers, summarized as follows:
 Restrictive changes
    --Place time limit on benefit duration (24 States);
    --Tighten work requirements (31 States);
    --Link benefits to school attendance or performance (26 
            States);
    --Limit benefits for additional children (14 States);
    --Reduce benefits based on relocation (2 States);
    --Require fingerprinting as a condition of eligibility (1 
            State).
 Liberalizing changes
    --Treat earnings more generously (30 States);
    --Expand eligibility for 2-parent (unemployed) families (25 
            States);
    --Increase resource limit (28 States);
    --Increase vehicle asset limit (25 States);
    --Expand transitional medical and child care benefits (21 
            States).

                          AFDC Quality Control

     The AFDC quality control system had two goals: correcting 
faults in program administration that contribute to erroneous 
payments and reducing the extent of misspent benefit dollars. 
To these ends, it attempted to: (1) measure the extent and 
dollar value of ``errors'' in administration; (2) identify the 
types and causes of error; and (3) specify and monitor 
corrective actions taken to eliminate or reduce errors. 
Sanctions were imposed on States that had error rates above the 
national average.
    The ``errors'' identified and measured in the quality 
control system ranged from simple arithmetical mistakes to 
incomplete or inaccurate reporting of income to recipient 
fraud. ``Agency-caused'' errors made up nearly half the errors 
typically identified in quality control surveys, and 
``recipient-caused'' errors sometimes were simple mistakes in 
understanding what was required or failure to provide correct 
information on a timely basis. Thus, the quality control system 
revealed fairly low levels of fraud.
    The core of the quality control system was the quality 
control case survey. The system annually compiled the results 
of a statistically valid sample of cases. Each selected case 
was subjected to a thorough review by quality control 
personnel, including a full field investigation. This review 
identified payments to ineligibles, overpayments, 
underpayments, the type of error made, the responsibility 
(recipient versus administering agency) for the error, and, to 
a limited degree, incorrect denials of aid. The sample of cases 
was then extrapolated into error ``rates'' for that review 
period for each State.
     Table 7-28 summarizes national overpayment dollar error 
rates for AFDC from October 1979 through fiscal year 1994. It 
shows that the lowest national overpayment error rate achieved 
was 5 percent, in fiscal year 1991.

  TABLE 7-28.--SUMMARY OF NATIONAL OVERPAYMENT DOLLAR ERROR RATES UNDER 
                        THE AFDC PROGRAM, 1979-94                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Period                             Error rate
------------------------------------------------------------------------
October 1979 to March 1980..................................         8.3
April 1980 to September 1980................................         7.3
October 1980 to March 1981..................................         8.3
April 1981 to September 1981................................         7.0
October 1981 to March 1982..................................         7.2
April 1982 to September 1982................................         6.6
October 1982 to March 1983..................................         6.2
April 1983 to September 1983................................         6.8
October 1983 to March 1984..................................         6.2
April 1984 to September 1984................................         5.7
Fiscal year 1985............................................         6.1
Fiscal year 1986............................................         7.1
Fiscal year 1987............................................         6.3
Fiscal year 1988............................................         6.8
Fiscal year 1989............................................         5.7
Fiscal year 1990............................................         6.0
Fiscal year 1991............................................         5.0
Fiscal year 1992............................................         5.7
Fiscal year 1993............................................         6.1
Fiscal year 1994............................................        6.1 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Overpayment errors include payments made to ineligible families  
  but do not include underpayments.                                     
                                                                        
 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                  

     Table 7-29 provides a State-by-State comparison for fiscal 
years 1993-94 of overpayment error rates (including payments to 
ineligible persons). The table also ranks the States by 
overpayment error rate (number 1 signifying the lowest rate) 
and provides an estimate of erroneous AFDC payments in fiscal 
year 1994. Fiscal year 1994 overpayment error rates ranged from 
a low of 2.52 percent of benefit payments made in Hawaii to a 
peak of 14.41 percent in Florida. Half the States achieved a 
rate below 5.74 percent, but the average was 6.11 percent, 
compared with 6.08 the previous year. Erroneous AFDC 
expenditures, not including underpayments, were reported to 
total $1.382 billion (out of $22.8 billion).

      TABLE 7-29.--AFDC OVERPAYMENT ERROR RATES IN FISCAL YEARS 1993-94, 1994 RANK AND AMOUNT OF ERRONEOUS      
                                                  EXPENDITURES                                                  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                               Federal and State
                                                                     Fiscal   Fiscal               amount of    
                               State                                  year     year     1994       erroneous    
                                                                      1993     1994     rank    expenditures in 
                                                                      rate     rate             fiscal year 1994
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...........................................................     4.55     4.93       17         $4,535,010
Alaska............................................................     2.39     3.75        7          4,215,234
Arizona...........................................................     7.50     8.12       45         21,459,292
Arkansas..........................................................     6.05     4.59       15          2,632,240
California........................................................     5.05     4.95       18        301,104,742
Colorado..........................................................     6.30     6.94       38         10,850,922
Connecticut.......................................................     5.39     4.32       11         17,064,790
Delaware..........................................................     8.95     9.91       50          3,924,487
District of Columbia..............................................     6.75     8.34       46         10,469,998
Florida...........................................................    13.95    14.41       54        116,149,872
Georgia...........................................................     5.91     6.73       35         28,788,860
Guam..............................................................     8.10    11.27       52          1,259,536
Hawaii............................................................     2.41     2.52        1          4,115,017
Idaho.............................................................     4.19     6.94       37          2,099,497
Illinois..........................................................     5.43     5.30       23         48,389,732
Indiana...........................................................     9.59    11.89       53         27,125,837
Iowa..............................................................     6.25     7.46       42         12,570,664
Kansas............................................................     5.43     5.41       24          6,623,194
Kentucky..........................................................     4.25     4.59       14          9,092,492
Louisiana.........................................................     7.70     5.92       31          9,942,873
Maine.............................................................     4.52     6.82       36          7,326,926
Maryland..........................................................     8.82    10.28       51         32,116,351
Massachusetts.....................................................     2.89     2.95        3         21,509,892
Michigan..........................................................     4.74     4.57       13         51,730,598
Minnesota.........................................................     2.89     4.12       10         15,567,334
Mississippi.......................................................     6.75     7.53       43          6,157,571
Missouri..........................................................     7.53     7.27       41         20,721,554
Montana...........................................................     4.27     4.55       12          2,224,286
Nebraska..........................................................     5.71     5.85       29          3,559,521
Nevada............................................................     5.90     9.14       48          4,395,580
New Hampshire.....................................................     6.85     7.07       39          4,377,268
New Jersey........................................................     4.68     5.61       26         29,808,372
New Mexico........................................................     5.26     3.97        8          5,624,548
New York..........................................................     6.95     7.20       40        199,406,924
North Carolina....................................................     6.26     5.14       20         18,116,404
North Dakota......................................................     3.91     5.46       25          1,383,609
Ohio..............................................................     8.55     9.06       47         91,642,826
Oklahoma..........................................................     4.19     5.27       21          8,675,441
Oregon............................................................     4.44     5.77       28         11,351,455
Pennsylvania......................................................     5.85     5.28       22         49,302,561
Puerto Rico.......................................................     5.92     5.87       30          4,342,406
Rhode Island......................................................     1.62     4.03        9          5,477,241
South Carolina....................................................     6.03     6.28       33          7,233,436
South Dakota......................................................     0.65     2.99        4            731,485
Tennessee.........................................................    10.52     7.84       44         16,871,311
Texas.............................................................    10.57     6.55       34         35,672,176
Utah..............................................................     3.51     2.83        2          2,171,394
Vermont...........................................................     1.92     3.30        6          2,140,546
Virgin Islands....................................................     2.63     3.00        5            103,640
Virginia..........................................................     6.37     6.16       32         15,521,900
Washington........................................................     6.21     5.09       19         31,024,870
West Virginia.....................................................     8.48     9.55       49         12,015,731
Wisconsin.........................................................     4.17     4.84       16         20,417,922
Wyoming...........................................................     3.14     5.74       27          1,223,422
                                                                   ---------------------------------------------
    U.S. total \1\................................................     6.08     6.11  .......     $1,382,460,790
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Weighted average.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                

     In fiscal year 1994, AFDC families were underpaid by an 
estimated $260 million (1.14 percent of actual payments) 
compared with underpayments of $207 million (0.93 percent of 
actual payments) in fiscal year 1993 (table 7-30). In fiscal 
year 1994 underpayment rates ranged from a low of 0.11 percent 
in Hawaii to a peak of 2.97 percent in New York. Table 7-31 
depicts estimated sanction amounts and DHHS' projected schedule 
for collecting them. The Department estimates that fiscal year 
1991-96 sanctions total $290.9 million; thus far, it has 
actually collected $17.2 million (in fiscal year 1994).

                       TABLE 7-30.--AFDC UNDERPAYMENT ERROR RATES IN FISCAL YEARS 1992-94                       
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                   Fiscal year--                
                              State                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                     1992 rate       1993 rate       1994 rate  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................................            0.51            0.68            0.67
Alaska..........................................................            0.50            0.11            0.86
Arizona.........................................................            0.96            1.20            1.26
Arkansas........................................................            1.08            0.48            1.09
California......................................................            0.65            1.11            1.26
Colorado........................................................            0.44            0.20            0.52
Connecticut.....................................................            0.31            0.46            0.42
Delaware........................................................            0.89            0.55            0.93
District of Columbia............................................            0.75            0.58            0.49
Florida.........................................................            1.33            1.31            1.55
Georgia.........................................................            2.14            1.05            1.43
Guam............................................................            1.97            2.29            2.17
Hawaii..........................................................            0.26            0.36            0.11
Idaho...........................................................            1.05            1.06            0.86
Illinois........................................................            0.63            0.47            0.42
Indiana.........................................................            0.59            0.84            0.46
Iowa............................................................            0.71            0.60            0.68
Kansas..........................................................            0.40            0.66            0.48
Kentucky........................................................            0.57            0.69            0.92
Louisiana.......................................................            0.91            1.01            0.80
Maine...........................................................            0.47            0.37            0.78
Maryland........................................................            0.32            0.95            0.72
Massachusetts...................................................            0.37            0.39            0.27
Michigan........................................................            0.43            0.79            0.58
Minnesota.......................................................            0.43            0.45            0.21
Mississippi.....................................................            0.79            0.64            0.72
Missouri........................................................            0.10            0.66            0.85
Montana.........................................................            0.52            0.27            0.39
Nebraska........................................................            0.56            0.68            0.93
Nevada..........................................................            0.33            0.57            0.77
New Hampshire...................................................            0.36            1.00            0.78
New Jersey......................................................            0.32            0.51            0.43
New Mexico......................................................            0.81            1.09            0.54
New York........................................................            1.91            1.80            2.97
North Carolina..................................................            0.71            0.94            0.59
North Dakota....................................................            0.44            0.12            0.51
Ohio............................................................            0.65            0.55            0.70
Oklahoma........................................................            0.45            0.97            0.77
Oregon..........................................................            0.40            0.46            0.27
Pennsylvania....................................................            0.62            0.41            1.00
Puerto Rico.....................................................            1.09            0.81            0.75
Rhode Island....................................................            0.09            0.12            0.38
South Carolina..................................................            0.82            1.33            1.71
South Dakota....................................................            0.72            0.44            1.72
Tennessee.......................................................            1.28            1.02            0.59
Texas...........................................................            1.56            1.16            1.17
Utah............................................................            0.45            0.38            0.96
Vermont.........................................................            0.36            0.18            0.16
Virgin Islands..................................................            0.32            0.25            1.38
Virginia........................................................            0.70            0.44            0.60
Washington......................................................            0.62            0.20            0.28
West Virginia...................................................            0.55            0.72            1.03
Wisconsin.......................................................            0.61            1.35            0.96
Wyoming.........................................................            0.72            0.94            1.05
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
    U.S. total \1\..............................................            0.83            0.93           1.14 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Weighted average.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                


    TABLE 7-31.--ESTIMATED AFDC QUALITY CONTROL SANCTION AMOUNTS AND    
                   COLLECTION SCHEDULE, 1991-2002 \1\                   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 DHHS   
                                                              projected 
                                       DHHS         DHHS       schedule 
                                    estimated    estimated       for    
           Fiscal year              error rate    sanction    collecting
                                    (percent)   amounts (in   sanctions 
                                                 millions)       (in    
                                                              millions) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991.............................          5.0        $32.4          0.0
1992.............................          5.7         48.0          0.0
1993.............................          6.1         54.0          0.0
1994.............................          6.1         55.2    \2\ $17.2
1995.............................          6.1         52.7          0.0
1996.............................          6.0         48.6          0.0
1997.............................  ...........  ...........  ...........
1998.............................  ...........  ...........         15.3
1999.............................  ...........  ...........         25.4
2000.............................  ...........  ...........         51.2
2001.............................  ...........  ...........         54.6
2002.............................  ...........  ...........        53.9 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
  of 1996 repealed the AFDC Program as of July 1, 1997. AFDC error rates
  will not be calculated after fiscal year 1996.                        
\2\ Actual amount collected.                                            
                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of   
  Health and Human Services.                                            

     In fiscal year 1994, an estimated 70,549 families were 
incorrectly denied aid as ineligible, and 85,409 families were 
improperly dropped from the AFDC rolls, in violation of due 
process notice and hearing requirements (table 7-32). (These 
estimates are based on 

                TABLE 7-32.--DATA ON AFDC QUALITY CONTROL NEGATIVE CASE ACTIONS, FISCAL YEAR 1994               
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               Case error rates        Total number of incorrect
                                                         ----------------------------           actions         
                                                Total                                ---------------------------
                                              number of                    Advance                     Advance  
                   State                         case      Eligibility     notice/                     notice/  
                                               actions    requirements     hearing     Eligibility     hearing  
                                                                        requirements  requirements  requirements
                                                                            only                        only    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama....................................       49,674         0.60          0.00           296             0 
Alaska.....................................       14,399         0.55          0.55            79            79 
Arizona....................................      114,376         1.32          1.32         1,505         1,505 
Arkansas...................................       42,818         1.40          1.05           601           451 
California.................................      955,090         1.36          1.59        13,024        15,195 
Colorado...................................       70,280         0.81          0.81           567           567 
Connecticut................................       36,276         0.00          0.00             0             0 
Delaware...................................       11,156         0.00          0.54             0            60 
District of Columbia.......................        9,866         0.00          8.46             0           834 
Florida....................................      516,877         0.73          4.68         3,765        24,203 
Georgia....................................      128,078         2.42          1.06         3,100         1,356 
Guam.......................................        1,160         1.92          2.88            22            33 
Hawaii.....................................       15,645         1.46          3.40           228           532 
Idaho......................................       21,588         1.56          2.08           337           450 
Illinois...................................      175,583         1.18          0.17         2,076           297 
Indiana....................................       90,420         0.34          4.09           308         3,697 
Iowa.......................................       23,984         2.89          0.00           694             0 
Kansas.....................................       24,407         1.10          1.10           268           268 
Kentucky...................................       54,543         1.03          2.76           564         1,505 
Louisiana..................................       76,994         0.71          0.71           546           546 
Maine......................................       17,614         2.34          0.00           412             0 
Maryland...................................       39,588         0.00          2.81             0         1,113 
Massachusetts..............................       66,399         0.24          0.47           157           314 
Michigan...................................      202,075         2.76          1.04         5,584         2,094 
Minnesota..................................       73,737         0.00          2.25             0         1,660 
Mississippi................................       35,066         3.27          1.09         1,148           383 
Missouri...................................       71,981         3.04          0.76         2,187           547 
Montana....................................       19,468         0.43          3.02            84           587 
Nebraska...................................        6,387         0.00          0.00             0             0 
Nevada.....................................       22,808         0.84          0.00           191             0 
New Hampshire..............................       14,156         0.57          0.00            80             0 
New Jersey.................................       72,000         0.24          0.98           176           702 
New Mexico.................................       47,173         6.36          0.42         2,998           200 
New York...................................      259,237         0.92          0.23         2,376           594 
North Carolina.............................       99,483         0.43          0.22           433           216 
North Dakota...............................        9,858         0.00          0.00             0             0 
Ohio.......................................      329,460         0.97          0.00         3,195             0 
Oklahoma...................................       56,168         0.00          0.00             0             0 
Oregon.....................................       40,769         1.79          2.51           731         1,023 
Pennsylvania...............................      136,205         2.00          4.41         2,730         6,005 
Puerto Rico................................       26,140         1.17          3.13           306           817 
Rhode Island...............................       13,854         0.00          1.65             0           228 
South Carolina.............................       60,370         4.39          6.73         2,648         4,060 
South Dakota...............................        8,310         1.09          0.54            90            45 
Tennessee..................................      358,691         0.60          0.00         2,167             0 
Texas......................................      442,806         1.71          1.95         7,560         8,640 
Utah.......................................       25,264         4.95          0.45         1,252           114 
Vermont....................................       12,701         0.56          1.12            71           142 
Virgin Islands.............................          612         0.00          0.00             0             0 
Virginia...................................       83,642         3.84          1.92         3,209         1,605 
Washington.................................      114,277         1.70          1.70         1,943         1,943 
West Virginia..............................       29,565         0.45          2.70           133           799 
Wisconsin..................................       84,431         0.84          0.00           708             0 
Wyoming....................................        9,741         0.00          0.00             0             0 
                                            --------------------------------------------------------------------
    United States \1\......................    5,323,250         1.33          1.60        70,549        85,409 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Weighted average.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S Department of Health and Human Services.                 

 the percentage of errors made in taking ``negative case 
actions''; and, since more than one action may apply to a 
single family, may overstate somewhat the total number of 
families affected.)

     THE JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND BASIC SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM (JOBS)

     The Family Support Act of 1988 established a new 
employment, education and training program for recipients of 
AFDC. Called the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) 
Training Program, this program replaced the Work Incentive 
(WIN) Program. The law required most able-bodied AFDC parents 
whose youngest child was at least 3 years old to participate in 
JOBS. The WIN Program had exempted parents of preschoolers. (As 
noted earlier, JOBS was repealed by Public Law 104-193, which 
established TANF.)

                       Purpose and Administration

     The purpose of JOBS was to assure that needy families with 
children obtained education, training and employment that would 
help them avoid long-term welfare dependence. Each State was 
required to operate JOBS in every subdivision where it was 
feasible to do so. According to the U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services (1995a), 12 States found it infeasible to 
operate JOBS in all political subdivisions. Nine of these 
States (Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Montana, Nevada, and West Virginia) met a regulatory standard 
by offering a complete JOBS Program (see below for definition) 
in all metropolitan statistical areas and in political 
subdivisions with 75 percent of AFDC adults and a minimal 
program in areas where 95 percent of adults lived. The other 
three States without a statewide program were Idaho, New 
Mexico, and Texas, which made JOBS available in certain 
counties and political subdivisions. JOBS was administered at 
the Federal level by the Assistant Secretary for Children and 
Families in DHHS, and at the State level by the State welfare 
agency. The State welfare agency could offer services and 
activities through its own staff and facilities, through Job 
Training Partnership Act (JTPA) administrative entities, 
through State and local educational agencies, and through other 
public agencies or private organizations (including community-
based organizations). For a summary of JOBS Programs from State 
plans for fiscal years 1995-96, see the 1996 Green Book.

                 Employability Plan and Case Management

     JOBS required States to develop an employability plan for 
each participant, based upon an assessment of the person's 
needs, skills, past work experience, and employability. The 
agency could require the participant to enter into an agreement 
specifying her obligations and the activities and services to 
be provided by the State. As of August 1996, six States 
required this kind of agreement. Further, all but two States--
Iowa and Oklahoma--assigned a case manager to each participant 
to assist the family in obtaining needed services.

                             JOBS Activities

     States were required to offer supportive services and 
these four ``mandatory'' activities: (1) education activities, 
including high school or equivalent education, basic and 
remedial education to achieve a basic literacy level, and 
education for individuals with limited English proficiency; (2) 
job skills training; (3) job readiness activities; and (4) job 
development and job placement. In addition, States were 
required to offer two of the following four optional 
activities: (1) group and individual job search; (2) on-the-job 
training; (3) work supplementation; and (4) community work 
experience (CWEP) or any other work experience program approved 
by the Secretary. Further, States were allowed to offer 
postsecondary education to JOBS participants and other State-
determined education, employment and training activities 
approved by the Secretary. All jurisdictions but three 
(Michigan, Nevada, and Oregon) offered postsecondary education 
under JOBS.
     A complete JOBS Program contained the four mandatory 
components above and at least two of the four optional 
activities. A minimal program included high school or 
equivalent education and information and referral to available 
non-JOBS employment services. Some details about the JOBS rules 
for job search, CWEP, and work supplementation programs follow.
Nondisplacement
    JOBS law contained nondisplacement rules; a JOBS assignment 
could not displace a worker or position, or infringe upon 
promotional opportunities of a worker; a JOBS participant could 
not fill a position from which a worker had been laid off.
 Job search
     States could require up to 8 weeks of job search for 
applicants and up to 8 weeks of job search for AFDC recipients 
each year. However, States could not require a person to engage 
in more than 3 weeks of job search before assessing the 
person's employability.
 Community work experience
    JOBS law required that CWEP Programs be designed to improve 
the employability of participants through actual work 
experience and training and restricted them to projects serving 
a useful public purpose in fields such as health, social 
service, environmental protection, education, urban and rural 
development and redevelopment, welfare, recreation, public 
facilities, public safety or day care. Maximum hours of 
required CWEP activity during the first 9 months were 
determined by dividing the participant's AFDC benefit (less any 
AFDC amount for which the State received reimbursement through 
child support collection) by the Federal minimum wage (or, if 
greater, the State minimum wage). After 9 months in a CWEP 
position, a participant's required weekly hours were to be 
recalculated on the basis of the rate of pay for individuals 
employed in the same or similar occupations by the same 
employer at the same site. The law specified that it was not to 
be construed as authorizing payment of AFDC as ``compensation 
for work performed'' and said that CWEP participation was not 
to entitle a person to ``a salary or any other work or training 
expense.''
 Work supplementation
    JOBS law permitted a State to ``divert'' all or part of a 
family's AFDC grant to an employer for use as a wage subsidy. 
The State welfare agency could itself be the employer who 
provided a ``supplemented'' job. To carry out a work program, 
States could adjust the level of their AFDC standard of need, 
vary benefit amounts paid to different categories of 
participants, and reduce or eliminate the amount of their 
earned income disregards. On the other hand, States could treat 
participants' earnings more liberally (extending duration of 
the earned income disregard), and the law made work 
supplementation wages eligible for the earned income credit. 
Federal funding under the program was limited for each 
participant to the aggregate of 9 months' worth of the maximum 
AFDC grant that the family would have received if it had no 
income. JOBS law was explicit about the ``worker'' status of 
persons in supplemented jobs: those whose job was provided by 
the welfare agency were not to be given ``employee'' status; 
nor, for the first 13 weeks of a job provided by any other 
entity was employee status to be required.

         Exemptions, Child Care, and Participation Requirements

 Exemptions
    To the extent resources were available, States were obliged 
to require nonexempt AFDC recipients to participate in JOBS. 
Exempt applicants and recipients could participate as 
volunteers. Exempt were persons who were: (1) ill, 
incapacitated, or of advanced age; (2) needed at home because 
of the illness or incapacity of another family member; (3) the 
parent or other caretaker relative of a child under age 3 (or, 
at State option) any age less than 3 but not less than 1; (4) 
employed 30 or more hours a week; (5) a child under age 16 or 
attending, full time, an elementary, secondary or vocational 
school; (6) a pregnant woman (in at least the second 
trimester); or (7) residing where JOBS was not available. As of 
August 1996, 37 jurisdictions exempted the parents of a child 
under 3; 3 lowered the age threshold to age 2 (Connecticut, New 
Jersey, and the Virgin Islands); and 14 lowered the threshold 
to age 1 (Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, 
Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, 
South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming).
 Child care for welfare parents
     JOBS law required States to ``guarantee'' child care (by 
direct provision, reimbursement, vouchers, etc.) for JOBS 
participants who needed it, and for other AFDC parents already 
in school, training, or work. States were required to continue 
child care benefits for 1 year to families who left AFDC for 
work (transitional care), charging them an income-related fee. 
In general, the parent of a child under age 6 could be required 
to participate no more than 20 hours weekly and, then, only if 
child care were ``guaranteed.'' In the case of an AFDC-UP 
family, the exemption relating to age of child applied to only 
one parent, unless child care were guaranteed. (For more 
information on child care, see section 9).
 Minimum participation standards
     JOBS law set minimum participation standards for fiscal 
years 1990-95 for the overall AFDC caseload (and for fiscal 
years 1994-98 for the unemployed-parent caseload). The minimum 
participation rates for the overall caseload rose from 7 
percent (of the nonexempt caseload, not the entire caseload) in 
fiscal years 1990-91 to 20 percent in fiscal year 1995 (none 
thereafter). Special participation rules applied to the 
unemployed-parent caseload. One parent in these families was 
required to participate at least 16 hours a week in one of 
these work activities: work supplementation, community work 
experience or other work experience program, on-the-job 
training, or a State-designed work program approved by the 
Secretary. However, in low-benefit States, fewer than 16 hours 
of weekly CWEP participation were required since work hours 
calculated at the minimum wage could not exceed the number 
needed to yield the family's AFDC benefit. The percentage of 
nonexempt AFDC-UP families required to meet this work rule rose 
from 40 percent in fiscal year 1994 to 75 percent in fiscal 
year 1997.
     The prescribed penalty for failing to meet the general 
participation rate was a reduction in the Federal matching 
rate, but the penalty always was waived, as allowed under 
certain conditions.
 Definition of JOBS participant
     The law did not define ``participant,'' but Federal 
regulations required that JOBS participation rates be measured 
by a 20-hour-per-week standard. Welfare agencies were directed 
to count as participants the largest number of persons whose 
combined and averaged hours in specified JOBS activities 
equaled or exceeded 20 per week. Creditable activities included 
any component of the State's JOBS plan except job development 
and job placement. Persons who entered a job were counted as 
participants only if they engaged in a JOBS activity or 
received job development and placement services during the 
month of job entry or the preceding month.

                         Targeting of JOBS Funds

     The JOBS Program included a financial penalty--a reduced 
Federal matching rate--for failure to spend at least 55 percent 
of JOBS funds on certain populations, namely: (1) families in 
which the custodial parent was under age 24 and had not 
completed high school or had little or no work experience in 
the preceding year; (2) families in which the youngest child 
was within 2 years of being ineligible for assistance because 
of age; (3) families that had received assistance for 36 or 
more months during the preceding 60-month period; and (4) 
applicants who had received AFDC for any 36 of the 60 months 
immediately preceding application.

                 Funding of JOBS and Supportive Services

     Federal matching for JOBS was available as a capped 
entitlement, limited to $1 billion annually in fiscal year 
1996. The Federal matching rate was 90 percent for expenditures 
up to the amount allotted to the States for the WIN Program in 
fiscal year 1987. Of additional amounts, the Federal match was 
at the Medicaid rate (between 50 and about 78 percent), but 
with a minimum Federal match of 60 percent for 
nonadministrative costs and for full-time JOBS personnel costs. 
The match for other administrative costs was 50 percent. 
However, the law provided for a reduction in the JOBS Federal 
matching rate to 50 percent unless: (1) 55 percent of funds 
were spent on target populations listed above; and (2) the 
States met participation rate requirements.
    The entitlement cap for JOBS was allocated as follows: 
States received an amount equal to their WIN allotment for 
fiscal year 1987 ($126 million across all States) and the 
remainder was allocated on the basis of each State's relative 
number of adult AFDC recipients. Federal program funds could 
not be used to supplant non-Federal funds for existing services 
and activities, and States were required to spend on JOBS, from 
State/local funds, at least as much as they did for comparable 
activities in fiscal year 1986.
    AFDC/JOBS child care and transitional child care were 
reimbursed as a separate, open-ended entitlement at the 
Medicaid matching rate. Transportation and other work-related 
expenses were reimbursed at a rate of 50 percent and were among 
expenditures subject to the JOBS entitlement cap.
     Table 7-33 provides information on fiscal year 1996 
Federal allocations to the States for JOBS, along with 
information on the amount of these funds States had expended 
and obligated. Authorized for JOBS was $1 billion; the Federal 
share of JOBS expenditures claimed by States as of April 2, 
1997, however, was only $870.4 million. The table also includes 
information on federally reimbursed expenditures for child 
care. For AFDC/JOBS and transitional child care, States claimed 
Federal reimbursement of $1.189 billion in fiscal year 1996, 
compared with $893 million in fiscal year 1995.
     Table 7-34 displays the percentage of JOBS allocations, 
after Indian set-asides, used by each jurisdiction in fiscal 
years 1990-96. The number of States that used their full 
allocation rose to 22 in fiscal year 1996. Four States spent 
100 percent of their JOBS allocation in each year since 1990: 
Alaska, North Dakota, Oregon, and Wisconsin.
    Table 7-35 shows the average monthly number of JOBS 
participants reported by States during fiscal year 1995 (data 
not reported by Alaska, the District of Columbia, Virgin 
Islands, and Guam) and their percentage distribution by program 
component. In the 50 reporting jurisdictions a monthly average 
of 632,054 persons were active JOBS participants, up 9 percent 
from the previous year. However, more than 20 percent of these 
participants were not ``countable'' for purposes of calculating 
official participation rates (see table 7-37). More than 40 
percent of JOBS participants were in five States: California, 
New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

       TABLE 7-33.--FEDERAL ALLOCATIONS AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE JOBS PROGRAM, BY STATE, FISCAL YEAR 1996       
                                            [In millions of dollars]                                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Title IV-A
              States                JOBS total   Indian set- Awarded to      Total          Total     child care
                                   authoriz.\1\   aside \2\  States \3\  obligated \4\  expended \5\      \6\   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..........................         $7.3          0.0        $7.3          $7.3          $7.3        $16.6
Alaska...........................          3.1         $1.1         2.0           3.1           2.0          3.4
American Samoa...................          0.1          0.0         0.0           0.0           0.0         0.00
Arizona..........................         12.9          1.8        11.2          12.9          11.2         22.7
Arkansas.........................          4.3          0.0         4.3           4.3           3.7          3.9
California.......................        186.2          0.7       121.9         122.6          28.3         83.3
Colorado.........................          9.3          0.0         9.2           9.2           9.3         10.2
Connecticut......................         13.1          0.0         9.2           9.2          11.4         25.1
Delaware.........................          2.0          0.0         2.0           2.0           2.0          5.2
District of Columbia.............          5.6          0.0         5.6           5.6           4.9          4.5
Florida..........................         39.8          0.0        25.4          25.4          14.1         47.1
Georgia..........................         24.8          0.0        24.8          24.8          24.4         46.1
Guam.............................          0.6          0.0         0.4           0.4           0.4          0.0
Hawaii...........................          5.2          0.0         5.2           5.2           5.2          4.5
Idaho............................          2.6        (\7\)         2.6           2.6           2.6          2.1
Illinois.........................         49.8          0.0        42.0          42.0          36.9         78.6
Indiana..........................         13.5          0.0        13.5          13.5          10.3         27.9
Iowa.............................          8.3          0.0         8.3           8.3           8.3          6.9
Kansas...........................          5.9        (\7\)         5.9           5.9           5.9         10.7
Kentucky.........................         13.6          0.0        13.6          13.6           7.8         16.9
Louisiana........................         16.5          0.0        16.5          16.5          16.5         13.2
Maine............................          5.2        (\7\)         5.1           5.2           5.1          3.5
Maryland.........................         16.6          0.0        13.1          13.1           8.8         21.3
Massachusetts....................         23.6          0.0        23.0          23.0          22.8         50.0
Michigan.........................         49.0          0.6        48.4          49.0          48.4         30.3
Minnesota........................         13.5          1.0        12.5          13.5          12.5         24.0
Mississippi......................          8.6        (\7\)         8.6           8.6           8.6          6.2
Missouri.........................         17.5          0.0        16.1          16.1          15.1         26.1
Montana..........................          2.9          0.4         2.5           2.9           1.9          3.3
Nebraska.........................          3.0          0.1         2.9           3.0           2.9          8.6
Nevada...........................          2.8        (\7\)         2.1           2.1           1.5          2.9
New Hampshire....................          2.2          0.0         2.2           2.2           1.3          4.3
New Jersey.......................         25.3          0.0        25.3          25.3          24.6         40.9
New Mexico.......................          7.8          0.1         2.2           2.3           2.1          8.7
New York.........................         99.5        (\7\)        99.5          99.5          70.2         52.2
North Carolina...................         22.2          0.1        22.1          22.2          22.1         61.2
North Dakota.....................          1.4          0.4         1.0           1.4           0.5          1.9
Ohio.............................         46.3          0.0        46.3          46.3          38.4         65.0
Oklahoma.........................          8.4          0.2         8.1           8.4           8.1         25.7
Oregon...........................         10.2          0.1        10.1          10.2          10.1         25.7
Pennsylvania.....................         44.3          0.0        44.3          44.3          36.2         55.8
Puerto Rico......................         11.6          0.0        11.6          11.6          11.1          0.0
Rhode Island.....................          4.8          0.0         4.8           4.8           4.1          6.5
South Carolina...................          7.5          0.0         7.5           7.5           7.3         12.1
South Dakota.....................          1.5          0.5         0.9           1.4           0.9          1.7
Tennessee........................         18.5          0.0         6.8           6.8           5.9         41.0
Texas............................         47.2          0.0        40.7          40.7          33.1         66.7
Utah.............................          4.1          0.0         4.0           4.0           4.0         13.2
Vermont..........................          3.0          0.0         3.0           3.0           2.7          3.6
Virgin Islands...................          0.4          0.0         0.3           0.3           0.3          0.0
Virginia.........................         13.0          0.0        13.0          13.0          13.0         18.7
Washington.......................         25.5          0.8        24.7          25.5          22.3         39.9
West Virginia....................          9.3          0.0         8.4           8.4           8.5          8.7
Wisconsin........................         17.5          0.4        17.1          17.5          17.1         27.8
Wyoming..........................          1.2          0.1         1.1           1.2           0.8          2.2
                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total.................      1,000.0          8.5       870.4         878.9         684.7      1,188.7
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ JOBS total authorization: Total Federal funds available for the JOBS Program for fiscal year 1996.          
\2\ Indian set-aside: Ratio of adult recipients in a tribal service area to the State's total of adult          
  recipients multiplied by the State's total allocation.                                                        
\3\ Excludes the Indian set-aside.                                                                              
\4\ Total obligated: The amount of funds obligated by the State by September 30, 1996, 1995 and 1994. For       
  example, if a contract is signed by the State to provide services based on a set fee, the amount owed for     
  those services is an obligation. That obligation becomes an expenditure only when the invoice for the service 
  is actually paid.                                                                                             
\5\ Federal share of expenditures claimed by States for the JOBS Program. Preliminary data.                     
\6\ Federal share of expenditures claimed by States for AFDC and transitional child care. Does not include child
  care administrative costs.                                                                                    
\7\ Less than $50,000.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                
 Note.--Data as of April 2, 1997, and based on best available data reported by States.                          
                                                                                                                
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                


      TABLE 7-34.--FEDERAL SHARE OF JOBS EXPENDITURES AS A PERCENT OF JOBS ALLOCATION, FISCAL YEARS 1990-96     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          State                             1990   1991    1992    1993    1994    1995    1996 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................    9.3    42.9    64.9    96.3   100.0    85.1   100.0
Alaska...................................................    0.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Arizona..................................................    0.0    35.2    41.9    53.8    55.2    74.2    94.3
Arkansas.................................................   97.6   100.0    99.1   100.0    67.5    78.4    87.2
California...............................................   77.0    67.5    61.2    63.5    66.3    91.6    23.3
Colorado.................................................   25.2    51.7    65.3    77.3    83.0    86.3   100.0
Connecticut..............................................   99.0    83.8    62.9    50.5    71.9    61.9    87.1
Delaware.................................................   76.1    71.8    82.9    76.3    99.0   100.0   100.0
District of Columbia.....................................   49.1    69.0    75.5   100.0    93.4    76.8    86.8
Florida..................................................   64.3    50.0    46.8    41.2    33.3    32.9    93.4
Georgia..................................................   36.4    35.4    42.0    60.6    62.1    75.8    98.6
Guam.....................................................    0.0    60.5    73.5    95.1    43.6    32.8    69.2
Hawaii...................................................    0.0    40.7   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Idaho....................................................    0.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0    97.0   100.0
Illnois..................................................   19.0    35.8    40.0    49.5    61.9    59.2    77.8
Indiana..................................................    0.0    29.3    47.1    61.6    64.5    62.5    76.1
Iowa.....................................................   63.1    58.4    65.6    70.7   100.0   100.0   100.0
Kansas...................................................   72.7    67.1    88.9   100.0    96.2   100.0   100.0
Kentucky.................................................    0.0    55.4    66.0    78.0    84.4    70.3    97.0
Louisiana................................................    0.0    38.9    85.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Maine....................................................    0.0    65.3    58.2    64.2    60.2    85.7   100.0
Maryland.................................................   99.2    84.2    86.9    80.5    87.6    64.0    53.2
Massachusetts............................................   67.9    80.6    76.3    86.7    77.5    72.1    99.5
Michigan.................................................   41.6    33.6    50.2    63.6    71.0    75.7   100.0
Minnesota................................................   67.8    58.6    75.3    77.9    87.1    89.8   100.0
Mississippi..............................................    0.0    11.4    81.4    91.7    94.0   100.0   100.0
Missouri.................................................    4.7    16.8    34.3    51.9    55.3    63.9    86.4
Montana..................................................   10.0    67.2   100.0   100.0    93.5   100.0    74.6
Nebraska.................................................   56.5    63.0    90.2    78.0    75.2    69.5   100.0
Nevada...................................................   30.9    36.6    49.4    50.2    43.5    42.0    53.0
New Hampshire............................................   75.3   100.0    97.9   100.0   100.0   100.0    59.9
New Jersey...............................................   99.0    93.6    90.5   100.0   100.0   100.0    97.1
New Mexico...............................................   17.6    27.9    22.7    25.5    29.1    24.3    29.8
New York.................................................    0.0    60.2   100.0    94.7    92.6    94.8    75.9
North Carolina...........................................    0.0    42.9    71.8    79.2    81.9    93.6   100.0
North Dakota.............................................   49.1   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Ohio.....................................................   48.7    75.6    85.4   100.0   100.0    85.8    83.1
Oklahoma.................................................   68.3    63.8    85.6    78.1    97.9    83.3   100.0
Oregon...................................................    0.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Pennsylvania.............................................   70.0    61.7    67.5    64.9    91.5    95.3    95.3
Puerto Rico..............................................    0.0    11.5    51.1    73.3    53.1    74.2    95.9
Rhode Island.............................................   92.4    80.7    89.7   100.0    99.0    79.5    85.2
South Carolina...........................................   50.1    46.3    53.2    54.7    64.8    66.6    96.9
South Dakota.............................................   87.0    76.1    99.5   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Tennessee................................................    0.0    15.0    30.0    32.6    46.1    79.7    96.9
Texas....................................................    0.0    49.6    69.5    77.8    68.9    57.7    70.0
Utah.....................................................   89.0    83.5   100.0    98.7    99.8   100.0   100.0
Vermont..................................................    0.0    69.6    80.6    93.1    99.9    95.3    90.2
Virgin Islands...........................................   11.7   100.0      NA   100.0    84.4    80.7    68.6
Virginia.................................................    0.0    46.5    55.4    72.1    72.4    64.8   100.0
Washington...............................................    0.0    51.0    85.7    86.3    76.9    88.7    96.4
West Virginia............................................   35.3    40.5    78.0    88.3    78.2    69.1    91.0
Wisconsin................................................   98.9   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0   100.0
Wyoming..................................................    1.4    72.0    95.7    90.1    94.3    86.4    68.9
    Number of States at maximum allocation...............      0       8       9      17      13      15      22
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA--Not available.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based on data from the U.S. Department of    
  Health and Human Services (DHHS). JOBS expenditure data are as of August 20, 1997.                            

    The U.S. distribution of JOBS participants by activity:
    --Educational activities--39.4 percent of participants 
            (22.7 percent in high school, GED, remedial 
            education, or English as a second language; 16.7 
            percent in higher education).
    --Training--16.2 percent (8.0 percent in job skills 
            training, 7.8 percent in vocational training; and 
            0.4 percent in on-the-job training).
    --Job entry (in survey month or preceding month)--12.3 
            percent.
    --Assessment and employability plan--11.1 percent.
    --Job readiness--6.2 percent.
    --Job search--6.1 percent.
    --Community Work Experience Program (CWEP) and work 
            supplementation--4.1 percent.
    --Job development--0.8 percent.
    --Other--3.9 percent.
     State variations were large. For instance, the share of 
participants in higher education ranged from 0.3 percent in 
Florida to 38.0 percent in Oklahoma. Among reporting States, 
JOBS participants in job entry ranged from zero percent in 
Kentucky to above 30 percent in Iowa, Montana, Oregon, and 
Utah. Although 21 States placed no one in CWEP, more than 15 
percent of JOBS participants in Missouri and West Virginia were 
in CWEP.
     Table 7-36 summarizes State JOBS participation rates for 
fiscal year 1995. The table shows that nationwide 1.9 million 
persons, 43 percent of AFDC adult recipients, were classified 
as required to participate in JOBS (nonexempt from JOBS). Among 
the States the percentage of mandatory participants ranged from 
15 percent in Indiana and 18 percent in Florida to 77 percent 
in Utah. As noted above, the 1995 minimum JOBS participation 
standard was 20 percent of nonexempt adults (roughly equivalent 
to 8 percent of all adults that year). Column 6 of the table 
gives a rough approximation of ``countable'' participation 
rates achieved by States in 1995; official calculations are 
more exacting. The table indicates a U.S. participation rate of 
26.8 percent, with variations among States.

                                              TABLE 7-35.--AVERAGE MONTHLY PERCENTAGE OF JOBS PARTICIPANTS BY STATE AND COMPONENT, FISCAL YEAR 1995                                             
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         High                Self                                                                                               
                                                    Total       Job     school   Assigned    init.   Vocational     Job       Job         Job      Assess    Job            Work                
                     State                      participants   entry  and other   higher    higher    training    skills   readiness  development   emp.   search    OJT    supp.   CWEP   Other
                                                                         \2\        ed.       ed.                training                           plan                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................................       6,183      14.1      39.5        8.8       7.2        0.0        9.7       1.3         0.5       5.7     8.6     0.1     0.0     0.0    4.3
Alaska........................................       (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)     (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)  (\1\)
Arizona.......................................       5,222      13.4      23.7        8.5       3.2        0.2        8.2       4.9         0.1      20.9     9.2     0.1     0.0     7.4    0.3
Arkansas......................................       6,591       7.7      13.2        1.5       0.8        1.4        2.2      14.7         0.4      44.2     8.0     0.3     0.0     0.1    5.6
California....................................      80,070      15.4      30.4        5.0       4.7        5.2        1.9      10.0         0.7      15.8     4.3     0.2     0.1     4.8    1.4
Colorado......................................       5,680      10.3      21.2        9.9       9.7        0.0       11.5       4.8         0.1      13.8     8.5     0.2     2.7     7.2    0.2
Connecticut...................................       6,997       8.4      28.0       18.5       6.9       13.5        4.0       3.9         2.0       2.2     7.4     2.0     0.0     3.2    0.0
Delaware......................................         944       9.2      16.5        1.1      13.8        1.8        7.7       0.2         0.5      27.3    12.1     0.2     0.0     5.1    4.6
District of Columbia..........................       (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)     (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)  (\1\)
Florida.......................................      27,630      19.5      29.6        0.3       0.0       32.1        1.8      15.7         0.0       0.0     0.2     0.7     0.0     0.0    0.0
Georgia.......................................      17,306      27.1      26.3       11.1      10.0        1.3        1.9       4.0         0.1       7.1     0.9     4.5     0.0     0.0    5.9
Guam..........................................       (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)     (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)  (\1\)
Hawaii........................................       1,449      11.5      16.0       26.8       4.1        0.0        3.1       6.7         0.1       1.2    14.4     0.0     0.0    14.4    1.6
Idaho.........................................       1,014      13.0      18.5        3.6      10.6        8.5       11.3       5.2         0.0       7.8     7.0     0.1     0.0    14.2    0.2
Illinois......................................      31,096       3.7      18.9       18.5       0.2        0.2       12.2       5.9         0.0       5.1     8.5     0.0     0.0     1.0   25.8
Indiana.......................................       9,245      12.0      42.7       15.5       0.8        0.0       12.0       7.8         0.0       0.3     8.9     0.0     0.0     0.0    0.0
Iowa..........................................      12,782      36.7      12.4        7.4       2.5        1.3        7.8       2.6         0.0      20.6     5.4     0.0     0.0     0.0    3.4
Kansas........................................       4,928      19.0      15.0       15.3       7.5        1.6        6.6       5.0         0.5       3.7     9.5     0.1     0.0    10.5    5.8
Kentucky......................................       9,478       0.0      30.0       13.7      16.6        4.4        7.7       1.7         0.0       0.5     1.5     0.0     0.0     1.5   22.4
Louisiana.....................................       8,650      12.6      37.7        1.4       3.0        9.3       13.3       4.8         0.0       9.5     4.0     0.1     0.0     4.3    0.0
Maine.........................................       3,477      19.4      13.4       10.6       3.9        1.2        8.1       8.1         0.2       5.8    15.6     1.0     0.0     0.3   12.5
Maryland......................................       7,432       8.9      14.4        4.9       8.7        2.4       11.9      11.8         3.9      12.5     6.5     0.3     0.7     0.0   13.1
Massachusetts.................................      18,524      16.0      19.8        5.4       3.0       25.8       17.0       1.6         0.0       0.6     7.7     0.0     0.2     0.0    3.0
Michigan......................................      41,986      14.7      16.5        0.3      20.0        2.1        6.5       8.3         1.6      17.8    10.6     0.4     0.0     1.2    0.2
Minnesota.....................................       6,227      13.4      14.6       15.4       0.0        0.0       32.0       5.6         0.1       1.6     8.1     0.4     0.4     8.4    0.0
Mississippi...................................       5,887       1.9      33.5       15.3       1.7        0.6        9.3       4.4         0.5      18.0     2.9     0.1     0.0     0.0   11.8
Missouri......................................       7,194       2.7      18.6        6.4      19.3        0.0       14.8       0.0         0.4      13.8     3.1     0.2     0.9    16.0    3.7
Montana.......................................       1,648      32.4      11.7       16.3       0.2        0.0        5.6      10.5         0.0       1.1     9.6     0.3     0.0     0.0   12.3
Nebraska......................................       5,778       0.4      26.0       18.9       0.0        0.0        6.7       9.0         0.0      10.1    21.5     0.2     0.0     0.9    6.2
Nevada........................................         742      14.3      13.8        0.8      10.4        0.8       10.5       1.8         0.8      25.7    13.1     0.3     0.0     7.8    0.0
New Hampshire.................................       1,991       2.2      24.5       33.1       1.2        0.6        6.0      17.0         0.0       1.0     7.9     0.1     0.0     1.1    5.4
New Jersey....................................      15,401      10.2      36.8       13.8       0.0       20.8        7.7       6.0         0.1       0.1     4.4     0.0     0.0     0.0    0.0
New Mexico....................................       8,251       7.5      25.8       30.9       5.4        3.5        0.0       0.1         0.0       6.6    10.0     0.0     0.0     0.2   10.0
New York......................................      52,332       3.0      23.6        3.5      14.9       30.8        3.9       5.9         2.4       0.5     3.7     0.0     1.2     6.4    0.0
North Carolina................................      12,789       9.1      21.5        0.0      17.5        0.0       23.2       8.5         0.0      15.8     2.1     0.3     0.0     2.1    0.0
North Dakota..................................       1,398      21.1       8.3        8.4      14.5        9.4       11.7      14.6         0.0       6.1     2.9     0.2     0.1     1.7    0.9
Ohio..........................................      45,288      10.1      17.1       17.8       5.1        0.1        2.0       0.2         1.3      26.0     3.1     0.0     0.1    14.9    2.1
Oklahoma......................................       6,577      10.4      22.0       17.2      20.8        4.8        0.0       3.0         0.7       0.0    10.7     0.0     0.0     0.0   10.5
Oregon........................................       2,725      37.5      11.5        0.0       3.3        0.0        5.3       5.9         0.0       9.8    21.7     0.0     0.7     0.0    4.3
Pennsylvania..................................      35,119       6.5      12.9        3.0       9.1       11.5       39.8       6.7         0.0       0.8     3.3     0.1     0.0     5.8    0.6
Puerto Rico...................................       6,326      13.8      19.1       14.3       8.1        3.3       20.6       2.2         0.1       8.8     7.1     0.0     0.1     0.0    2.5
Rhode Island..................................       4,051      13.0      17.2        2.9      11.4        0.1       13.5       3.8         0.0       2.7     7.3     0.0     4.8     4.8   18.7
South Carolina................................       7,013      15.5      23.2        7.8       2.7        0.4        8.6       1.8         3.7      11.3    16.6     0.1     0.0     0.0    8.4
South Dakota..................................       1,453      20.7      10.6        3.9      32.5        0.0        1.1       0.8         0.0      10.5    12.0     1.9     0.0     0.0    5.9
Tennessee.....................................      11,163       2.2      24.5       16.7       5.9        0.8        3.7       3.6         0.9      37.2     0.5     0.1     0.0     0.0    3.8
Texas.........................................      23,148      15.2      22.5        7.0       6.6        7.1        1.8       5.9         0.0      25.7     7.4     0.8     0.0     0.0    0.0
Utah..........................................       6,377      41.1       7.7        8.5       0.9        0.0        9.0       1.6         0.0      15.1    11.9     0.0     0.0     0.0    4.2
Vermont.......................................       2,175       9.7      12.9       27.3       0.5        0.0        6.1       5.1         0.0       7.7    21.3     0.1     0.1     9.1    0.0
Virgin Islands................................       (\1\)     (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)      (\1\)      (\1\)     (\1\)       (\1\)     (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)   (\1\)  (\1\)
Virginia......................................       6,994       8.7      18.0       17.9       2.2        1.6        9.8       5.1         5.4       7.8    13.0     0.3     0.5     0.0    9.7
Washington....................................      22,229       5.2      27.3       25.8      11.8        0.0        0.0       9.9         0.4      17.8     1.6     0.2     0.0     0.0    0.0
West Virginia.................................       9,377      23.1      33.0       11.0       1.0       11.8        0.0       2.2         0.2       2.3     0.2     0.1     0.0    15.1    0.0
Wisconsin.....................................      14,731      21.2      12.2        5.6      11.1        0.0        0.0       3.6         1.3       6.7    22.6     0.3     1.6     5.2    8.7
Wyoming.......................................         986       7.0      22.5        4.4       0.0        4.6        3.2      12.0         0.1       0.0     0.0    46.3     0.0     0.0    0.0
                                               -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total..............................     632,054      12.3      22.7        9.2       7.5        7.8        8.0       6.2         0.8      11.1     6.1     0.4     0.3     3.8   3.9 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Data not reported.                                                                                                                                                                          
\2\ Includes high school, GED, remedial education, and English as a second language.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.                                                                                                


                                    TABLE 7-36.--JOBS PARTICIPATION BY STATE, AVERAGE MONTHLY DATA, FISCAL YEAR 1995                                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    Total adult recipients      Total JOBS participants                   Countable JOBS
                                                                ---------------------------------------------------------   Percent of     participants,
                             State                                                 JOBS                                     AFDC adults    as a percent 
                                                                   AFDC (1)     mandatories    Active \1\  Countable \2\   mandatory for  of mandatories
                                                                                    (2)           (3)           (4)          JOBS (5)           (6)     
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................................................       30,782           9,251        6,184         5,429             30.1            58.7
Alaska.........................................................       13,326           3,520            0         1,390             26.4            39.5
Arizona........................................................       60,370          12,406        5,222         3,678             20.5            29.6
Arkansas.......................................................       17,809           4,298        6,590           864             24.1            20.1
California.....................................................      846,450         359,182       80,073        83,480             42.4            23.2
Colorado.......................................................       34,776          23,396        5,681         4,826             67.3            20.6
Connecticut....................................................       56,511          26,840        6,997         7,399             47.5            27.6
Delaware.......................................................        8,021           3,068          947           693             38.2            22.6
District of Columbia...........................................       22,272           8,702            0         1,309             39.1            15.0
Florida........................................................      189,872          34,103       27,632        16,258             18.0            47.7
Georgia........................................................      114,012          45,658       17,307        15,849             40.0            34.7
Guam...........................................................        2,273             797            0            22             35.1             2.8
Hawaii.........................................................       22,210           9,356        1,450         1,828             42.1            19.5
Idaho..........................................................        7,643           1,627        1,013           780             21.3            47.9
Illinois.......................................................      218,495         125,058       31,095        31,192             57.2            24.9
Indiana........................................................       59,551           8,642        9,242         1,542             14.5            17.8
Iowa...........................................................       34,523          16,403       12,782         5,101             47.5            31.1
Kansas.........................................................       24,905          14,717        4,930         5,515             59.1            37.5
Kentucky.......................................................       61,809          32,401        9,478         8,200             52.4            25.3
Louisiana......................................................       77,825          26,187        8,652         7,277             33.6            27.8
Maine..........................................................       22,343          12,764        3,496         4,028             57.1            31.6
Maryland.......................................................       71,196          27,563        7,431         5,724             38.7            20.8
Massachusetts..................................................       97,191          47,286       18,526        12,685             48.7            26.8
Michigan.......................................................      200,112         121,797       41,986        26,802             60.9            22.0
Minnesota......................................................       59,380          21,230        6,227         4,493             35.8            21.2
Mississippi....................................................       38,313          13,642        5,888         2,790             35.6            20.5
Missouri.......................................................       78,685          31,076        7,192         8,369             39.5            26.9
Montana........................................................       11,685           5,476        1,646         1,701             46.9            31.1
Nebraska.......................................................       12,778           5,532        5,777         3,979             43.3            71.9
Nevada.........................................................       12,071           4,288          745           888             35.5            20.7
New Hampshire..................................................        9,898           3,937        1,991         2,042             39.8            51.9
New Jersey.....................................................      102,858          66,115       15,400        15,062             64.3            22.8
New Mexico.....................................................       36,597          11,369        8,250         3,534             31.1            31.1
New York.......................................................      444,093         200,167       52,327        46,375             45.1            23.2
North Carolina.................................................      102,151          43,955       12,848        11,161             43.0            25.4
North Dakota...................................................        4,796           1,678        1,399           465             35.0            27.7
Ohio...........................................................      196,557          97,040       45,290        32,795             49.4            33.8
Oklahoma.......................................................       38,101          15,742        6,581         3,579             41.3            22.7
Oregon.........................................................       33,470          19,335        2,724         8,906             57.8            46.1
Pennsylvania...................................................      193,502          93,900       35,119        21,861             48.5            23.3
Puerto Rico....................................................       54,009          19,796        6,324         3,933             36.7            19.9
Rhode Island...................................................       20,644          14,216        4,052         3,062             68.9            21.5
South Carolina.................................................       33,231           9,150        7,013         3,012             27.5            32.9
South Dakota...................................................        4,719           2,262        1,451         1,500             47.9            66.3
Tennessee......................................................       86,374          21,333       11,164         6,527             24.7            30.6
Texas..........................................................      223,589          57,816       23,149        13,833             25.9            23.9
Utah...........................................................       15,081          11,580        6,376         5,187             76.8            44.8
Vermont........................................................       10,408           5,368        2,178         1,102             51.6            20.5
Virgin Islands.................................................        1,195             738            0           183             61.8            24.8
Virginia.......................................................       56,106          20,296        6,993         4,859             36.2            23.9
Washington.....................................................      102,255          36,849       22,229        17,185             36.0            46.6
West Virginia..................................................       37,859          17,237        9,377         5,177             45.5            30.0
Wisconsin......................................................       62,922          35,580       14,843        12,617             56.5            35.5
Wyoming........................................................        4,530           2,879          986         1,340             63.6            46.5
                                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total...............................................    4,382,134       1,864,602      632,253       499,388             42.6           26.8 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The number of active participants is based on monthly reports.                                                                                      
\2\ The number of countable participants is based on quarterly reports.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.                                                        

    Table 7-37 gives comparable data for the AFDC-UP caseload, 
for which the 1995 minimum JOBS participation rate was 50 
percent. Column 4 shows that ``countable'' participation rates 
among the 50 States ranged from 6 percent in Hawaii to 80 
percent in Kentucky.
    Although some States in some years failed to meet 
participation standards, none has been penalized by a reduced 
matching rate. The DHHS Secretary has waived this penalty, as 
permitted by law, if a State has made a good faith effort to 
meet the standard and has submitted a plan for improvement.

     TABLE 7-37.--PARTICIPATION OF AFDC-UP ADULTS IN JOBS, BY STATE, AVERAGE MONTHLY DATA, FISCAL YEAR 1995     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Total AFDC-      No.                                 
                                                            UP adult   required to   No. meeting                
                           State                           recipients  participate  participation  Participation
                                                               (1)       in JOBS      rules  (3)    rate \1\ (in
                                                                           (2)                      percent) (4)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama.................................................         243          116           37               32
 Alaska..................................................       3,788          791          384               49
 Arizona.................................................       2,282          512          274               54
 Arkansas................................................         514          277           50               18
 California..............................................     257,171      143,160       49,705               35
 Colorado................................................         915          292           86               29
 Connecticut.............................................       5,632        2,555        1,518               59
 Delaware................................................         131           50            9               18
District of Columbia.....................................         391          207            6                3
 Florida.................................................       6,657        1,384          475               34
 Georgia.................................................         988          541          308               57
 Guam....................................................         378          198            3                2
 Hawaii..................................................       2,819        1,410           85                6
 Idaho...................................................       1,117          355          136               38
 Illinois................................................      21,021        9,706        5,436               56
 Indiana.................................................       4,134        2,206          272               12
 Iowa....................................................       6,259        3,325        2,059               62
 Kansas..................................................       2,919        1,665          585               35
 Kentucky................................................       6,912        3,027        2,429               80
 Louisiana...............................................       1,366          582          224               38
 Maine...................................................       3,667        1,905        1,143               60
 Maryland................................................       1,311          533          205               38
 Massachusetts...........................................       6,503        3,070        2,012               66
 Michigan................................................      40,729       19,251        9,641               50
 Minnesota...............................................       8,749        4,209          973               23
 Mississippi.............................................          79           41            3                7
 Missouri................................................       3,971        1,392          642               46
 Montana.................................................       1,793          588          370               63
 Nebraska................................................       1,417          292          125               43
 Nevada..................................................         652          254          131               52
 New Hampshire...........................................         550          247           28               11
 New Jersey..............................................       6,908        3,321          949               29
 New Mexico..............................................       2,699          697          376               54
 New York................................................      38,245       15,646        6,114               39
 North Carolina..........................................       4,783        2,696          251                9
 North Dakota............................................         263           72           44               61
 Ohio....................................................      28,031       15,423        5,177               34
 Oklahoma................................................         638          157           97               62
 Oregon..................................................       5,065        2,224          611               27
 Pennsylvania............................................      16,051        7,122        4,281               60
 Puerto Rico.............................................           0            0            0                0
 Rhode Island............................................       1,164          611          348               57
 South Carolina..........................................         625          214          107               50
 South Dakota............................................          41           12            8               67
 Tennessee...............................................       3,263        1,462          879               60
 Texas...................................................      14,735        4,056        1,035               26
 Utah....................................................         179           76           60               79
 Vermont.................................................       2,642        1,026          550               54
 Virgin Is...............................................           0            0            0                0
 Virginia................................................         835          292           59               20
 Washington..............................................      28,662       14,630        3,601               25
 West Virginia...........................................       9,920        5,747        1,872               33
 Wisconsin...............................................       9,917        4,980        2,788               56
 Wyoming.................................................         135           41           19               46
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
      Total U.S..........................................     569,859      284,646      108,580               38
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Participation rate calculated by dividing number of adults meeting participation rules (3) by the number of 
  required participants (2).                                                                                    
                                                                                                                
 Source: DHHS Office of Family Assistance. Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service.                

                         Indian Tribes and JOBS

     More than 80 Indian tribes and Alaska Native Organizations 
in 24 States conducted their own JOBS Programs. These programs, 
which were 100 percent federally funded, did not have to meet 
participation rules of the regular JOBS Program. Allocation of 
JOBS funds for Indian tribes and Alaska Native Organizations 
was based on the percentage of AFDC adult recipients within the 
State who lived in their service area, and their grants were 
subtracted from the State's allocation. In fiscal year 1996, 
$8.5 million (0.85 percent of total authorized JOBS funds) was 
set aside for them. (The 1996 welfare reform law appropriates 
$7.6 million for each of six fiscal years to Indian tribes that 
were JOBS grantees; this is in addition to any TANF funds they 
may receive for operating tribal family assistance programs.)

                Welfare-to-Work Efforts: Some Assessments

     JOBS Programs differed across States. The Manpower 
Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) has identified and 
analyzed two basic approaches taken by States: the labor force 
attachment approach and the human capital development (HCD) 
approach. The labor force approach used job search, short-term 
education or training and other services to move parents 
quickly into jobs; the human capital approach encouraged people 
to postpone work so as to build skills. Among 2-year findings 
of impacts at three sites: The labor force approach increased 
the number employed by 24 percent, reduced the number still on 
AFDC by 16 percent, and increased earnings by 26 percent. Even 
so, 57 percent of the labor force treatment group remained on 
AFDC, and the group's earnings averaged only $285 monthly. Of 
the labor force attachment control group, 68 percent remained 
on AFDC, and the group's earnings averaged $226. MDRC said the 
human capital approach failed to produce consistent gains in 
earnings or employment, but achieved AFDC savings of 14 percent 
(Freedman & Friedlander, 1995). However, MDRC also said that 
the 2-year followup period was not long enough to capture full 
effects of lengthy basic education or training activities.
    A mid-1994 survey made by the General Accounting Office 
(GAO) concluded that county JOBS Programs nationwide lacked a 
strong employment focus. GAO surveyed a nationally 
representative random sample of 453 county JOBS administrators 
and visited programs in four States. Most of the administrators 
reported that fewer than one-half of their job-ready 
participants had become employed and that little use was made 
of subsidized jobs or work experience programs (U.S. General 
Accounting Office, 1995a).
    Another GAO study found that most adult AFDC recipients did 
not participate in JOBS because of the law's allowable 
exemptions and minimum participation standards. Noting that the 
program reached only about 13 percent of single female-headed 
households receiving AFDC each month in 1992, GAO questioned 
whether a program serving relatively few persons could bring 
about a widespread transformation of the culture of welfare 
(U.S. General Accounting Office, 1995b.).
    Another study of JOBS implementation concluded that the 
program held promise for further development of ``meaningful 
welfare employment programs'' across the country and that it 
would best be served by incremental changes, not dramatic 
reform. The study urged more funding for services, including 
child care (Hagen and Lurie, 1994).
    A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report examined the 
types of jobs likely to be available to welfare recipients and 
concluded that some AFDC recipients who found work might still 
be poor (especially if the job were part time), even with 
supplementation by the earned income credit. For AFDC 
recipients to be able to compete for higher paying jobs, their 
productivity would have to be raised. However, experience with 
the Job Training Partnership Act Title II-A Training Program 
suggests that training alone might not be sufficient to enable 
recipients to earn their way out of poverty (Levine, 1994).

                          EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE

     Before enactment of TANF, the Social Security Act (title 
IV-A) offered States 50 percent Federal matching funds for 
emergency assistance (EA) to families with children if the aid 
were needed to avoid destitution of a child or to provide 
living arrangements in a home for him. The law made unlimited 
EA funds available, but only for aid furnished for a period not 
in excess of 30 days in any 12-month period. From the program's 
beginning in fiscal year 1969, regulations interpreted the 
statute to allow funding for EA that is authorized by the State 
during one period of 30 consecutive days in any 12 consecutive 
months. The rules explicitly allowed funding to meet needs that 
arose before the 30-day authorization period, such as past-due 
rent, or needs that extend beyond it. In effect, this 
controversial interpretation of the statute meant that there 
was no 30-day limit on benefits.
    State EA plans were required to specify eligibility 
conditions, which might be more liberal than those for AFDC, 
and to specify what emergencies they would meet and what 
services they would provide. The law allowed EA for migrant 
families and for those excluded from AFDC because they lived 
with both parents and neither was disabled or unemployed. In 
the mid-1970s, court suits challenged States' rights to 
restrict the kinds of emergencies for which EA could be paid, 
and some States dropped the program; but on June 6, 1978, the 
U.S. Supreme Court (Quern v. Mandley, 436 U.S. 725) held that 
States could limit EA eligibility more narrowly than the outer 
bounds set in the Social Security Act.
    Before 1980, fewer than half the States operated EA 
Programs and total expenditures averaged only about $50 million 
annually. In the 1980s the number of State programs rose to 27, 
and expenditures averaged $170 million yearly. By 1990, 32 
jurisdictions offered EA; by 1995, the total was 51 (all but 
Alaska, which dropped the program in 1975, and Mississippi and 
Guam, which never offered it). In the 1990s EA spending 
exploded, soaring from $378 million in fiscal year 1990 to $1.6 
billion in fiscal year 1994 and $3.2 billion in both fiscal 
year 1995 and 1996. In 1996, as shown in table 7-38, more than 
one-half of all EA expenditures were made by three States: New 
York, 32 percent of the total; Pennsylvania, 15 percent, and 
California, 9 percent. Table 7-39 presents the growth in total 
State and Federal EA expenditures for selected fiscal years 
1970-96.
     EA funds were used to aid families affected by natural 
disasters, such as floods, fires, and storms, and other crises 
threatening family or living arrangements. Other qualifying 
causes for EA specified by various States include: eviction, 
potential eviction, or foreclosure; homelessness; utility 
shutoff or loss of heating energy supply or equipment; civil 
disorders or crimes of violence; child or spousal abuse; loss 
of employment or strike; health hazards/risks to health and 
safety; emergency medical needs; and illness, accident, or 
injury. Beginning around 1993, some States began expanding the 
types of activities supported by EA funds; the new activities 
included child protection, family preservation, juvenile 
justice, mental health, counseling and referral, parenting 
education, case management, in-home family services, homemaker 
support, legal referrals, crisis intervention, and employment 
counseling (Solomon-Fears, 1995). As a result, EA spending 
exploded.

                    TABLE 7-38.--CASELOAD AND TOTAL EXPENDITURES IN THE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, BY STATE, FISCAL YEARS 1994-96                    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                             Caseload               Total fiscal year expenditures \2\     Average monthly expenditure/ 
                                                ---------------------------------         (dollars in thousands)                      family            
                     State                                                       -----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1994       1995     1996 \1\      1994         1995         1996        1994       1995       1996  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................................          0          0          0       $7,525      $14,871      $18,327          0          0          0
Alaska.........................................          0          0          0            0            0            0          0          0          0
Arizona........................................        114        150        184       13,541       23,396       23,696     $9,870    $12,998    $10,732
Arkansas.......................................          0          0          0        3,103        6,167       10,896          0          0          0
California.....................................      9,116     13,898      8,548      292,035      486,231      270,958      2,670      2,915      2,642
Colorado.......................................          0      1,505      2,772       25,799       65,500      101,158          0      3,627      3,041
Connecticut....................................          0          0          0       19,076      117,689       64,296          0          0          0
Delaware.......................................        141        134        138          555       21,602        9,308        328     13,434      5,621
District of Columbia...........................        805        358        191       16,085        8,912        1,145      1,665      2,074        500
Florida........................................      1,860      2,967      2,489       11,300       58,329      101,180        506      1,638      3,388
Georgia........................................      1,436        732      1,018       14,784       17,195       21,835        858      1,958      1,787
Guam...........................................          0          0          0            0            0            0          0          0          0
Hawaii.........................................          0          0          0          723        6,446        3,560          0          0          0
Idaho..........................................          0          0          0        4,647        7,695        7,857          0          0          0
Illinois.......................................      1,263      4,380      7,928       23,378      111,147      157,022      1,543      2,115      1,651
Indiana........................................          0          0          0       60,115       33,021        4,243          0          0          0
Iowa...........................................        421        415        405        1,758       16,506       42,918        348      3,314      8,831
Kansas.........................................        177        331        342       12,122       23,782       22,595      5,713      5,987      5,506
Kentucky.......................................          0          0          0            0        2,231       14,461          0          0          0
Louisiana......................................          0          0          0            0        6,260       10,278          0          0          0
Maine..........................................        326        344        390          738        1,689        5,030        188        409      1,075
Maryland.......................................      2,141      2,063      1,841       10,194       17,425       23,076        397        704      1,045
Massachusetts..................................      2,025      1,765      1,676       48,524       44,464       46,906      1,997      2,099      2,332
Michigan.......................................      1,135      1,100        936       18,313       22,697       22,083      1,344      1,719      1,966
Minnesota......................................      1,883      1,927      1,853       15,229       25,037       35,844        674      1,083      1,612
Mississippi....................................          0          0          0            0            0            0          0          0          0
Missouri.......................................          0      1,687      1,834       15,085       31,634       57,364          0      1,563      2,607
Montana........................................         33         19         19          386        3,331        3,911        980     14,610     17,154
Nebraska.......................................        151        154      1,009          912       20,203       21,526        505     10,932      1,778
Nevada.........................................        174      1,597      1,582          675       16,060       17,191        323        838        906
New Hampshire..................................        389        189        316        1,568        2,247        5,919        336        991      1,561
New Jersey.....................................      7,909      6,225      4,897       41,230       66,242       60,058        434        887      1,022
New Mexico.....................................          0          0          0            2        1,386       14,004          0          0          0
New York.......................................     15,911     12,526     11,521      837,710    1,232,551    1,008,984      4,387      8,200      7,298
North Carolina.................................      3,211      5,407      3,111        7,977       79,481      130,997        207      1,225      3,509
North Dakota...................................        549      1,028      1,074        3,004        9,906       12,961        456        803      1,006
Ohio...........................................      3,641      2,715      2,857        7,709       16,174       19,194        176        496        560
Oklahoma.......................................        574          2          0        1,027        4,729       18,671        149    197,042          0
Oregon.........................................      1,583      1,527        867        9,007       19,340       32,705        474      1,055      3,144
Pennsylvania...................................        801        622        650        5,749      390,088      492,332        598     52,263     63,119
Puerto Rico....................................        491        190        468          171          246          413         29        108         74
Rhode Island...................................          0        269        568        2,011       15,763       10,861          0      4,883      1,593
South Carolina.................................          0          0          0          774        9,204        9,074          0          0          0
South Dakota...................................        227        199        208        1,803        2,965        4,815        662      1,242      1,929
Tennessee......................................          0          0          0        1,913       43,850       45,592          0          0          0
Texas..........................................          0     10,937      3,947        3,529       17,170       94,288          0        131      1,991
Utah...........................................        120        182      2,481          506       13,541       12,633        351      6,200        424
Vermont........................................        267        184        168          963        3,828        4,978        301      1,734      2,469
Virgin Islands.................................          0          0          0            0            0            0          0          0          0
Virginia.......................................         39         34         35           72           56           64        155        137        152
Washington.....................................        594        533        459        5,816       34,998       70,393        815      5,472     12,780
West Virginia..................................      1,160      1,079      1,028        5,545        4,607        6,380        398        356        517
Wisconsin......................................        778        418        666        3,356        3,366        8,783        359        671      1,099
Wyoming........................................        231        242        144        5,216        4,249        2,112      1,886      1,463      1,222
                                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. total...............................     61,675     80,034     70,620   $1,563,262   $3,185,507   $3,184,875     $2,112     $3,317    $3,758 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Preliminary data.                                                                                                                                   
\2\ Represents total expenditures claimed by States and may include prior year claims and amounts deferred.                                             
                                                                                                                                                        
 Note.--Based on best available data reported by States.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                                        
 Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                                                        


  TABLE 7-39.--TOTAL FEDERAL AND STATE EXPENDITURES UNDER THE EMERGENCY 
          ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, SELECTED FISCAL YEARS 1970-96 \1\         
                        [In millions of dollars]                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Fiscal year                             Amount  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970.......................................................          $14
1975.......................................................           70
1980.......................................................          109
1985.......................................................          157
1986.......................................................          175
1987.......................................................          203
1988.......................................................          256
1989.......................................................          310
1990.......................................................          378
1991.......................................................          306
1992.......................................................          627
1993.......................................................          789
1994.......................................................        1,563
1995.......................................................        3,186
1996.......................................................       3,185 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Represents total expenditures claimed by States and may include     
  prior year claims. May also include amounts deferred or under review  
  by the Administration for Children and Families.                      
                                                                        
 Source: Administration of Children and Families, U.S. Department of    
  Health and Human Services.                                            

             TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)

     Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a block 
grant, administered by the Department of Health and Human 
Services, for State-designed programs of time-limited and work-
conditioned aid to families with children. Enacted on August 
22, 1996, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act (Public Law 104-193) repealed Aid to 
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Emergency Assistance 
for Needy Families, and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills 
Training (JOBS) Program, replacing them with TANF. The TANF law 
combines recent Federal funding levels for AFDC, EA, and JOBS 
into a single grant ($16.5 billion annually through fiscal year 
2002). It entitles each State to the sum it received in a 
recent year for the replaced programs. Outlying areas also are 
entitled to TANF grants. Further, Indian tribes, defined to 
include Alaska Native Organizations, may apply to operate their 
own tribal family assistance plans. The 1996 welfare law also 
provides an average of $2.3 billion annually in a new child 
care block grant (about double the recent Federal funding level 
for AFDC-related child care; see section 9).
     TANF has greatly enlarged State discretion in operating 
family welfare and ended the entitlement of individual families 
to benefits. Under TANF, States decide what categories of needy 
families to help (AFDC law defined eligible classes and 
required States to aid families in these classes if their 
income were below State-set limits). Under TANF, States decide 
whether to adopt financial rewards or penalties to induce work 
and other desired behavior. They set asset limits (AFDC law 
imposed an outer limit). Moreover, States continue to set 
benefit levels. TANF explicitly permits States to administer 
benefits and provide services through contracts with 
charitable, religious, or private organizations.
     Attached to the TANF Block Grant are some Federal 
conditions. For instance, to receive full grants, States must 
achieve minimum work participation rates and spend a certain 
sum of their own funds on behalf of eligible families. The 
latter is known as the maintenance-of-effort (MOE) rule. 
Moreover, States must impose a general 5-year time limit on 
TANF-funded benefits and cannot use TANF funds to assist unwed 
mothers under 18 unless they live in an adult-supervised 
setting.
     States were required to commence TANF by July 1, 1997, but 
most did so earlier. The block grant offered most States more 
funds than the expiring programs would have because the TANF 
grant is based on funding during years with larger caseloads.
     For full State grants, TANF requires participation in 
specified ``work activities'' by 25 percent of all beneficiary 
families with an adult parent or caretaker or a teen parent in 
fiscal year 1997; this all-family participation rate rises to 
50 percent by fiscal year 2002. (States may exempt a single 
parent with a child under the age of 1 from the work 
requirement and from the calculation of work participation 
rates for up to 12 months.) However, the law directs DHHS to 
lower the required rate if a State's caseload is smaller than 
in fiscal year 1995 (which is the case in most States). For 
two-parent families, higher participation minimums apply; the 
minimums start at 75 percent and climb to 90 percent in fiscal 
year 1999. Work activities that count toward a State's 
participation requirement exclude education, except for high 
school dropouts and a limited amount of vocational educational 
training.
    In 1997, Congress enacted a program of welfare-to-work 
grants for the benefit of TANF recipients, administered by the 
Department of Labor, and revised some provisions of the 
original TANF law. The description below applies to the 
program, as amended by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public 
Law 105-33).

                        Basic Outline of Program

 Purpose
     The purpose of TANF is to increase State flexibility in 
operating programs designed to: (1) aid needy families so that 
children may be cared for in their homes or those of relatives; 
(2) end dependence of needy parents upon government benefits by 
promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and 
reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish goals for 
preventing and reducing their incidence; and (4) encourage 
formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
 Eligible families
    A State may give cash TANF benefits to a family it finds 
needy if it includes:
    --a minor child (under 18 or under age 19 if a full-time 
            student in a secondary school or the equivalent 
            level of vocational or technical training) who 
            lives with his/her parent or other caretaker 
            relative;
    --a pregnant person.
 Ineligible persons
    A State may not use Federal dollars to provide benefits 
for:
    --Unwed mothers under 18 (and their children) unless they 
            live in the home of an adult relative or in another 
            adult-supervised living arrangement;
    --Unwed mothers under 18 without a high school diploma 
            unless they attend school;
    --Aliens who enter the United States after August 22, 1996; 
            they are barred from TANF for 5 years, after which 
            TANF eligibility is a State option. TANF benefits 
            for aliens legally in the United States on August 
            22, 1996 are a State option;
    --A child who has been (or is expected to be) absent from 
            home for 45 consecutive days, or, at State option, 
            for 30-180 days. States may make ``good cause'' 
            exceptions to this rule;
    --Persons convicted after August 22, 1996 of a drug-related 
            felony (unless State opts out by State law);
    --For 10 years, persons who fraudulently misrepresented 
            residence to obtain food stamps, TANF, SSI, or 
            Medicaid in two or more States.
 Conditions for eligibility
    TANF may not be paid to a person who fails to assign to the 
State child support or spousal support rights. If a parent 
fails to cooperate with the State in establishing paternity and 
in establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support order, 
her benefit must be ended or reduced, unless she qualifies for 
a good cause or other exception established by the State.
 Time limit: benefit cutoff
     Federal TANF funds may not be used for aid to a family 
that includes an adult who has received 60 months of TANF 
benefits while an adult, a minor household head, or a minor 
married to a household head. States must disregard months 
during which the adult lived in Indian country or in an Alaska 
Native village with 50 percent of adults unemployed. A State 
may exempt up to 20 percent of its caseload from the 5-year 
time limit on grounds of hardship or the family's inclusion of 
a battered woman. State funds used to aid persons ineligible 
for TANF because of the 5-year time limit or new alien rules 
may be counted toward the maintenance-of-effort requirement. 
Also, States may use TANF funds transferred to title XX social 
services for aid to the ex-TANF family.
    The above rules apply to TANF Programs funded by Federal 
grants or by commingled State funds and Federal grants. 
According to a January 31, 1997 guidance from DHHS, if States 
operate TANF Programs in which Federal grant and State funds 
are segregated, the 5-year time limit and the requirements for 
teen school attendance and teen parent living arrangements do 
not apply to families aided with State funds only. Nor do they 
apply to a wholly separate State program.
 Time limit: work trigger
    States must require parents and other caretakers to engage 
in ``work'' after 24 months of aid and, unless the State opts 
out, to participate in community service after 2 months of aid.
 Work requirements
     After a maximum of 2 years of TANF benefits, parents and 
other caretakers must be required to engage in ``work,'' as 
defined by the State. Not later than August 22, 1997, unless 
they opt out by notice to the Secretary, States must require a 
parent who has received TANF for 2 months to participate in 
community service employment, with hours and tasks set by the 
State (not applicable to a single parent of a child under 6 who 
is unable to obtain needed child care for a specified reason). 
In their TANF plans, almost 20 States said they planned to opt 
out of this requirement; some said they were deferring a 
decision, and Massachusetts noted that it requires work, which 
can include community service, after 60 days of benefits. The 
law imposes no exemptions from the work requirement on States, 
but permits States to exempt a single parent caring for a child 
under age 1 and provides that if these parents are exempted, 
they will not be counted in calculating a State's work 
participation rate. If a State has chosen to certify that it 
will ``screen for and identify domestic violence,'' it may 
waive work requirements, time limits, and other TANF rules for 
victims of domestic violence, although such States remain 
obligated to meet overall work participation and time limit 
requirements.
 Creditable work activities
     The law defines ``work activities'' that count toward a 
State's participation rate as: unsubsidized employment, 
subsidized private or public sector employment, work 
experience, on-the-job training, job search and job readiness 
assistance for a maximum of 6 weeks, including only 4 
consecutive weeks (the maximum rises to 12 weeks under any of 
the following conditions: if the State unemployment rate is 50 
percent above average, if the State's seasonally adjusted 
unemployment rate for the most recent 3 months is at least 6.5 
percent and at least 10 percent above the comparable rate in 
either of the past 2 years, or if its food stamp caseload over 
the most recent 3-month period is at least 10 percent higher 
than the food stamp caseload would have been in the 
corresponding period of fiscal year 1994 or fiscal year 1995, 
if Public Law 104-193 had been in effect throughout those 
fiscal years), community service programs, vocational 
educational training (12 months maximum), job skills training 
directly related to employment, education directly related to 
employment for recipients without a high school diploma or 
equivalent), satisfactory attendance at secondary school, and 
provision of child care services to a TANF recipient who is 
participating in a community service program. Not more than 30 
percent of all families and of two-parent families may be 
credited with work activity by reason of vocational educational 
training or, only in fiscal year 2000 or later (if teen 
household heads or married teens without high school diploma) 
by reason of secondary school attendance or education directly 
related to employment. For fiscal year 1998 or fiscal year 
1999, no limit applies to the number of teen high school 
dropouts who can be counted as participating in a work activity 
through education.
     A study by GAO (1997) of three States' experience under 
waivers found that they succeeded, through policy changes, in 
increasing the percentage of their AFDC recipients who 
participated in work activities. However, State officials told 
GAO that as employable recipients found jobs, the remaining 
caseload would consist of persons with substantial barriers to 
employment, ``making the higher future target rates difficult 
to achieve.''
 Required weekly hours of work activity
    To be counted as a work participant, a person must be 
engaged in a work activity for at least a weekly minimum 
average of 20 hours in fiscal years 1997-98, 25 hours in fiscal 
year 1999, and 30 hours in fiscal year 2000 and thereafter. For 
a single parent or caretaker relative of a child under 6, 
weekly hours remain at 20. Of required hours, at least 20 
generally must be spent in these specified ``priority'' 
activities: employment, work experience, on-the-job training, 
job search and job readiness, community service, vocational 
educational training, or provision of child care to a 
participant in community service. However, a single teen 
household head or married teen without diploma is credited with 
work if she maintains satisfactory high school attendance or, 
for an average of at least 20 hours weekly, engages in 
schooling directly related to work. Special rules apply to two-
parent families: (1) they must work at least 35 hours weekly 
with at least 30 hours in the priority activities specified 
above (the two parents may share the work hours); (2) if the 
family receives federally-funded child care aid and an adult in 
the family is not disabled or caring for a severely disabled 
child, the shared work requirement rises to 55 hours, of which 
50 hours must be in a priority activity. If the second parent 
in a family is disabled, the State must treat it as a single-
parent family.
Nondisplacement
    A TANF recipient may fill a vacant position, but may not be 
assigned to a position from which a worker has been laid off.
 Minimum work participation rates
    To receive their full TANF Block Grant, States must achieve 
minimum work participation rates. The share of all families 
that must participate in a work activity (except single-parent 
families with an infant, if States exempt them) begins at 25 
percent in fiscal year 1997 and rises by 5 percentage points a 
year, reaching 50 percent in fiscal year 2002 and thereafter. 
Included within the all-family group are two-parent families, 
for whom higher participation rates are required, namely, 75 
percent in fiscal years 1997-98 and 90 percent in fiscal year 
1999 and thereafter. However, the DHHS Secretary is to issue 
regulations for reducing required participation rates each 
fiscal year by the number of percentage points by which a 
State's caseload in the preceding fiscal year is smaller than 
in fiscal year 1995 unless she finds that the decrease was 
required by Federal law or results from changes in State 
eligibility criteria, a relationship to be proved by the 
Secretary. Because caseloads generally have been shrinking, the 
actual required participation rates in the near future, at 
least for most States, will be smaller than the statutory ones. 
During the first 9 months of fiscal year 1997, the national 
average monthly AFDC/TANF caseload (4.056 million families) was 
16.9 percent smaller than its fiscal year 1995 counterpart 
(4.881 million) (see table 7-48). These statistics on caseload 
declines suggest that the average State could fulfill its 30 
percent all-family work requirement in 1998 by having 13.1 
percent of its caseload in work activities (30 percent minus 
16.9 percent). However, actual caseload reductions varied 
widely among the States, and two jurisdictions had caseload 
increases rather than declines. The law does not state whether 
adjustments in minimum participation rates are to be calculated 
separately for all families and two-parent families.
     A State's monthly participation rate, expressed as a 
percentage, equals: (1) the number of all recipient families in 
which an adult or minor head of household is engaged in work 
activity for the month, divided by (2) the number of recipient 
families with an recipient adult or teen household head (but 
excluding families subject that month to a penalty for refusal 
to work, provided they have not been penalized for more than 3 
months, whether or not consecutive, in the preceding 12; and 
excluding families with children under 1, if the State exempts 
them from work). The same method is used to calculate 
participation rates of two-parent families.
 Penalties against States for failing participation rates
     If a State falls short of the required participation rate 
for a fiscal year, its TANF Block Grant for the next year is to 
be reduced by 5 percent (first failure to meet the standard). 
For subsequent years of failure, annual penalties rise by 2 
percentage points (thus, 7 percent in second year, 9 percent in 
third, etc.) with a maximum penalty of 21 percent in any one 
year. However, the law says that grant reductions shall be 
based ``on the degree of noncompliance,'' and the Secretary may 
reduce the penalty if noncompliance is due to ``extraordinary 
circumstances, such as a natural disaster or regional 
recession.'' In the latter case, the Secretary must justify the 
penalty reduction to Congress in writing.
 Penalties against individuals for refusing work
    If an adult recipient refuses to engage in required work, 
the State must reduce aid to the family ``pro rata'' (or more, 
at State option) with respect to the period of work refusal, or 
shall discontinue aid, subject to good cause and other 
exceptions that the State may establish. However, a State may 
not penalize a single parent caring for a child under age 6 for 
refusal to work if the parent has a demonstrated inability to 
obtain needed child care for a reason listed in the law. The 
law does not define ``pro rata'' reduction. It could be 
interpreted to require that the benefit reduction expressed as 
a percentage, equal the percentage of required hours that are 
not worked.
 Treatment of income
     TANF has no provision about treatment of earned or 
unearned income (except one requiring States to disregard 
interest accruing to a recipient in an individual development 
account). States set their own income limits and make their own 
rules governing treatment of earnings and other income.
 Treatment of resources
    TANF has no provision about resource limits. However, it 
permits States to subsidize individual development accounts 
(IDAs) established by TANF recipients to save funds for 
specified purposes (postsecondary educational expenses, first 
home purchase, or business capitalization).
 Client contracts/agreements
     States must assess the skills, work experience, and 
employability of each adult recipient (at least age 18) who has 
not completed high school and is not attending school. In 
consultation with the recipient and on the basis of the 
assessment, the State may develop an individual responsibility 
plan (IRP) that sets forth obligations of the recipient and 
describes services to be provided by the State. The law 
explicitly allows the IRP to require a recipient to undergo 
appropriate treatment for substance abuse and provides that 
States cannot be prohibited by the Federal Government from 
testing welfare recipients for use of controlled substances and 
sanctioning those who test positive.
Child care for TANF families
     TANF ended the requirement that States ``guarantee'' child 
care for welfare recipients needing it to work or study, but 
entitles States to an average of $2.3 billion annually for 
child care under title IV-A for 6 years (fiscal years 1997-2002 
total: $13.9 billion). This total consists of $1.2 billion per 
year in 100 percent Federal grants and an average of about $1.1 
billion yearly in matching grants. The 1996 law entitles 
individual States to what they received for AFDC work-related 
child care, transitional child care, and at-risk child care in 
a recent year. States that maintain the higher of their 1994 or 
1995 spending on these programs are entitled also to extra 
funds at the fiscal year 1995 Medicaid matching rate. The law 
earmarks 70 percent of entitlement child care funds for 
recipients or ex-recipients of TANF or persons at risk of TANF 
eligibility and states that a substantial portion of the 
remaining entitlement funds should be used for low-income 
working families not on welfare. It also transfers these IV-A 
child care funds to the lead agency under the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and makes them subject to rules 
of CCDBG (see section 9).
 Privatization of administration
     The 1996 welfare law authorizes States to administer and 
provide TANF services (and those under Supplemental Security 
Income) through contracts with charitable, religious, or 
private organizations. States are authorized to pay recipients 
by means of certificates, vouchers, or other disbursement forms 
redeemable with these organizations. Any religious organization 
with a contract to provide welfare services must retain 
independence from all units of government. However, States must 
ensure an alternative provider for a beneficiary who objects to 
the religious character of the designated organization.
 Penalties against States
     Penalties against a State for any quarter must not exceed 
25 percent of the basic grant; unrecovered penalties are to be 
carried forward. In the case of all penalties, States must 
replace Federal funds with their own so that the amount of TANF 
funds spent for the benefit of recipients is not diminished by 
penalties.
    Other than the penalty for failing to meet the work 
participation rates discussed previously, States are subject to 
13 penalties. In the case of five of these penalties, the 
Secretary has no discretion and must, in most cases, impose the 
full penalty each year the States are out of compliance. In the 
case of the remaining eight penalties, the Secretary may not 
impose penalties if the State corrects the violation or if the 
Secretary finds reasonable cause for the violation. The five 
penalties that the Secretary must impose are:
    --Failure to maintain 100 percent of historic State 
            spending under the State TANF Program during a year 
            in which the State received contingency funds. The 
            Secretary must reduce the next year's TANF grant by 
            the total amount of contingency funds paid to the 
            State;
    --Failure to maintain a certain level of historic State 
            spending--generally, the sum equal to 75 percent of 
            spending from State funds on replaced programs 
            (including AFDC-related child care) in fiscal year 
            1994. The Secretary must reduce the following 
            year's TANF grant by the shortfall in MOE spending. 
            In addition, if the State received welfare-to-work 
            grant funds for the year, the Secretary must reduce 
            the following year's TANF grant by the amount of 
            those welfare-to-work funds;
    --Failure to timely repay a loan from the Federal loan fund 
            for State welfare programs. The Secretary must 
            reduce the TANF grant for the next quarter by the 
            outstanding loan amount, plus the interest owed;
    --Failure to comply substantially with child support 
            enforcement requirements (see section 8), including 
            performance measures and data reporting. The 
            Secretary must reduce the TANF grant for each 
            quarter of noncompliance as follows: first finding 
            of noncompliance, by 1-2 percent; second 
            consecutive finding, 2-3 percent; and third and 
            later findings, 5 percent;
    --Failure to replace Federal penalty funds (TANF grant 
            reductions) with State funds. The Secretary must 
            reduce the next year's TANF grant by the sum of 2 
            percent of the grant and the amount of State funds 
            equal to the earlier grant reduction.
    The penalties for which the Secretary may allow States to 
enter into corrective compliance plans or for which the 
Secretary may find reasonable cause are:
    --Failure to comply with the 5-year TANF benefit limit; 
            reduction of 5 percent in the TANF grant for the 
            next fiscal year;
    --Failure to enforce penalties required by the child 
            support agency against TANF recipients who fail to 
            cooperate in establishing paternity or in 
            establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child 
            support order (good cause exceptions allowed); 
            reduction of up to 5 percent in TANF grant for the 
            next fiscal year;
    --Failure to submit a required report; reduction of 4 
            percent in TANF grant for the next year, to be 
            rescinded if the State submits the report before 
            the end of the next fiscal quarter;
    --Failure to participate in the income and eligibility 
            verification system; reduction of up to 2 percent 
            in TANF grant for the next fiscal year;
    --Use of TANF funds in violation of the law; reduction of 
            the next year's TANF grant by the amount of funds 
            wrongfully used; if the violation is found to be 
            intentional, the Secretary must reduce the next 
            year's TANF grant by 5 percent;
    --Misuse of competitive welfare-to-work funds; the State 
            must pay the Secretary of the Department of Labor 
            an amount equal to the misused funds;
    --Failure to maintain aid for a single parent who cannot 
            obtain care (for specified reasons) for a child 
            under 6; reduction of up to 5 percent in the TANF 
            grant for the next fiscal year;
    --Failure to reduce TANF aid for recipients who refuse 
            without good cause to work; reduction of not less 
            than 1 percent nor more than 5 percent in the next 
            year's TANF grant.
Interaction of TANF with other major benefit programs
    Medicaid.--Although the 1996 law ended AFDC, it retained 
AFDC eligibility limits for Medicaid use. States must provide 
Medicaid coverage and benefits to children and family members 
who would be eligible for AFDC cash aid (under terms of July 
16, 1996) if that program still existed. For this purpose, 
States are allowed to lower AFDC income and resource standards 
to those in effect on May 1, 1988 and to increase them by the 
percentage rise since July 16, 1996 in the Consumer Price Index 
for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The law permits States to end 
Medicaid for adults who refuse TANF work requirements, but 
requires continued Medicaid for their children. State plans 
must ensure Medicaid for children receiving foster care or 
adoption assistance, provide 12 months of medical assistance to 
those who lose eligibility for cash aid (TANF) because of 
increased earnings, and provide 4 months of extended medical 
benefits to those who lose eligibility because of receiving 
payments of child or spousal support. Public Law 105-33, 
enacted in August 1997, authorizes a new program called the 
State Children's Health Insurance Program. This law provides 
Federal matching funds, starting in fiscal year 1998, to enable 
States to expand health care to targeted, uninsured, low-income 
children, generally, those with family income below 200 percent 
of the Federal poverty income guidelines.
    Food stamps.--TANF recipients not living with others 
automatically are eligible for food stamps, but States can opt 
to operate a ``simplified Food Stamp Program'' under which they 
may apply many of their TANF rules to determination of food 
stamp benefits for TANF families, so long as the program does 
not increase Federal costs. TANF recipients disqualified for 
noncompliance with TANF rules may be disqualified also for food 
stamps; persons whose TANF benefits are lowered for 
noncompliance or fraud will not receive an increase in food 
stamps. Food stamps can be merged with TANF cash benefits in 
work supplementation programs (jobs subsidized with welfare 
benefits) and in workfare programs, where a person may receive 
food stamps as compensation for certain hours and cash welfare 
for other hours of employment (and where total compensation 
must equal or exceed the minimum wage for each hour worked).
    Child nutrition.--TANF children automatically are eligible 
for free school meals and other child nutrition programs. 
Women, infants, and children enrolled in TANF automatically are 
income- eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program 
for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
    Earned income credit (EIC).--The TANF law has no provision 
about treatment of EIC payments. Thus, States decide whether to 
count or disregard EIC payments as income and/or a resource.
    Public or assisted housing.--If a TANF family living in 
public or assisted housing is penalized with a cash benefit 
reduction for an act of fraud under TANF, its rent may not be 
decreased in response to the loss of income.
    Foster care and adoption assistance.--Although the 1996 law 
ended AFDC, it retains AFDC eligibility limits for foster care 
and adoption assistance. Foster care and adoption assistance 
matching funds are available for children who would have been 
eligible for AFDC cash aid under the income and resource limits 
that were in effect in the respective States on July 16, 1996.

                              TANF Funding

 Capping of Federal payments
    The 1996 welfare law severed the link between State and 
Federal spending on cash benefits and work-related services for 
needy families with children. Before TANF, the Federal 
Government reimbursed States for a share of expenditures in 
their AFDC, EA, and JOBS Programs. Federal payments rose with 
increased caseloads and declined with falling ones. In 
contrast, TANF provides a fixed basic grant, $16.5 billion 
yearly through fiscal year 2002 (plus expanded child care 
funding in a new block grant).
    The TANF Program provides all States with a basic block 
grant based on past Federal expenditures on the programs it 
replaces. It also entitles qualifying States to five additional 
grants: a supplemental fund for certain States with low TANF 
grants relative to poverty and high population growth; a bonus 
fund for States that reduce out-of-wedlock birth rates without 
increasing abortion rates; a bonus fund for ``high 
performance'' States; a contingency fund for States that 
experience high unemployment and/or increased food stamp 
caseloads; and welfare-to-work grants. The basic grants and the 
five additional grants all are capped.
 The basic block grant: the State Family Assistance Grant--$99 billion 
        (fiscal years 1997-2002)
    TANF's basic block grant entitles the 50 States and the 
District of Columbia to a total of $16.5 billion annually 
through fiscal year 2002. Each State's basic grant equals 
Federal payments received for AFDC, EA and JOBS in recent 
years. States are given the most favorable base: Average fiscal 
years 1992-94 payments; fiscal year 1994 payments (increased by 
85 percent of the fiscal year 1995 increase over fiscal year 
1994 in EA payments if the State amended its EA plan in fiscal 
years 1994 or 1995); or fiscal year 1995 payments.
    Table 7-40 shows the annual State family assistance grant 
for each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia, through 
fiscal year 2002. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands 
also are eligible to operate TANF and receive a family 
assistance grant, but they are not shown in the table, as 
special funding rules apply to them (see section 12 for 
information on the territories). The amounts shown in table 7-
40 are ``gross'' amounts; as under AFDC law, States are to pay 
the Federal Government for its share of child support 
collections made on behalf of TANF families.

 TABLE 7-40.--ANNUAL STATE FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 
                                  2002                                  
                        [In thousands of dollars]                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Family  
                           State                              assistance
                                                                grant   
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama....................................................      $93,315
Alaska.....................................................       63,609
Arizona....................................................      222,420
Arkansas...................................................       56,733
California.................................................    3,733,818
Colorado...................................................      136,057
Connecticut................................................      266,788
Delaware...................................................       32,291
District of Columbia.......................................       92,610
Florida....................................................      562,340
Georgia....................................................      330,742
Hawaii.....................................................       98,905
Idaho......................................................       31,938
Illinois...................................................      585,057
Indiana....................................................      206,799
Iowa.......................................................      131,525
Kansas.....................................................      101,931
Kentucky...................................................      181,288
Louisiana..................................................      163,972
Maine......................................................       78,121
Maryland...................................................      229,098
Massachusetts..............................................      459,371
Michigan...................................................      775,353
Minnesota..................................................      267,985
Mississippi................................................       86,768
Missouri...................................................      217,052
Montana....................................................       45,534
Nebraska...................................................       58,029
Nevada.....................................................       43,977
New Hampshire..............................................       38,521
New Jersey.................................................      404,035
New Mexico.................................................      126,103
New York...................................................    2,442,931
North Carolina.............................................      302,240
North Dakota...............................................       26,400
Ohio.......................................................      727,968
Oklahoma...................................................      148,014
Oregon.....................................................      167,925
Pennsylvania...............................................      719,499
Rhode Island...............................................       95,022
South Carolina.............................................       99,968
South Dakota...............................................       21,894
Tennessee..................................................      191,524
Texas......................................................      486,257
Utah.......................................................       76,829
Vermont....................................................       47,353
Virginia...................................................      158,285
Washington.................................................      404,332
West Virginia..............................................      110,176
Wisconsin..................................................      318,188
Wyoming....................................................       21,781
                                                            ------------
    U.S. total.............................................   16,488,667
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based
  on allocations from DHHS. Allocations are revised as of January 7,    
  1997. DHHS revised its allocations to account for corrections in the  
  AFDC and related program expenditure data available as of the dates   
  specified in law.                                                     

     Table 7-41 shows that total family assistance grants under 
TANF exceed grants made in fiscal year 1996 for the replaced 
programs of AFDC, EA, and JOBS by $1.6 billion, or 10 percent. 
TANF grants in several jurisdictions exceeded comparable fiscal 
year 1996 funding by 30 percent or more: Indiana, Louisiana, 
Massachusetts, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, Wyoming, and the 
District of Columbia. However, in some States family assistance 
grants were smaller than fiscal year 1996 Federal funding for 
the pre-TANF Programs: Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, New 
Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
 Supplemental grants to States with high population growth and/or low 
        Federal grants per poor person--$800 million (fiscal years 
        1998-2001)
     For 4 years, certain States will qualify for supplemental 
funds based on their population growth and/or low fiscal year 
1994 grant amounts per poor person (with poverty counts based 
on the 1990 census). Some States will qualify automatically for 
each year from fiscal year 1998 to fiscal year 2001. The law 
makes a State eligible for a supplemental grant if:
    (1) fiscal year 1994 Federal expenditures for AFDC and 
related programs per poor person in the State were 35 percent 
below national average Federal spending on these programs per 
poor person; or
     (2) the State's population grew by more than 10 percent 
from April 1, 1990 to July 1, 1994.
     Based on Congressional Research Service (CRS) 
calculations, 11 States automatically qualify for supplemental 
funds: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas met 
the criterion of low Federal welfare spending per poor person 
criteria; Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah 
met the criterion of high population growth.

 TABLE 7-41.--COMPARISON OF FISCAL YEAR 1996 FUNDING FOR AFDC AND RELATED PROGRAMS AND ANNUAL FAMILY ASSISTANCE 
                                                     GRANTS                                                     
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                         Fiscal year 1996     Annual State       Increase from  
                         State                           grants for AFDC,  Family Assistance   fiscal year 1996 
                                                         EA and JOBS \1\         Grant               level      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................................        $75,908,850        $93,315,207        $17,406,357 
Alaska................................................         58,664,824         63,609,072          4,944,248 
Arizona...............................................        197,753,945        222,419,988         24,666,043 
Arkansas..............................................         51,853,908         56,732,858          4,878,950 
California............................................      3,622,756,184      3,733,817,784        111,061,600 
Colorado..............................................        158,311,240        136,056,690        (22,254,550)
Connecticut...........................................        215,259,386        266,788,107         51,528,721 
Delaware..............................................         35,190,385         32,290,981         (2,899,404)
District of Columbia..................................         70,813,403         92,609,815         21,796,412 
Florida...............................................        497,539,038        562,340,120         64,801,082 
Georgia...............................................        288,409,702        330,741,739         42,332,037 
Hawaii................................................         97,907,577         98,904,788            997,211 
Idaho.................................................         31,296,914         31,938,052            641,138 
Illinois..............................................        601,058,735        585,056,960        (16,001,775)
Indiana...............................................        133,118,506        206,799,109         73,680,603 
Iowa..................................................        128,852,537        131,524,959          2,672,422 
Kansas................................................         89,752,672        101,931,061         12,178,389 
Kentucky..............................................        157,237,976        181,287,669         24,049,693 
Louisiana.............................................        114,252,276        163,971,985         49,719,709 
Maine.................................................         74,785,593         78,120,889          3,335,296 
Maryland..............................................        214,291,797        229,098,032         14,806,235 
Massachusetts.........................................        353,059,715        459,371,116        106,311,401 
Michigan..............................................        632,231,649        775,352,858        143,121,209 
Minnesota.............................................        220,838,750        267,984,886         47,146,136 
Mississippi...........................................         70,340,945         86,767,578         16,426,633 
Missouri..............................................        195,387,537        217,051,740         21,664,203 
Montana...............................................         40,390,953         45,534,006          5,143,053 
Nebraska..............................................         56,014,025         58,028,579          2,014,554 
Nevada................................................         41,357,154         43,976,750          2,619,596 
New Hampshire.........................................         34,677,119         38,521,261          3,844,142 
New Jersey............................................        383,177,479        404,034,823         20,857,344 
New Mexico............................................        132,128,581        126,103,156         (6,025,425)
New York..............................................      2,160,652,011      2,442,930,602        282,278,591 
North Carolina........................................        312,629,857        302,239,599        (10,390,258)
North Dakota..........................................         25,659,754         26,399,809            740,055 
Ohio..................................................        543,665,551        727,968,260        184,302,709 
Oklahoma..............................................        118,234,490        148,013,558         29,779,068 
Oregon................................................        142,045,360        167,924,513         25,879,153 
Pennsylvania..........................................        770,098,137        719,499,305        (50,598,832)
Rhode Island..........................................         89,478,850         95,021,587          5,542,737 
South Carolina........................................         94,400,660         99,967,824          5,567,164 
South Dakota..........................................         20,241,648         21,893,519          1,651,871 
Tennessee.............................................        137,444,809        191,523,797         54,078,988 
Texas.................................................        419,020,833        486,256,752         67,235,919 
Utah..................................................         64,694,728         76,829,219         12,134,491 
Vermont...............................................         42,378,331         47,353,181          4,974,850 
Virginia..............................................        121,386,081        158,285,172         36,899,091 
Washington............................................        415,384,424        404,331,754        (11,052,670)
West Virginia.........................................         87,683,489        110,176,310         22,492,821 
Wisconsin.............................................        276,357,058        318,188,410         41,831,352 
Wyoming...............................................         14,968,548         21,781,446          6,812,898 
                                                       ---------------------------------------------------------
    U.S. total........................................    $14,931,043,974    $16,488,667,235    $1,557,623,261  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Excludes IV-A child care. AFDC benefits include the Federal share of child support collections in order to  
  be comparable to the Family Assistance Grant.                                                                 
                                                                                                                
Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.                 

    To qualify otherwise, States must meet each of two 
conditions:
     (1) fiscal year 1994 Federal spending per poor person on 
AFDC and related programs below the fiscal year 1994 national 
average, and
     (2) the State's population growth rate for the most recent 
fiscal year greater than that of the Nation.
     In order to qualify for supplemental funds on these dual 
grounds, States must meet the qualification criteria in fiscal 
year 1998. CRS calculates that six additional States will 
qualify on these grounds: Florida, Georgia, Montana, New 
Mexico, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
     For a qualifying State, the supplemental funds provide 
approximately an annual 2.5 percent addition to TANF funding. 
For fiscal year 1998, the supplemental grant is computed as 2.5 
percent of Federal payments to the State for AFDC and related 
programs in fiscal year 1994. In subsequent years, the grant is 
computed as 2.5 percent of the prior year's supplemented grant 
(basic grant plus supplement) plus the prior year's 
supplemental grant.
     If the $800 million appropriation is insufficient to pay 
the full supplemental amounts, grants are to be proportionately 
reduced. CRS estimates that $800 million will be sufficient to 
pay the full supplemental grant for the first 3 years only.
     Table 7-42 shows CRS estimates of supplemental grants. 
Seventeen States are estimated to receive supplemental funds. 
Florida and Texas account for 34 percent of the total; Georgia 
and North Carolina, for another 22 percent.

     TABLE 7-42.--ESTIMATED SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS TO STATES WITH HIGH     
 POPULATION GROWTH AND/OR LOW FEDERAL WELFARE SPENDING PER POOR PERSON, 
                         FISCAL YEARS 1998-2001                         
                        [In thousands of dollars]                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            State                1998       1999       2000       2001  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................     $2,671     $5,410     $8,216    $10,603
Alaska......................      1,659      3,359      5,102      6,583
Arizona.....................      5,762     11,667     17,720     22,867
Arkansas....................      1,497      3,032      4,606      5,943
California..................          0          0          0          0
Colorado....................      3,268      6,617     10,051     12,970
Connecticut.................          0          0          0          0
Delaware....................          0          0          0          0
District of Columbia........          0          0          0          0
Florida.....................     14,547     29,457     44,740     57,735
Georgia.....................      8,978     18,181     27,614     35,635
Hawaii......................          0          0          0          0
Idaho.......................        842      1,706      2,591      3,343
Illinois....................          0          0          0          0
Indiana.....................          0          0          0          0
Iowa........................          0          0          0          0
Kansas......................          0          0          0          0
Kentucky....................          0          0          0          0
Louisiana...................      4,100      8,303     12,611     16,274
Maine.......................          0          0          0          0
Maryland....................          0          0          0          0
Massachusetts...............          0          0          0          0
Michigan....................          0          0          0          0
Minnesota...................          0          0          0          0
Mississippi.................      2,176      4,406      6,692      8,636
Missouri....................          0          0          0          0
Montana.....................      1,133      2,294      3,484      4,496
Nebraska....................          0          0          0          0
Nevada......................        899      1,821      2,765      3,568
New Hampshire...............          0          0          0          0
New Jersey..................          0          0          0          0
New Mexico..................      3,236      6,553      9,953     12,844
New York....................          0          0          0          0
North Carolina..............      8,696     17,609     26,745     34,514
North Dakota................          0          0          0          0
Ohio........................          0          0          0          0
Oklahoma....................          0          0          0          0
Oregon......................          0          0          0          0
Pennsylvania................          0          0          0          0
Rhode Island................          0          0          0          0
South Carolina..............          0          0          0          0
South Dakota................          0          0          0          0
Tennessee...................      5,193     10,516     15,973     20,612
Texas.......................     12,693     25,703     39,039     50,378
Utah........................      2,096      4,245      6,447      8,320
Vermont.....................          0          0          0          0
Virginia....................          0          0          0          0
Washington..................          0          0          0          0
West Virginia...............          0          0          0          0
Wisconsin...................          0          0          0          0
Wyoming.....................          0          0          0          0
                             -------------------------------------------
    Annual total............     79,447    160,881    244,350    315,322
                             -------------------------------------------
    Cumulative total........     79,447    240,328    484,678    800,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by CRS based on data from DHHS and the Bureau of 
  the Census. Population growth that qualifies the State is based on    
  information consistent with the July 1, 1995 and July 1, 1996 Census  
  estimates of State population issued in Department of Commerce Press  
  Release CB96-224, December 30, 1996. CRS obtained this data from the  
  Census Bureau internet site (www.census.gov). For fiscal years 1999-  
  2001, estimates assume that States that qualify in fiscal year 1998   
  also qualify in subsequent years.                                     

 Grants to States that reduce out-of-wedlock birth rates--$400 million 
        (fiscal years 1999-2002)
    The 1996 welfare reform law provides up to $400 million 
over 4 years for bonuses to States that reduce their out-of-
wedlock birth rates and abortion rates below fiscal year 1995 
levels. The five States with the greatest annual decline in 
out-of-wedlock birth rates are to receive a bonus of $20 
million, provided they also reduce the abortion rate. If fewer 
than five States qualify for these funds, the bonus would 
increase to $25 million per State.
 Bonus to reward ``high performance'' States--$1 billion (fiscal years 
        1999-2003)
    The 1996 legislation contains additional funds for States 
that are successful in meeting the goals of the TANF Program. 
The law directed the Secretary of DHHS, in consultation with 
the National Governors' Association (NGA) and the American 
Public Welfare Association (APWA), to develop a formula by 
August 22, 1997, for measuring State performance under the 
program. The Secretary is required to set a performance 
threshold that States must meet in order to receive a payment 
on grounds of being a ``high performance'' State. Total bonuses 
for the 5 years are set at $1 billion. In July 1997, DHHS 
indicated that it was considering four performance measures: 
employment, job retention, earnings progression, and birth 
rates of females aged 15-17.
 Contingency fund--$2 billion (fiscal years 1997-2001)
    TANF provides matching grants for States that experience 
high and increasing unemployment rates or increased food stamp 
caseloads. To qualify for contingency funds, a State must spend 
from its own funds on TANF an amount equal to at least 100 
percent of the amount it spent on AFDC, EA, and JOBS in fiscal 
year 1994. It must also meet one of two criteria of need:
    --its seasonally adjusted unemployment rate averaged over 
            the most recent 3-month period must be at least 6.5 
            percent and at least 10 percent higher than the 
            rate in the corresponding period in either of the 
            previous 2 years; or
    --its food stamp caseload over the most recent 3-month 
            period must be at least 10 percent higher than the 
            food stamp caseload would have been in the 
            corresponding period of fiscal year 1994 or fiscal 
            year 1995 if Public Law 104-193 had been in effect 
            throughout those fiscal years, as determined by the 
            Secretary of Agriculture.
     Qualifying States are entitled to advance payments from 
the contingency fund. They may request up to one-twelfth of 20 
percent of the State family assistance grant for each month 
that they qualify as a needy State (and for 1 month after they 
cease being ``needy''). A State's full year entitlement to 
contingency funds cannot be determined until after the close of 
the fiscal year because it is based on its expenditures, the 
number of months it qualified, and its matching rate during the 
fiscal year. An annual reconciliation is performed in this way: 
Countable expenditures are computed as those made under the 
State TANF Program on TANF-eligible families, including 
spending from contingency fund advances, but excluding spending 
on child care. ``Historic'' State expenditures are subtracted 
from countable expenditures. For contingency fund purposes, 
``historic State spending'' is fiscal year 1994 State spending 
on AFDC, JOBS, and EA. The result of the subtraction is a 
measure called ``reimbursable expenditures.'' The amount to 
which a State is entitled under the contingency fund equals 
reimbursable expenditures multiplied by its Medicaid matching 
rate times the number of months during which the State was 
eligible. The State must remit to the Secretary any contingency 
funds that exceed its share of reimbursable expenditures. 
Further, if a State that received contingency funds is 
determined to have failed to meet the maintenance of effort 
requirement for those funds, its next year's family assistance 
grant must be reduced by any contingency funds that it 
received.
Welfare-to-work grants ($3 billion, fiscal years 1998-99)
    Added to TANF in 1997 were special welfare-to-work grants 
to help States achieve work participation rates. Most grants 
must focus on long-term recipients with specified barriers to 
work (for details, see below).
 Maintenance of effort (required State spending)
    The 1996 welfare reform bill established block grant 
programs to replace the Federal-State cost-sharing that existed 
under AFDC, EA, JOBS, and AFDC-related child care programs. 
Before TANF, the Federal Government reimbursed States for about 
55 percent and the States paid the other 45 percent of total 
expenditures on these activities. In fiscal year 1994, the 
State share of expenditures for them totaled about $13.9 
billion. The 1996 law converted the Federal share of 
expenditures for these programs into the TANF grants and a 
child care block grant. It also established some requirements 
and incentives for States to maintain some fiscal effort in 
assisting families with children.
    TANF penalizes a State that does not spend a specified 
amount of its own funds on families eligible for TANF and those 
who would be eligible but for the program's 60-month time limit 
or prohibitions for aiding immigrants. The specified level is 
75 percent of ``historic State expenditures'' for States that 
meet TANF work requirements, 80 percent of historic 
expenditures for States that fail to meet the work 
requirements. The required State spending levels are known as 
maintenance-of-effort (MOE) thresholds. Historic State 
expenditures are the State share of fiscal year 1994 AFDC, EA, 
JOBS, and AFDC-related child care expenditures. Table 7-43 
provides historic State expenditures and the State maintenance-
of-effort thresholds (75 percent and 80 percent). As noted 
earlier, the penalty for failing to meet the MOE requirement is 
reduction of the next year's family assistance grant by the 
amount of the State spending shortfall; further, if the State 
received welfare-to-work formula grant funds in the year of the 
MOE shortfall, the next year's TANF grant is to be further 
reduced, by the amount of those welfare-to-work funds.

                                 TABLE 7-43.--TANF MAINTENANCE-OF-EFFORT LEVELS                                 
                                            [In thousands of dollars]                                           
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       75 percent    80 percent 
                                                                     Historic State    of historic   of historic
                               State                                expenditures \1\      State         State   
                                                                                      expenditures  expenditures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...........................................................         $52,285         $39,214       $41,828
Alaska............................................................          65,257          48,942        52,205
Arizona...........................................................         126,704          95,028       101,363
Arkansas..........................................................          27,785          20,839        22,228
California........................................................       3,643,208       2,732,406     2,914,566
Colorado..........................................................         110,495          82,871        88,396
Connecticut.......................................................         244,561         183,421       195,649
Delaware..........................................................          29,028          21,771        23,222
District of Columbia..............................................          93,932          70,449        75,146
Florida...........................................................         494,559         370,919       395,647
Georgia...........................................................         231,158         173,369       184,926
Hawaii............................................................          97,309          72,981        77,847
Idaho.............................................................          18,238          13,679        14,591
Illinois..........................................................         572,027         429,021       457,622
Indiana...........................................................         151,367         113,525       121,093
Iowa..............................................................          82,618          61,963        66,094
Kansas............................................................          82,333          61,750        65,866
Kentucky..........................................................          89,891          67,418        71,913
Louisiana.........................................................          73,887          55,415        59,109
Maine.............................................................          50,370          37,778        40,296
Maryland..........................................................         235,954         176,965       188,763
Massachusetts.....................................................         478,597         358,948       382,877
Michigan..........................................................         624,691         468,518       499,753
Minnesota.........................................................         239,660         179,745       191,728
Mississippi.......................................................          28,966          21,724        23,173
Missouri..........................................................         160,161         120,121       128,129
Montana...........................................................          20,919          15,689        16,735
Nebraska..........................................................          38,629          28,971        30,903
Nevada............................................................          33,985          25,489        27,188
New Hampshire.....................................................          42,820          32,115        34,256
New Jersey........................................................         405,274         303,956       324,219
New Mexico........................................................          49,934          37,450        39,947
New York..........................................................       2,281,060       1,710,795     1,824,848
North Carolina....................................................         205,568         154,176       164,454
North Dakota......................................................          12,092           9,069         9,674
Ohio..............................................................         520,734         390,551       416,588
Oklahoma..........................................................          81,667          61,250        65,334
Oregon............................................................         123,006          92,255        98,405
Pennsylvania......................................................         542,834         407,126       434,267
Rhode Island......................................................          80,489          60,367        64,392
South Carolina....................................................          47,786          35,839        38,229
South Dakota......................................................          11,699           8,774         9,359
Tennessee.........................................................         110,413          82,810        88,331
Texas.............................................................         314,300         235,725       251,440
Utah..............................................................          33,721          25,291        26,977
Vermont...........................................................          34,205          25,653        27,364
Virginia..........................................................         170,898         128,173       136,718
Washington........................................................         362,748         272,061       290,198
West Virginia.....................................................          43,601          32,701        34,881
Wisconsin.........................................................         225,638         169,229       180,511
Wyoming...........................................................          14,220          10,665        11,376
                                                                   ---------------------------------------------
    U.S. total....................................................      13,913,282      10,434,961   11,130,625 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Historic State expenditures: 100 percent of fiscal year 1994 State expenditures on all IV-A programs and IV-
  F.                                                                                                            
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based on data from the U.S. Department of    
  Health and Human Services (DHHS). State expenditure data are as reported by the States to DHHS and are as of  
  May 1995.                                                                                                     

    Countable toward the TANF maintenance of effort requirement 
are expenditures on behalf of TANF-eligible families (including 
those who have reached TANF's 5-year time limit but have income 
within TANF limits) for these activities: cash aid, including 
child support collected for TANF recipients and distributed to 
the family without reducing their benefit; child care 
assistance; education, job training, and employment services; 
administrative costs; and other activities that a State is 
authorized to use TANF grants to finance. Administrative costs 
are capped at 15 percent of the total expenditures counted 
toward meeting the spending requirement. Expenditures for 
educational activities exclude public education for services or 
assistance available to the general public.
    State expenditures for these families made under any State 
program are countable toward the TANF-MOE rule. A State could 
use its own funds to supplement Federal grants within the TANF 
Program, or use them in a separate State program of assistance. 
Expenditures that qualify for MOE must be made from State funds 
and cannot be used to obtain Federal matching funds from 
another program. A special limitation also applies to child 
care spending. According to DHHS guidelines issued January 31, 
1997, a State may not count toward the MOE requirement spending 
that exceeds the amount it spent on AFDC-related child care 
programs in either fiscal year 1994 or fiscal year 1995.
    Also, a special condition restricts MOE-countable State 
spending for activities other than those the State was 
authorized to provide under its AFDC, EA, JOBS, or AFDC-related 
child care programs as of August 21, 1996. For these other 
activities, States can count only spending above fiscal year 
1994 levels toward the TANF-MOE requirement.
 Loan fund
    TANF provides a $1.7 billion revolving loan fund. States 
may receive loans for up to 3 years, which must be repaid with 
interest. The interest rate for the loans is the current 
average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations of 
the Federal Government. Any State that is not subject to a 
penalty for misspending TANF funds is eligible for a loan.
 Transfer and reservation of TANF funds
    States may transfer up to 30 percent of TANF grants (except 
contingency funds) to the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant (CCDBG) and the Title XX Social Services Block Grant 
(SSBG), but no more than 10 percent to the SSBG. Funds 
transferred to SSBG must be used to assist families with 
children that have incomes below 200 percent of the poverty 
income guidelines.

                            TANF for Indians

     The welfare law gives federally recognized Indian tribes 
(defined to include certain Alaska Native organizations) the 
option to design and operate their own cash welfare programs 
for needy children with funds subtracted from their State's 
TANF Block Grant. The law also authorizes direct Federal 
funding to recognized Indian tribes for operation of Child 
Support Enforcement Programs, and it sets aside a share of new 
child care funds for them. The repealed program of AFDC made no 
provision for tribal design or administration of cash aid, 
although it did allow some tribes to operate JOBS. The Balanced 
Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33), which established a 
program of welfare-to-work (WTW) grants for TANF recipients, 
sets aside 1 percent of funding ($30 million over 2 years) for 
Indian WTW programs. Unlike State WTW programs, Indian programs 
do not require any State matching funding.
    Recognized tribes and tribal organizations may operate TANF 
family assistance programs in their service areas. A tribe's 
grant equals Federal AFDC payments to the State for fiscal year 
1994 attributable to Indians in its service area, and tribal 
grant funds are subtracted from the grant of the State(s) 
containing the tribe's service areas. Tribal TANF plans are for 
3 years (rather than 2, as for States) and contain many fewer 
required elements than State plans.
     The Secretary of DHHS, with participation of the tribe, is 
to establish work participation rules, time limits for 
benefits, and penalties for each tribal family assistance 
program. In general, Indian tribes in Alaska must operate plans 
in accordance with rules adopted by the State of Alaska for its 
TANF Program (but waivers are allowed). The State Governor, in 
submitting a TANF plan, must certify equitable access from the 
regular TANF Program to Indians not eligible for help from a 
tribal family assistance plan.
     The law gives explicit permission for State TANF Programs 
to use money from a new loan fund for aid to Indian families 
that have moved out of the service area of a tribe with a 
tribal family assistance plan. The law also appropriates funds 
each year ($7.6 million) to those tribes that operated JOBS in 
fiscal year 1994. The appropriation is in addition to any 
tribal assistance TANF grant made to them.
     The law exempts from the 60-month TANF benefit time limit 
any month of aid during which the recipient lived in Indian 
country (or in an Alaska Native village) of at least 1,000 
persons in which 50 percent of adults were unemployed.
     As of early August 1997, 11 tribes had submitted plans to 
operate tribal family assistance programs: Red Cliff Band of 
Lake Superior Chippewas (WI), Osage Nation (OK), Forest County 
Potawatomi (WI), Citizen Potawatomi Nation (OK), Klamath Tribe 
(OR), Sokogon Chippewa (WI), Stockbridge-Munsee (WI), Sisseton-
Wahpeton (SD), Pascua Yaqui (AZ), White Mountain Apache (AZ), 
and Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (OR).

                            State TANF Plans

     The law requires TANF plans to outline how the State 
intends to conduct a program that provides cash aid to needy 
families with (or expecting) children and that provides parents 
with job preparation, work, and support services. State plans 
must indicate whether the State intends to treat families who 
move into the State differently from others, and, if so, how; 
and whether it intends to give aid to noncitizens. State plans 
must certify that the State will operate programs of child 
support and foster care and adoption assistance, provide 
equitable access to Indians; and establish and enforce 
standards against fraud and abuse.
    Table 7-44 summarizes selected major provisions of State 
TANF plans. These include the maximum time before mandatory 
work, the time limit on benefits, whether the State imposes a 
family cap, whether the State provides benefits for 
noncitizens, and whether the State has special rules for 
interstate migrants. Additional details concerning State plans 
are summarized and analyzed in a document written by Vee Burke 
and her colleagues (1997) at the Congressional Research 
Service.

                  TABLE 7-44.--TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES BLOCK GRANT: SUMMARY OF SELECTED MAJOR PROVISIONS IN STATE PLANS                 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Maximum time before                                                       Benefits for         Special rules for 
                State                    mandatory work      Time limit on benefits        Family cap?           noncitizens?       interstate migrants?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama...........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  No...................  No                   
 Alaska............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Arizona...........................  24 months.............  24 months within a 60-  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period for                                                                          
                                                              adult recipients.                                                                         
 Arkansas..........................  Did not say...........  24 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
 California........................  Immediate.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Colorado..........................  24 months.............  60 months for adults..  No...................  Yes..................  No                   
 Connecticut.......................  Did not say...........  21 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
 Delaware..........................  Immediate.............  48 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
 District of Columbia..............  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Florida...........................  Immediate.............  24 months in a 60-      Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
                                                              month period.                                                                             
                                                              Lifetime total of 48                                                                      
                                                              months as an adult.                                                                       
 Georgia...........................  24 months.............  Did not say...........  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Guam..............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  No...................  No                   
 Hawaii............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Idaho.............................  With few exceptions,    24 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                      adults will be                                                                                                    
                                      expected to                                                                                                       
                                      participate in work                                                                                               
                                      activities                                                                                                        
                                      immediately,                                                                                                      
                                      including a job                                                                                                   
                                      search requirement                                                                                                
                                      for all adult                                                                                                     
                                      applicants.                                                                                                       
 Illinois..........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
 Indiana...........................  24 months.............  24 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
 Iowa..............................  Did not say...........  Individualized. TANF    Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              funds will not be                                                                         
                                                              used for an adult                                                                         
                                                              beyond 60 months                                                                          
                                                              unless the family                                                                         
                                                              meets criteria for                                                                        
                                                              extending assistance.                                                                     
 Kansas............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Kentucky..........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Louisiana.........................  Did not say...........  24 months within a 60-  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period.                                                                             
 Maine.............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Maryland..........................  Did not say...........  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Massachusetts.....................  60 days...............  24 months within a 60-  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period.                                                                             
 Michigan..........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Minnesota.........................  6 months; counties      60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
                                      have the option of                                                                                                
                                      requiring work sooner.                                                                                            
 Mississippi.......................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  No...................  No                   
 Missouri..........................  24 months.............  60 months generally.    Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              JOBS mandatory                                                                            
                                                              recipients subject to                                                                     
                                                              self-sufficiency                                                                          
                                                              limit of 48 months.                                                                       
 Montana...........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Nebraska..........................  Immediate               60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                      participation in Job                                                                                              
                                      Support Program;                                                                                                  
                                      earned income                                                                                                     
                                      required within 2                                                                                                 
                                      years.                                                                                                            
 Nevada............................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 New Hampshire.....................  Immediate job search     60 months............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                      for 26 weeks followed                                                                                             
                                      by 26 weeks of                                                                                                    
                                      community work                                                                                                    
                                      experience (cycle                                                                                                 
                                      repeated each year).                                                                                              
 New Jersey........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 New Mexico........................  60 days...............  36 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 New York..........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
 North Carolina....................  Did not say...........  24 months at a time;    Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              lifetime maximum of                                                                       
                                                              60 months.                                                                                
 North Dakota......................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Ohio..............................  24 months.............  36 months plus a        Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              possible renewal of                                                                       
                                                              24 months after 24                                                                        
                                                              months of                                                                                 
                                                              ineligibility (60                                                                         
                                                              months over an 84-                                                                        
                                                              month period).                                                                            
 Oklahoma..........................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Oregon............................  Did not say...........  24 months within 84-    Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period.                                                                             
 Pennsylvania......................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Puerto Rico.......................  24 months for           Did not say...........  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
                                      participants                                                                                                      
                                      determined not ready                                                                                              
                                      to work (lack high                                                                                                
                                      school diploma or                                                                                                 
                                      equivalent).                                                                                                      
                                      Participants who are                                                                                              
                                      ready to work will be                                                                                             
                                      engaged in work                                                                                                   
                                      within 6 months.                                                                                                  
 Rhode Island......................  Participate in work or  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
                                      work-readiness                                                                                                    
                                      activities within 45                                                                                              
                                      days; work within 2                                                                                               
                                      years.                                                                                                            
 South Carolina....................  24 months.............  24 months out of 120    Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              months; no more than                                                                      
                                                              60 months in a                                                                            
                                                              lifetime.                                                                                 
 South Dakota......................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Tennessee.........................  Immediate.............  18 months in a 60-      Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period. 60-                                                                         
                                                              month lifetime time                                                                       
                                                              limit.                                                                                    
 Texas.............................  Did not say...........  Did not say...........  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Utah..............................  Immediate.............  36 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Vermont...........................  Did not say...........  Did not say...........  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Virgin Islands....................  Did not say...........  60 months (for adult).  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Virginia..........................  90 days...............  24 months within a 60-  Yes..................  Yes..................  No                   
                                                              month period.                                                                             
 Washington........................  Immediate job search    60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  Yes                  
                                      required.                                                                                                         
 West Virginia.....................  24 months.............  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
 Wisconsin.........................  Immediate.............  60 months.............  Yes..................  Yes..................  Yes                  
 Wyoming...........................  Did not say...........  60 months.............  Did not say..........  Yes..................  No                   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Information is from TANF State plans submitted to DHHS, supplemented by provisions in new State statutes of Arizona, California, New York, and   
  Ohio. Some provisions may not be fully phased in. Some, notably, family caps and differential rules for interstate migrants, have been challenged in  
  State courts. The family cap provision either prevents a family receiving welfare from getting additional benefits or provides the family with reduced
  benefits if they have additional children. Table is from CRS Report 97-380.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                        
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS).                                                                                                           

                            State TANF Data

 Caseloads under AFDC/TANF
    Both 1996 and 1997 were transition years during which 
States moved from the AFDC Program to the new TANF Program. 
Four States (Massachusetts, Michigan, Vermont, and Wisconsin) 
replaced AFDC with TANF at the earliest possible time, in 
September 1996, and another 14 started TANF in October 1996. 
Only 12 jurisdictions waited until the mandatory July 1, 1997 
deadline to make the change (Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Guam, 
Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands).
     Table 7-45 shows that the total number of AFDC/TANF 
families declined throughout the fiscal year 1997 transition 
period, from 4.301 million in October 1996 to 3.546 million in 
September 1997. This reduction in the number of families 
receiving AFDC/TANF continued a decline underway since March 
1994 when AFDC numbers peaked at 5.098 million. Compared with 
September levels in earlier years, the September 1997 caseload 
was down 19 percent from 1996, 25 percent from 1995, and 29 
percent from 1994.

            TABLE 7-45.--NUMBER OF AFDC/TANF FAMILIES BY STATE FOR SELECTED MONTHS, FISCAL YEAR 1997            
                                                 [In thousands]                                                 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Month and Year                   
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
                          State                                                                      September  
                                                            October  December    March     June         1997    
                                                             1996      1996      1997      1997    (preliminary)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................      40.5      38.0      36.1      32.0         27.2  
Alaska...................................................      12.0      11.9      12.8      12.0         11.0  
Arizona..................................................      60.6      58.3      55.0      52.5         50.0  
Arkansas.................................................      22.0      21.6      21.5      20.7         16.7  
California...............................................     861.0     846.5     829.6     789.9        757.0  
Colorado.................................................      33.1      32.2      31.1      28.7         24.6  
Connecticut..............................................      56.9      56.4      55.7      55.5         55.2  
Delaware.................................................      10.3      10.2      10.0       9.5          9.2  
District of Columbia.....................................      25.2      25.0      24.4      23.7         22.4  
Florida..................................................     197.0     186.6     177.1     160.6        140.9  
Georgia..................................................     120.2     116.6     112.5      98.2         90.7  
Guam.....................................................       2.3       2.3       2.4       2.2          2.6  
Hawaii...................................................      21.8      21.5      23.0      23.4         23.5  
Idaho....................................................       8.2       8.0       7.8       6.7          2.1  
Illinois.................................................     213.1     209.6     201.2     191.6        189.2  
Indiana..................................................      49.5      45.8      45.7      42.4         41.2  
Iowa.....................................................      30.4      29.7      29.1      28.4         27.3  
Kansas...................................................      22.8      21.9      21.3      18.2         16.9  
Kentucky.................................................      69.9      68.1      66.5      62.5         59.5  
Louisiana................................................      65.9      62.6      56.8      51.7         50.0  
Maine....................................................      19.6      19.1      19.0      18.2         16.6  
Maryland.................................................      67.4      63.4      59.9      55.0         53.4  
Massachusetts............................................      83.4      81.3      78.9      76.0         72.4  
Michigan.................................................     166.2     159.6     152.0     145.8        140.9  
Minnesota................................................      56.2      55.3      54.1      52.3         48.8  
Mississippi..............................................      43.9      42.1      40.3      36.4         31.1  
Missouri.................................................      78.2      76.4      73.3      67.6         65.5  
Montana..................................................       9.7       9.7       9.5       8.8          7.8  
Nebraska.................................................      13.7      13.4      13.6      13.3         14.0  
Nevada...................................................      12.9      12.6      12.2      11.7         11.2  
New Hampshire............................................       8.7       8.4       8.3       7.9          6.7  
New Jersey...............................................     105.8     103.7     100.9      97.6         93.8  
New Mexico...............................................      32.4      30.6      28.6      25.9         17.8  
New York.................................................     411.1     399.2     387.2     371.0        359.7  
North Carolina...........................................     107.8     104.5     101.0      95.6         89.0  
North Dakota.............................................       4.6       4.4       4.3       4.0          3.7  
Ohio.....................................................     201.4     196.2     190.3     180.5        160.2  
Oklahoma.................................................      34.9      33.5      31.0      28.3         26.9  
Oregon...................................................      27.5      26.0      25.2      22.7         20.6  
Pennsylvania.............................................     178.1     172.4     166.3     157.0        147.2  
Puerto Rico..............................................      49.0      48.6      47.8      47.3         45.9  
Rhode Island.............................................      20.4      20.0      19.8      19.5         19.6  
South Carolina...........................................      43.7      38.1      33.8      30.3         28.4  
South Dakota.............................................       5.5       5.3       5.3       5.0          4.4  
Tennessee................................................      87.5      79.0      70.1      64.4         60.4  
Texas....................................................     237.5     228.3     221.6     204.0        166.9  
Utah.....................................................      13.7      13.1      12.5      11.6         11.3  
Vermont..................................................       8.6       8.4       8.4       8.2          7.8  
Virgin Islands...........................................       1.3       1.3       1.3       1.2          1.2  
Virginia.................................................      59.5      57.2      54.8      50.9         47.5  
Washington...............................................      95.9      95.1      95.4      91.4         86.8  
West Virginia............................................      37.6      36.2      34.4      28.7         28.1  
Wisconsin................................................      50.7      46.9      43.4      38.1         31.3  
Wyoming..................................................       4.1       4.1       2.6       2.0          1.6  
                                                          ------------------------------------------------------
    Totals...............................................   4,301.0   4,166.4   4,026.7   3,788.6     3,545.7   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Congressional Research Service based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services.          

 Benefit levels under TANF, July 1, 1997
    Table 7-46 shows State-by-State trends in AFDC/TANF family 
numbers since fiscal year 1994 when national enrollment reached 
a historic peak of 5 million. The national caseload declined 
3.3 percent in fiscal year 1995, 6.7 percent in fiscal year 
1996, and another 13.3 percent in 1997. The cumulative result 
was that the average caseload in 1997 was down 21.8 percent 
from the 1994 average and down 16.9 percent from its fiscal 
year 1995 average level. 

        TABLE 7-46.--AID TO FAMILIES WITH DEPENDENT CHILDREN AND TANF FAMILIES: FISCAL YEARS 1994-97 \1\        
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     1997      Percentage change to fiscal year 
                                                                   (monthly                1997 from            
             State                  1994       1995       1996     average,  -----------------------------------
                                                                    first 9     fiscal      fiscal      fiscal  
                                                                    months)    year 1994   year 1995   year 1996
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................       50.3       46.0       42.4        36.7       -27.1       -20.3       -13.4
Alaska.........................       12.8       12.4       12.3        12.3        -3.5        -0.9         0.5
Arizona........................       72.0       69.6       63.4        56.0       -22.2       -19.5       -11.7
Arkansas.......................       26.0       24.3       22.7        21.4       -17.8       -12.0        -6.0
California.....................      909.0      919.5      896.0       832.2        -8.5        -9.5        -7.1
Colorado.......................       41.6       38.6       35.4        31.2       -25.1       -19.2       -12.1
Connecticut....................       59.2       61.0       58.1        56.0        -5.4        -8.1        -3.6
 Delaware......................       11.5       10.8       10.4         9.9       -13.7        -8.2        -4.8
 District of Columbia..........       27.1       26.8       25.7        24.5        -9.6        -8.5        -4.7
Florida........................      247.1      230.8      212.0       179.2       -27.5       -22.4       -15.5
Georgia........................      141.5      139.1      130.4       111.8       -20.9       -19.6       -14.2
Guam...........................        1.9        2.1        2.1         2.3        21.2         8.6         6.6
Hawaii.........................       20.4       21.7       22.0        22.5        10.1         3.8         2.4
Idaho..........................        8.7        9.1        9.0         7.8       -10.3       -14.2       -13.6
Illinois.......................      240.3      236.2      224.1       202.0       -15.9       -14.5        -9.9
Indiana........................       73.8       65.6       52.9        45.7       -38.0       -30.3       -13.5
Iowa...........................       39.6       36.5       32.8        29.3       -25.8       -19.6       -10.5
Kansas.........................       30.1       28.2       25.1        21.1       -30.0       -25.4       -16.2
Kentucky.......................       79.8       75.4       71.8        66.5       -16.7       -11.8        -7.4
Louisiana......................       86.9       79.8       70.6        58.7       -32.5       -26.5       -16.9
Maine..........................       22.9       21.7       20.5        19.0       -17.3       -12.6        -7.3
Maryland.......................       80.1       80.4       74.1        60.9       -23.9       -24.2       -17.8
Massachusetts..................      111.8      100.9       88.4        79.0       -29.3       -21.7       -10.6
Michigan.......................      224.0      201.7      178.0       154.7       -30.9       -23.3       -13.1
Minnesota......................       63.0       61.3       58.3        54.2       -13.9       -11.6        -6.9
Mississippi....................       56.8       52.5       48.0        40.6       -28.6       -22.8       -15.4
Missouri.......................       92.1       89.3       82.7        73.6       -20.1       -17.6       -11.0
Montana........................       11.9       11.5       10.8         9.1       -23.7       -21.0       -16.1
Nebraska.......................       15.9       14.8       14.2        13.5       -15.4        -9.1        -4.9
Nevada.........................       14.2       15.7       14.8        12.1       -14.9       -23.2       -18.7
New Hampshire..................       11.5       10.8        9.5         8.3       -27.6       -23.1       -12.9
New Jersey.....................      122.4      118.9      112.0       102.0       -16.7       -14.2        -8.9
New Mexico.....................       33.6       34.4       33.9        29.3       -13.0       -15.1       -13.6
New York.......................      455.0      456.9      433.3       391.0       -14.1       -14.4        -9.8
North Carolina.................      131.2      125.5      113.1       101.8       -22.4       -18.9       -10.0
North Dakota...................        5.9        5.2        4.9         4.3       -26.4       -17.0       -11.5
Ohio...........................      250.2      228.2      206.7       191.4       -23.5       -16.1        -7.4
Oklahoma.......................       47.0       44.8       38.8        31.7       -32.4       -29.1       -18.2
Oregon.........................       42.1       39.3       33.4        25.3       -39.9       -35.5       -24.3
Pennsylvania...................      210.2      204.8      190.3       167.9       -20.1       -18.0       -11.8
Puerto Rico....................       58.8       54.8       50.9        48.1       -18.2       -12.1        -5.4
Rhode Island...................       22.7       22.2       21.2        19.9       -12.2       -10.4        -6.3
South Carolina.................       51.9       49.0       45.8        35.8       -31.1       -26.9       -21.8
South Dakota...................        6.9        6.3        6.0         5.3       -24.1       -16.3       -12.3
Tennessee......................      110.8      104.0       99.1        73.6       -33.5       -29.2       -25.7
Texas..........................      283.7      274.5      255.0       222.0       -21.7       -19.1       -12.9
Utah...........................       17.8       16.6       14.8        12.6       -29.2       -24.3       -14.6
Vermont........................        9.9        9.6        9.1         8.4       -15.1       -13.0        -7.3
Virgin Islands.................        1.1        1.3        1.4         1.3        18.2        -0.8        -7.2
Virginia.......................       74.8       72.1       64.9        55.2       -26.2       -23.4       -14.9
Washington.....................      103.0      101.9       98.9        94.6        -8.1        -7.2        -4.4
West Virginia..................       40.7       38.4       36.6        34.7       -14.7        -9.5        -5.0
Wisconsin......................       77.2       72.4       60.1        44.3       -42.6       -38.7       -26.2
Wyoming........................        5.7        5.2        4.7         3.1       -46.3       -40.7       -34.8
                                --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      U.S. totals..............    5,046.3    4,880.5    4,553.3     4,055.8       -19.6       -16.9      -10.9 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Monthly averages in thousands; fiscal year 1997 data are monthly averages of the first 9 months of the      
  fiscal year.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) based on data from the U.S. Department of    
  Health and Human Services (DHHS). Fiscal years 1994-96 data are from quarterly reports (ACF Form 3637) filed  
  by the States. October 1996 through March 1997 data are from quarterly reports. April through June 1997 data  
  are from AFDC flash reports. These reflect data on October 17, 1997.                                          

As noted earlier, caseload decreases from 1995 levels will 
lower required work participation rates of States. Caseloads 
fell below 1995 levels in all jurisdictions except Hawaii and 
Guam, where numbers rose. Declines ranged from 2 percent in 
Alaska to 47 percent in Wyoming.
    Table 7-47 presents State maximum TANF benefits by family 
size on July 1, 1997. Benefits were unchanged from their year-
earlier levels in most States. Six States reduced benefits for 
some recipients, and five States increased benefits for some.

                          TABLE 7-47.--MAXIMUM TANF BENEFITS BY FAMILY SIZE, JULY 1997                          
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                 Maximum TANF benefit by size of filing unit    
                           State                           -----------------------------------------------------
                                                               1        2        3        4        5        6   
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................................     $111     $137     $164     $194     $225     $252
Alaska....................................................      514      821      923     1025     1127     1229
Arizona...................................................      204      275      347      418      489      561
Arkansas..................................................       81      162      204      247      286      331
California \1\ \2\........................................      279      456      565      673      767      861
Colorado..................................................      214      280      356      432      512      590
Connecticut \1\...........................................      402      513      636      741      835      935
Delaware..................................................      201      270      338      407      475      544
District of Columbia......................................      239      298      379      463      533      627
Florida...................................................      180      241      303      364      426      487
Georgia...................................................      155      235      280      330      378      410
Guam......................................................      420      537      673      776      874      985
Hawaii \2\................................................      334      452      570      687      805      922
Idaho.....................................................      276      276      276      276      276      276
Illinois \1\..............................................      212      278      377      414      485      545
Indiana...................................................      139      229      288      346      405      463
Iowa......................................................      183      361      426      495      548      610
Kansas \1\................................................      267      352      429      497      558      619
Kentucky..................................................      186      225      262      328      383      432
Louisiana \1\.............................................       72      138      190      234      277      316
Maine.....................................................      198      312      418      526      632      739
Maryland..................................................      167      295      377      455      527      579
Massachusetts \2\.........................................      383      474      565      651      741      832
Michigan: \1\                                                                                                   
    Wayne County..........................................      276      371      459      563      659      792
    Washtenaw.............................................      305      401      489      593      689      822
Minnesota.................................................      187      437      532      621      697      773
Mississippi...............................................       60       96      120      144      168      192
Missouri..................................................      136      234      292      342      388      431
Montana...................................................      266      358      450      542      633      725
Nebraska..................................................      222      293      364      435      506      577
Nevada....................................................      229      289      348      408      468      528
New Hampshire.............................................      414      481      550      613      673      754
New Jersey................................................      162      322      424      488      552      616
New Mexico................................................      231      310      389      469      548      627
New York: \1\                                                                                                   
    New York City.........................................      352      468      577      687      800      884
    Suffolk County........................................      446      576      703      824      949     1038
North Carolina............................................      181      236      272      297      324      349
North Dakota..............................................      228      340      490      528      604      667
Ohio......................................................      203      279      341      421      493      549
Oklahoma..................................................      190      238      307      380      445      509
Oregon....................................................      310      395      460      565      660      755
Pennsylvania \1\..........................................      215      330      421      514      607      687
Puerto Rico...............................................      132      156      180      204      228      252
Rhode Island..............................................      327      449      554      634      714      794
South Carolina............................................      119      159      200      241      281      322
South Dakota..............................................      304      380      430      478      528      578
Tennessee.................................................       95      142      185      226      264      305
Texas.....................................................       78      163      188      226      251      288
Utah......................................................      246      342      426      498      567      625
Vermont \1\...............................................      449      554      656      737      824      882
Virgin Islands............................................      120      180      240      300      360      420
Virginia \1\..............................................      220      294      354      410      488      534
Washington................................................      349      440      546      642      740      841
West Virginia.............................................      149      201      253      312      360      413
Wisconsin \1\ \3\.........................................      248      440      517      617      708      766
Wyoming...................................................      195      320      340      360      360      360
                                                           -----------------------------------------------------
      Median State \4\....................................      215      310      379      463      528      590
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These States (like Michigan and New York) have regional or urban/rural benefit schedules. Amounts shown are 
  for highest benefit area.                                                                                     
\2\ These States pay higher amounts than those shown above for persons exempt from work. See benefit schedule   
  below.                                                                                                        



                                                                                                                
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Maximum TANF benefit by size of filing unit (exempt from work) 
                     State                     -----------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    1          2          3          4          5          6    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California....................................       $311       $509       $631       $750       $855       $961
Hawaii........................................        418        565        712        859      1,006      1,153
Massachusetts.................................        392        486        579        668        760        854
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ Effective September 1, 1997, Wisconsin scheduled statewide implementation of its W-2 (TANF) plan, which pays
  $555 monthly to all-size families in community service jobs and $518 to all-size families in ``transitional'' 
  activities. Each missed hour of required activity reduces benefits by $4.25 per hour.                         
\4\ Median State among 50 States and the District of Columbia, ranked by benefit size.                          
                                                                                                                
Source: Table prepared by Congressional Research Service on the basis of a telephone survey.                    

    Idaho adopted a flat benefit of $276 for all-size families; 
and effective September 1, 1997, Wisconsin scheduled adoption 
of two flat benefits, $555 monthly for persons in community 
service jobs and $518 for those in ``transitional'' activities. 
California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts offered higher benefits 
to families exempt from work than to others: California, $631; 
Hawaii, $712; and Massachusetts, $579, $14 above the year-
earlier maximum (amounts are for three-person families). South 
Carolina increased benefits for families of four or more 
persons.

                         WELFARE-TO-WORK GRANTS

     The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) 
provides $3 billion in grants to States and localities for 
welfare-to-work (WTW) activities over 2 years, fiscal years 
1998-99, by adding welfare-to-work grants to the TANF Block 
Grant Program. Most WTW funds require State matching funds.
     The law says funds are to be used ``to move individuals 
into and keep individuals in lasting unsubsidized employment.'' 
Funds must be spent on work or work-readiness activities, 
including job creation through wage subsidies, postemployment 
and job retention services, and on-the-job training. The list 
of WTW-eligible activities includes many activities countable 
as TANF ``work activities,'' but it excludes vocational 
educational training and secondary school attendance.
     The Department of Labor (DOL) administers the welfare-to-
work program at the Federal level, and, generally, private 
industry councils administer the program at the local level. 
The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is 
responsible for evaluation of the program.

                   Funding of Welfare-to-Work Grants

     The new law provides $1.5 billion in each of fiscal years 
1998 and 1999. From the $3 billion total, $100 million is set 
aside for bonuses to States achieving ``successful 
performance.'' The law also sets aside 1 percent ($30 million 
over 2 years) for Indian tribes, 0.6 percent ($18 million) for 
evaluations of WTW programs, and 0.2 percent ($6 million) for 
evaluation of abstinence education programs.
     Funds remaining after set-asides are divided 75 percent 
for formula grants, which require State cost-sharing (at a one-
third State matching rate), and 25 percent for competitive 
grants.
 Formula grants
     The law provides $1.1 billion in fiscal year 1998 and $1.0 
billion in fiscal year 1999 for welfare-to-work formula grants, 
allotted among the States on the basis of their shares of the 
national TANF adult population and the national poverty 
population, equally weighted. A small State minimum (0.25 
percent of the amount left after set-asides) applies to 
jurisdictions other than the Virgin Islands and Guam. To be 
eligible for formula grants, States must submit to DOL an 
addendum to their TANF State plan that describes how the State 
will use the funds and specifies the formula for distribution 
to sub-State entities. Other required elements of the WTW plan 
include: an agreement that the State will negotiate with the 
DHHS Secretary on evaluation of the program, an estimate of 
State funds to be spent on welfare-to-work activities, and a 
certification that the State will meet the TANF maintenance-of-
effort requirement. Formula grants are capped entitlements, but 
require State cost-sharing. States receive $2 in Federal funds 
for every dollar of their own funds spent (above the TANF 
maintenance-of-effort level) on welfare-to-work activities. 
Formula funds must be spent within 3 years, but unobligated 
fiscal year 1998 formula funds (including 75 percent of funds 
set aside for Indians but not obligated) are to be added to 
fiscal year 1999 formula grants.
     Table 7-48 shows Congressional Research Service (CRS) 
estimates of allotments to States for welfare-to-work formula 
grants for fiscal years 1998-99. Seven States benefit from the 
small State minimum: Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire, North 
Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
 Within-State administration and distribution of funds
    States are required to pass through 85 percent of formula 
funds to service delivery areas (SDA) set up under the Job 
Training Partnership Act (JTPA). The law requires that the 
State develop a formula for this allocation, and that half the 
formula be based on the incidence of ``high'' poverty (above 
7.5 percent of the population) in each SDA, relative to the 
State as a whole. The other half of the formula may be based on 
the number of long-term welfare recipients and/or unemployed 
persons in the SDA.

   TABLE 7-48.--ESTIMATED ALLOTMENTS TO THE STATES FOR WELFARE-TO-WORK  
                      GRANTS: FISCAL YEARS 1998-99                      
                        [In thousands of dollars]                       
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Percent of
                 State                     1998       1999       total  
                                                              allocation
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama..............................    $13,978    $13,029         1.3
Alaska................................      2,927      2,728         0.3
Arizona...............................     17,418     16,235         1.6
Arkansas..............................      8,490      7,914         0.8
California............................    190,417    177,490        17.2
Colorado..............................      9,879      9,208         0.9
Connecticut...........................     12,006     11,191         1.1
Delaware..............................      2,762      2,574         0.3
District of Columbia..................      4,646      4,331         0.4
Florida...............................     50,757     47,311         4.6
Georgia...............................     28,409     26,481         2.6
Hawaii................................      5,086      4,740         0.5
Idaho.................................      2,794      2,604         0.3
Illinois..............................     48,663     45,359         4.4
Indiana...............................     14,552     13,564         1.3
Iowa..................................      8,332      7,766         0.8
Kansas................................      6,668      6,216         0.6
Kentucky..............................     17,723     16,520         1.6
Louisiana.............................     23,707     22,098         2.1
Maine.................................      5,156      4,806         0.5
Maryland..............................     14,941     13,926         1.4
Massachusetts.........................     20,692     19,288         1.9
Michigan..............................     42,226     39,360         3.8
Minnesota.............................     14,503     13,519         1.3
Mississippi...........................     12,991     12,109         1.2
Missouri..............................     19,767     18,425         1.8
Montana...............................      3,194      2,978         0.3
Nebraska..............................      4,022      3,749         0.4
Nevada................................      3,384      3,154         0.3
New Hampshire.........................      2,762      2,574         0.3
New Jersey............................     23,257     21,678         2.1
New Mexico............................      9,716      9,056         0.9
New York..............................     96,886     90,309         8.8
North Carolina........................     25,332     23,612         2.3
North Dakota..........................      2,762      2,574         0.3
Ohio..................................     44,608     41,580         4.0
Oklahoma..............................     11,742     10,944         1.1
Oregon................................      8,637      8,051         0.8
Pennylvania...........................     44,296     41,289         4.0
Rhode Island..........................      4,420      4,120         0.4
South Carolina........................     12,006     11,191         1.1
South Dakota..........................      2,762      2,574         0.3
Tennessee.............................     21,644     20,175         2.0
Texas.................................     76,059     70,895         6.9
Utah..................................      4,628      4,314         0.4
Vermont...............................      2,762      2,574         0.3
Virginia..............................     16,549     15,425         1.5
Washington............................     22,675     21,135         2.1
West Virginia.........................      9,806      9,140         0.9
Wisconsin.............................     12,886     12,011         1.2
Wyoming...............................      2,762      2,574         0.3
Puerto Rico...........................     34,566     32,219         3.1
Virgin Islands........................        554        516         0.1
Guam..................................        585        546         0.1
                                       ---------------------------------
    U.S. totals.......................  1,104,750  1,029,750       100.0
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Congressional Research Service (CRS). Estimated allotments for  
  fiscal year 1998 are from the U.S. Department of Labor, and reflect   
  their final estimated allotments released October 15, 1997. Estimated 
  fiscal year 1999 allotments were computed by CRS assuming that States 
  receive the same share of total allotments as they received in fiscal 
  year 1998.                                                            

    JTPA private industry councils (PICs) are to administer 
formula grants in the SDA and to have sole authority, in 
coordination with the chief elected official of the area, to 
spend the grant funds for the benefit of the SDA, unless the 
Governor receives a waiver from DOL to permit another agency 
designated by him to administer the funds. The addendum to the 
TANF State plan must include assurances that the PIC (or 
alternate agency designated by the Governor) will coordinate 
expenditure of WTW funds with that of TANF family assistance 
grants.
    The remaining 15 percent of formula funds are to be made 
available to the Governor for distribution for projects to help 
long-term recipients enter unsubsidized employment.
 Maintenance of effort
     To qualify for WTW formula grants, States must meet TANF 
maintenance-of-effort requirements (MOE). That is, they must 
spend from their own funds on TANF-eligible families at least 
75 percent of ``historic expenditures'' (80 percent if a State 
fails to meet TANF's work requirements). If a State that 
receives WTW funds fails to meet the TANF-MOE, the WTW funds 
are to be deducted from the next year's TANF grant. This 
penalty, added to the one imposed by TANF itself for MOE 
failure, enforces the requirement that States first meet the 
TANF-MOE and then spend additional funds on welfare-to-work 
activities in order to receive formula grant funds.
 Targeting of funds
    The law requires that 70 percent of Federal welfare-to-work 
funds (both formula grants and competitive grants) be spent on 
long-term TANF recipients, or noncustodial parents of minors of 
long-term TANF recipients, who have at least two out of the 
following three barriers to employment: (1) lack of a high 
school diploma or equivalent and low reading or math skills; 
(2) poor work history; and (3) substance abuse. These targeted 
recipients must have received assistance under AFDC/TANF for at 
least 30 months or be within 12 months of losing eligibility 
for benefits because of a durational time limit, without regard 
to a hardship exemption. States may spend the remaining 30 
percent of Federal WTW funds for welfare-to-work activities by 
other TANF recipients, including the noncustodial parents of 
minors whose custodial parents are recipients, who have 
characteristics associated with long-term welfare receipt, such 
as school dropout, teen pregnancy, or poor work history.
 Competitive grants
     The welfare-to-work grant program provides $368.25 million 
in fiscal year 1998 and $343.25 million in fiscal year 1999 for 
``competitive'' grants, to be awarded by the DOL Secretary. 
Eligible applicants are private industry councils, political 
subdivisions of States, and private entities applying in 
conjunction with the PIC or political subdivision. Their 
proposals must be developed in consultation with the Governor. 
In making awards, the DOL Secretary must take into account the 
needs of rural areas and cities with large concentrations of 
poor persons. Competitive grants are to be used for the same 
activities and targeted toward the same recipients as formula 
grant funds.
 Successful performance bonuses
    The WTW law sets aside $100 million of fiscal year 1999 
funds for performance bonuses, to be paid in fiscal year 2000. 
To be eligible for one of these bonuses, a State must qualify 
for welfare-to-work formula grants in fiscal years 1998 and 
1999. The DOL Secretary, in consultation with the DHHS 
Secretary, the National Governors' Association (NGA), and the 
American Public Welfare Association (APWA), is required by 
August 5, 1997 to develop a formula for measuring successful 
performance. The performance formula must include: job 
placements, duration of job placements, increases in earnings, 
and other factors deemed appropriate by the DOL Secretary. The 
formula may take into account general economic conditions on a 
State-by-State basis.

                      Use of Welfare-to-Work Funds

 Allowable activities
     The law says WTW funds must be used to move TANF 
recipients into lasting unsubsidized employment and to keep 
them there, by means of:
    --The conduct and administration of community service or 
            work experience programs;
    --Job creation through public or private sector employment 
            wage subsidies;
    --On-the-job training;
    --Contracts with public or private providers of readiness, 
            placement, and post-employment services;
    --Job vouchers for placement, readiness, and postemployment 
            services; Contracts or vouchers for job placement 
            services must require that at least one-half of the 
            payment be withheld until a person had been in a 
            job for 6 months;
    --Job retention or support services if these services are 
            not otherwise available.
 TANF time limit ``exemption''
     Adults who lose TANF eligibility because of reaching the 
60-month limit are permitted to receive assistance through the 
welfare-to-work program. Months in which a recipient receives 
only noncash aid from WTW funds are not counted toward the TANF 
time limit.
 TANF requirements applicable to WTW programs
    All TANF requirements other than the time limit apply to 
welfare-to-work recipients. For example, they must cooperate in 
paternity establishment and must assign support rights to the 
State. They are counted when determining work participation 
requirements. State WTW programs are subject to data reporting 
requirements.
 Workplace rules
    Participants in activities funded by WTW may fill a vacant 
employment position unless another person is on layoff from the 
same or a substantially equivalent job, the employer has caused 
an involuntary reduction in the work force with the intention 
of filling the vacancy with the welfare participant, or the 
employer has reduced to less than full time the hours of a 
worker in the same or a substantially equivalent job. A work 
activity that would violate an existing contract for services 
or a collective bargaining agreement cannot be undertaken 
without the written concurrence of the labor organization and 
employer concerned. Health and safety standards otherwise 
applicable to working conditions of employees apply to working 
conditions of participants in WTW work activities. The law 
forbids discrimination by reason of gender (adding this 
requirement to other antidiscrimination provisions already in 
TANF law). States must establish and maintain a procedure for 
grievances or complaints, including opportunity for a hearing 
and appeal to an agency other than the agency administering the 
WTW program.

                            WELFARE DYNAMICS

                           Duration on Welfare

    The question of how long families receive cash welfare has 
more than one answer. The answer is affected by characteristics 
of the parent, whether repeat episodes of enrollment are taken 
into account, and whether annual or monthly data are examined. 
But some general answers are possible, based on studies of 
families' use of the repealed AFDC Program:
    --New enrollees could be expected to spend an average of 6 
            years, including repeat spells, on AFDC (table 7-
            49).
    --For families on AFDC at any given time, the average 
            expected length of AFDC receipt, counting repeat 
            spells, was 13 years (table 7-49).
    --Almost half of the persons on the rolls at a given time 
            had received benefits, counting repeat spells, for 
            more than 5 years (table 7-49).
    --More than half of welfare spells associated with a first 
            birth to a never-married mother lasted longer than 
            5 years (table 7-51).
    --Most episodes of AFDC enrollment were found to end within 
            12 months (table 7-52), but most families who 
            exited AFDC came back within 24 months (table 7-
            53).

 TABLE 7-49.--DISTRIBUTION OF TIME ON AFDC FOR A BEGINNING COHORT OF RECIPIENTS AND FOR THE CASELOAD AT A POINT 
                                                     IN TIME                                                    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Current recipients    
                                                                 Beginning cohort--  ---------------------------
                                                                   distribution of    Distribution              
                     Time on AFDC (months)                        expected lifetime    of expected  Distribution
                                                                        total           lifetime    of AFDC time
                                                                                          total        to date  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-12..........................................................             27.4               4.5          16.4 
13-24.........................................................             14.8               4.8          11.9 
25-36.........................................................             10.0               4.9           9.5 
37-48.........................................................              7.7               5.0           7.8 
49-60.........................................................              5.5               4.5           6.6 
More than 60..................................................             34.8              76.2          47.8 
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Total.....................................................            100.0             100.0         100.0 
                                                               -------------------------------------------------
    Average duration (years)..................................              6.1             12.98         6.49  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Pavetti (1995).                                                                                         

     Table 7-49, based on monthly data and prepared by LaDonna 
Pavetti (1995), examines the distribution of expected lifetime 
total time on AFDC, including repeat spells. It shows that for 
a beginning cohort, 34.8 percent could be expected to spend 
more than 60 months on the program. The picture was different 
for persons who already were enrolled: 76.2 percent of them 
were expected to spend more than 60 months on AFDC, and 47.8 
percent of them already had done so. The expected duration of 
welfare for the point-in-time caseload is much longer than for 
a beginning group of recipients because the probability of 
being on welfare at a given time is necessarily higher for 
long-term recipients than for those who have short welfare 
spells. The large number of persons who use welfare for a short 
time come and go, but the long-term users remain on the rolls. 
The estimates in table 7-49 are based on behavior of recipients 
under the AFDC system. Policy changes, such as the 5-year time 
limit on TANF-funded aid in the 1996 welfare reform law, might 
alter the length of time spent on cash assistance.
     Expected duration on AFDC varied with personal 
characteristics and with the event that appeared to precipitate 
the use of welfare. As was seen in table 7-49, 57.8 percent of 
first-time recipients could be expected to spend more than 24 
months on AFDC, counting repeat spells, over their lifetimes. 
But, as table 7-50 shows, the comparable percentages were 66 
percent and above for groups with one of the following 
characteristics at time of AFDC entry: no high school diploma, 
no recent work experience, black or Hispanic; never married; 
and more than three children.
     Boisjoly et al. (1996) examined events associated with 
initial welfare spells and duration of those spells. As shown 
in table 7-51, Boisjoly and her colleagues found that 27 
percent of first welfare spells beginning in 1973-82 and 21 
percent beginning in 1983-91 were associated with a first birth 
to a never-married woman. Of these spells, 71 percent lasted at 
least 2 years and 51 percent at least 5 years. Initial AFDC 
spells associated with divorce or separation were shorter; 48 
percent lasted at least 2 years and 26 percent at least 5 
years. Of initial spells associated with a fall in the mother's 
work hours, 65 percent lasted at least 2 years, and 30 percent 
at least 5 years.

                      Exits and Returns to Welfare

     Movement on and off the AFDC rolls was frequent. Exits are 
portrayed in table 7-52 and returns in table 7-53. Both tables 
are based on monthly caseload data. Table 7-52 shows that 56 
percent of episodes of AFDC ended within 12 months, 70 percent 
within 24 months, and almost 85 percent within 4 years. The 
table also shows that work exits from AFDC generally accounted 
for slightly less than half of all exits within a 5-year 
period.
    Table 7-53 shows that many who left AFDC returned to the 
rolls very quickly. Within 1 year of their exit, 45 percent of 
ex-recipients returned to the program; within 2 years, 58 
percent; within 4 years, 69 percent. Those who left AFDC 
because of employment remained off the program somewhat longer 
than those who left for other reasons.
     A study based on 168 months (14 years) of data about AFDC 
receipt from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) 
examined both a parent's first AFDC experience and any 
subsequent reentry to the rolls after an exit (Cao, 1996). The 
study found that among females under the age of 21 as of 
January 1979, having a newborn was the most important reason 
for first entering welfare and also for recidivism, other 
things being equal. Other notable findings were that:
    --The most common cause for first entering AFDC was having 
            a baby within the last 6 months (74 percent).
    --Giving birth again appeared to be a major cause for 
            reentering AFDC after leaving the program (54 
            percent among persons making a first return to 
            AFDC; 45 percent and 40 percent among those 
            returning a second and third time, respectively).

         TABLE 7-50.--TIME ON WELFARE AND SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS FOR A BEGINNING COHORT OF RECIPIENTS         
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Percent          Percent    
                                                                Percent of all    expected to      expected to  
       Characteristics at beginning of first AFDC spell           first-time      spend longer     spend longer 
                                                                  recipients     than 24 months   than 60 months
                                                                                    on AFDC          on AFDC    
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Education:                                                                                                      
    <9 years.................................................             13.0             75.3             63.4
    9-11 years...............................................             34.0             66.2             40.0
    12+ years................................................             53.0             48.2             24.3
Work experience:                                                                                                
    No recent................................................             38.7             67.1             44.9
    Recent...................................................             61.3             52.0             28.3
Age:                                                                                                            
    Under 24.................................................             52.7             64.5             41.9
    25-30....................................................             24.9             51.9             25.6
    31-40....................................................             19.3             48.4             28.3
    Over 40..................................................              3.1             51.1             25.2
Race:                                                                                                           
    White/other..............................................             55.6             50.9             26.7
    Black....................................................             28.4             66.4             41.4
    Hispanic.................................................             16.0             66.9             50.7
Marital status:                                                                                                 
    Never married............................................             58.2             65.5             43.1
    Ever married.............................................             41.8             47.2             23.0
Age of youngest child:                                                                                          
    <12 months...............................................             52.1             64.8             39.2
    13-36 months.............................................             16.6             55.5             37.9
    37-60 months.............................................             10.9             54.3             29.5
    61-120 months............................................             11.2             49.7             29.9
    121+ months..............................................              9.3             37.1             15.2
Number of children:                                                                                             
    1........................................................             57.2             57.0             35.8
    2........................................................             33.2             58.2             31.9
    3........................................................              7.5             58.7             35.9
    Over 3...................................................              2.2             71.0             43.1
                                                              --------------------------------------------------
        All recipients.......................................            100.0             57.8            34.8 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Pavetti (1995).                                                                                         


TABLE 7-51.--EVENTS ASSOCIATED WITH WELFARE SPELL BEGINNINGS--TRENDS AND
                          DURATIONS OF RECEIPT                          
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   Percentage of all     Percentage of  
                                      beginnings       spells lasting at
Event associated with beginnings    associated with         least:      
     of first spell of AFDC            the event     -------------------
                                 --------------------                   
                                   1973-82   1983-91   2 years   5 years
------------------------------------------------------------------------
First birth to never-married                                            
 mother.........................        27        21        71        51
First birth under other                                                 
 circumstances..................        14        14        53        28
Second or later birth...........        18        17        60        39
Divorce/separation..............        23        23        48        26
Mother left parental nest.......         5         7        68        NA
Fall in mother's work hours.....        26        23        65        30
Fall of work hours of others in                                         
 family.........................        32        24        52       33 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data are from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics.                       
                                                                        
NA--Not available.                                                      
                                                                        
Source: Boisjoly (table appears in article, Welfare Dynamics, by G.H.   
  Duncan and G. Caspary, Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public  
  Policy, 1997).                                                        


 TABLE 7-52.--CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN LEAVING WELFARE BY DURATION
                   OF TIME ON WELFARE AND TYPE OF EXIT                  
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Duration (months)           Work exits  Other exits   All exits 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-12.............................         25.4         30.4         55.8
13-24............................         31.7         38.3         70.0
25-36............................         35.9         42.3         78.2
37-48............................         39.0         43.6         82.6
49-60............................         40.9         45.4        86.3 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Pavetti (1993, p. 46).                                          


    TABLE 7-53.--CUMULATIVE PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN RETURNING TO AFDC BY    
               DURATION OF TIME OFF AFDC AND TYPE OF EXIT               
------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Duration (months)           Work exits  Other exits   All exits 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1-12.............................         39.4         49.5         44.9
13-24............................         52.5         61.8         57.6
25-36............................         57.8         69.3         64.2
37-48............................         62.5         74.3         69.1
49-60............................         65.0         76.6        71.5 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Pavetti (1995).                                                 

    --A decline in earnings counted for only about 4 percent of 
            cases first entering AFDC and between 8 and 10 
            percent of those returning to the program after an 
            exit.
    --``Becoming unmarried'' accounted for less than 2 percent 
            of first spells of AFDC and for less than 4 percent 
            of first returns to AFDC after an exit. The study 
            noted that these low percentages might reflect the 
            relative youth of recipients in the sample, many of 
            whom became mothers as teens and never married.
     Meyer and Cancian (1996), in another study based on 14 
years of NLSY data, analyzed the poverty status of women in the 
5 years after their first observed exit from AFDC. They found 
that more than half (55 percent) of former recipients were poor 
1 year after first departing from AFDC, and about 40 percent 
after 5 years. Almost one in five (18 percent) was poor in each 
of the 5 years; more than one-fifth (22 percent) were never 
poor in the first 5 years. The researchers said that in each of 
the 5 years, about 60 percent of the women had earnings, and 40 
percent income from a spouse or partner. The other major income 
sources were AFDC, received by 30-40 percent of the women each 
year (60 percent of the women returned to AFDC), and food 
stamps, received by 40-50 percent. Child support or alimony was 
received by 17-19 percent.

               Intergenerational Patterns of Welfare Use

    Several researchers have examined the question of 
intergenerational transmission of receipt of AFDC. In general, 
using panel data, they have measured AFDC income in parental 
families and then examined its correlation with later behavior 
of their daughters, either through simple cross-tabulations or 
multivariate statistical analyses. A 1990 review of seven 
studies made between 1986 and 1990 (Moffitt, 1990) concluded 
that their results provide consistent evidence of strong 
correlations between parental welfare receipt and later 
behavior of the daughters. Moffitt concluded that the research 
showed that daughters from welfare families are much more 
likely to participate in the welfare system themselves at a 
later date, and are more likely to have births in general and 
premarital births in particular. Evidence was weaker for the 
one study that examined the effect of parental welfare receipt 
on later work effort by sons.
    The studies do not answer the question of whether growing 
up in a family that receives AFDC ``causes'' a daughter to 
later become an AFDC mother. Many omitted variables, such as 
the human capital characteristics of the parental family, could 
be responsible for the observed correlation. Children from 
AFDC-dependent homes generally have fewer parental resources 
available to them, live in worse neighborhoods, and go to lower 
quality schools. All of these factors could have an independent 
effect on the probability of their receiving AFDC in adulthood. 
Further, transmission of AFDC receipt from one generation to 
the next could operate in a number of ways: for example, by 
lowering the stigma of welfare, by acquainting the AFDC child 
with rules of the system or by affecting the work effort of the 
AFDC family or its investments in human capital (Moffitt, 
1990).
    Table 7-54 summarizes findings from a 1988 study that 
surveyed a sample of daughters whose economic status was 
observed when the daughters were between the ages of 13 and 15 
and later when they were between the ages of 21 and 23. For 
each of the periods, AFDC dependence was defined as: no 
dependence--no AFDC income reported; moderate dependence--AFDC 
reported in 1 or 2 years; high dependence--AFDC in all 3 years. 
Daughters from highly dependent homes were several times more 
likely to become highly dependent themselves (20 percent) than 
were daughters from nonrecipient homes (3 percent). At the same 
time, 64 percent of the daughters from highly dependent homes 
received no AFDC as young adults.
     Another study (Gottschalk, 1992) distinguished between 
parents who were eligible for AFDC and those who were not, 
noting that some of the positive correlation found between 
mothers' and daughters' AFDC use might reflect the low 
probability that adult daughters of high-income parents would 
meet the AFDC income test. Gottschalk also controlled for 
differences between parents who, though AFDC-eligible, did not 
participate, and those who did. Finally, he used event history 
analysis to lengthen the observation period (since a short 
period is likely to miss many mothers and daughters who at some 
point receive AFDC).

                             TABLE 7-54.--INTERGENERATIONAL PATTERNS OF AFDC RECEIPT                            
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Dependence of daughters                
                                                                                (percent)             Unweighted
                       Dependence of parents                        ---------------------------------  number of
                                                                         No      Moderate     High       cases  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No.................................................................         91          6          3         811
Moderate...........................................................         62         22         16         127
High...............................................................         64         16         20        147 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Duncan, Hill, & Hoffman (1988).                                                                         

    The Gottschalk study showed that daughters raised in AFDC 
households had different economic and demographic 
characteristics from those raised in nonrecipient households. 
More specifically, they were disproportionately nonwhite and 
came from more disadvantaged backgrounds, as measured by family 
income, mother's education, or the proportion of disadvantaged 
students in their school. Households eligible for AFDC that did 
not enroll in the program also were more disadvantaged than 
recipient households. This study reached three broad 
conclusions: (1) parental enrollment in AFDC was correlated 
with daughters' later participation in AFDC; (2) the parents' 
participation did not seem to be capturing solely the effects 
of low income; the intergenerational correlation seemed to 
reflect more than a simple statistical artifact; and (3) the 
loss of income if the parent did not receive AFDC, even though 
eligible, raised the probability that the daughter would 
receive AFDC.
    Daughters who grew up on AFDC had a higher overall 
probability of giving birth by the end of the survey than 
daughters of eligible parents who did not participate in AFDC 
(53 percent versus 33.4 percent). Further, more than half (55.8 
percent) of the young mothers who were raised in AFDC families 
also received AFDC for their children. In comparison, the 
probability of a daughter's receiving AFDC for her own child 
was less than one-third (32.9 percent) if her eligible parent 
had not participated in AFDC.
     A recent review of the research (Duncan and Caspary, 1997) 
concluded that the evidence on the question of 
intergenerational linkage of welfare use, although not 
definitive, ``does indeed suggest'' such a linkage, even after 
adjusting for the conditions associated with welfare-recipient 
families.

       ADOLESCENT AND OUT-OF-WEDLOCK CHILDBEARING AND USE OF AFDC

                            Trends Over Time

    Adolescent pregnancy, declining marriage rates, and 
increased childbearing among unmarried women have contributed 
to the rising share of children being born to unwed mothers. 
Out-of-wedlock birth rates, slowly but steadily moving upward 
since at least the 1940s, took a sharp upward turn in the mid-
1980s. The diminishing fertility of married women coincident 
with the growing fertility of unmarried women has increased the 
likelihood that children born today will be born outside 
marriage. These trends have placed children at increased risk 
of being poor and have placed increased demands on the Nation's 
welfare programs. Among children whose mother has never 
married, 59 percent were poor in 1996. About one-third of 
never-married mothers reported receiving AFDC (34 percent) in 
1996.
    The rate of childbearing by unmarried women age 15-44 
increased by 54 percent from 1980-91, but has remained stable 
at about 45.3 births per 1,000 unmarried women for several 
years. It dropped slightly to 45.1 births per 1,000 unmarried 
women in 1995. As chart 7-2 depicts, the birth rate of 
unmarried adolescent women closely tracks that of all unmarried 
women of childbearing age. Almost one-third (32.2 percent) of 
all births in 1995 were out of wedlock (and preliminary data 
for 1996 indicate that 32.4 percent of births were to unmarried 
women).

CHART 7-2. BIRTH RATES FOR ALL WOMEN, ADOLESCENTS, UNMARRIED WOMEN, AND 
                    UNMARRIED ADOLESCENTS, 1940-95 





    Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of National 
Center for Health Statistics natality data, 1997.


    Most teen births were out of wedlock. Specifically, 69.8 
percent of the 512,115 births to adolescents in 1995 were out 
of wedlock (Wasem, 1995). On the other hand, the age group that 
comprises the largest portion of out-of-wedlock births in 1993 
was women in their early twenties (34.5 percent). While these 
two statistics imply that adolescent childbearing is only an 
overlapping portion of nonmarital births, the following 
analysis of the birth order patterns (e.g., how many previous 
births the mother has had) reveals a more complex relationship. 
Although adolescent childbearing should not be viewed as 
synonymous with out-of-wedlock births, adolescence appears to 
be the time in life that most unmarried women who bear children 
have their first child.

                    First Births to Unmarried Women

    Not only has the sheer number of births to unmarried women 
increased sharply over the past few decades, but the birth 
order patterns of unmarried women have changed as well. As 
chart 7-3 depicts, 60 percent of the 318,100 births to 
unmarried women in 1967 were their first child. By 1995, just 
over half (50.1 percent) of the 1.3 million births to unmarried 
women were their first child. In other words, almost half of 
the unmarried women who had a baby in 1995 had given birth 
previously. Some of these unmarried women, however, may have 
been previously married.

CHART 7-3. BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED WOMEN IN 1967 AND 1995: FIRST BIRTHS AND 
                            PREVIOUS BIRTHS 





    Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of National 
Center for Health Statistics natality data, 1997.


    When the birth order patterns of unmarried women are broken 
down by age in chart 7-4, it becomes clear that many of the 
young women in the largest category (20-24 age group) had 
previously given birth before they had this child out of 
wedlock. Only 50.4 percent of these births are the first births 
these young women have had, suggesting that many of these 
unmarried mothers began their families as adolescents. Although 
births to adolescents are only 31 percent of the 1.3 million 
births to unmarried women, they make up almost half of all 
first births to unmarried women (49.1 percent).

  CHART 7-4. BIRTHS TO UNMARRIED WOMEN IN 1995: LIVE BIRTHS BY AGE OF 
                      MOTHER AND PREVIOUS BIRTHS 





    Source: Congressional Research Service analysis of National 
Center for Health Statistics natality data, 1997.

                           Links to AFDC Use

    The Congressional Budget Office (Adams & Williams, 1990) 
analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 
and found that almost half of all adolescent mothers began 
receiving AFDC within 5 years of the birth of their first 
child. Over three-fourths of unmarried adolescent mothers began 
receiving AFDC within 5 years of the birth of their first 
child. Moreover, CBO found that observed differences in receipt 
of AFDC by age and race were largely explained by the marital 
status of the adolescent mother.
    In addition to the role of adolescent childbearing, the 
links between out-of-wedlock childbearing and AFDC use are also 
being documented. Analysis of Current Population Survey data by 
the Congressional Research Service found that perhaps as much 
as half of caseload growth in recent years could be attributed 
to the increased number of mother-only families (Gabe, 1992).
    Similarly, an analysis of data from the Survey of Income 
and Program Participation (SIPP) done by Amara Bachu and Martin 
O'Connell (1995) of the Bureau of the Census found that nearly 
half (47.5 percent) of AFDC mothers have never been married. As 
shown in chart 7-5, this study, which compares the demographic 
traits of AFDC mothers with non-AFDC mothers as of 1993, found 
further that the percent of AFDC mothers who had never been 
married was double the percent of non-AFDC mothers who had 
never been married (23.6 percent).

 CHART 7-5. MARITAL STATUS OF AFDC MOTHERS AND NON-AFDC MOTHERS, 1993 





    Source: March 1995 Survey of Income and Program 
Participation (SIPP).

    As chart 7-6 depicts, an analysis of the SIPP by Nicholas 
Zill of Westat (1996) revealed that 68 percent of AFDC mothers 
were unmarried at the time their first child was born, while 
only 27 percent of non-AFDC mothers were. Over half (55 
percent) of AFDC mothers were adolescents at the time of their 
first birth in comparison with just under one-third (31 
percent) of non-AFDC mothers. Zill also found that 44 percent 
of AFDC mothers were unmarried adolescents at the time of their 
first birth while only 17 percent of non-AFDC mothers were 
unmarried adolescents at the time of their first birth.
    The differences in the welfare recipiency patterns of 
adolescent mothers of different ages could be due to a number 
of factors. In particular, they are likely to be partially due 
to marital status differences between the two groups--the 
younger mothers in this sample were much less likely to be 
married than were older mothers. Other factors that might play 
a role include differences in living arrangements and in the 
likelihood of having a subsequent birth.

 CHART 7-6. MARITAL STATUS OF AFDC MOTHERS AND NON-AFDC MOTHERS AT THE 
                 TIME OF THEIR FIRST CHILDBIRTH, 1993 





    Source: Zill (1996).

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    For detailed legislative history of AFDC from 1980 to 1994, 
see the 1996 Green Book.

                               REFERENCES

Adams, G., & Williams, R.C. (1990). Sources of support for 
        adolescent mothers. Washington, DC: Congressional 
        Budget Office.
Bachu, A., & O'Connell, M. (1995). Mothers who receive AFDC 
        payments: Fertility and socioeconomic characteristics. 
        Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of 
        the Census.
 Boisjoly, J., Harris K.M., and Duncan, G.J. (1996). Initial 
        welfare spells: trends, events and duration, with 
        implications for welfare reform (1996). Paper prepared 
        for the Association for Public Policy Analysis and 
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