[Background Material and Data on Programs within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means (Green Book)]
[Program Descriptions]
[Section 7. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 
       SECTION 7. TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)

                                CONTENTS

Brief Summary and History
Basic Outline of Program
  Purpose
  Allowed Uses of Block Grants
  Major Conditions Attached to TANF Grants
  Benefits
  Child Care
  Interaction with Other Major Benefit Programs
  Privatization/Charitable Choice
  Enforcement of Penalties Against States
State TANF Programs
  State Plan Requirements
  Brief Summary of TANF State Programs
Funding of TANF
  Basic Family Assistance Grants
  State Spending Requirement (MOE)
  Supplemental Grants to States with High Population Growth 
            and/or Low AFDC-Related Federal Spending Per Poor 
            Person
  Welfare-to-Work Grants
  Contingency Fund
  Loan Fund
  Bonus Funds
TANF for Indians
AFDC/TANF Data
  Highlights
  Caseloads
  Benefits
  Break-Even Levels
  Uses of TANF Funds
  Expenditures
  Work Activities and Participation
Characteristics of AFDC/TANF Families
  Composition of Families, 1969-98
  Marital Status of Parents
  Race and Ethnicity of AFDC/TANF Adults
  Educational Attainment of TANF Adults
  Living Arrangements of TANF Children
Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Grant Program
Welfare Dynamics
  Duration Findings
  Exits and Returns to AFDC/TANF
Selected Provisions of State TANF Programs
Legislative History
References

                       BRIEF SUMMARY AND HISTORY

    Enacted in August 1996 after 2 years of debate, the 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
(Public Law 104-193) repealed the 61-year-old program of Aid to 
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC; see Committee on Ways 
and Means, 1998, pp. 401-405) and created the Block Grant 
Program of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 
its place. The law entitles States to fixed block grants ($16.5 
billion annually) for 6 years to operate programs of their own 
design, but imposes time limits on receiving welfare without 
working, lifetime benefit time limits, and minimum work 
participation rates. Within limits, it allows States to reduce 
their own spending on behalf of needy children. The 1996 law 
also sharply expands funding for child care.
    Frustration with the character, size, and cost of AFDC 
rolls contributed to the decision by Congress to ``end welfare 
as we know it'' in 1996. Enrollment had soared to an all-time 
peak in 1994, covering 5 million families and more than one-
eighth of U.S. children. More than half of AFDC children were 
born outside marriage, and three-fourths had an able-bodied 
parent who lived away from home. Almost half of the families 
had received benefits for more than 5 years, counting repeat 
spells. Benefit costs peaked in fiscal year 1994 at $22.8 
billion ($12.5 billion in Federal funds, $10.3 billion in 
State/local funds). Some policymakers urged that Congress put a 
cap on AFDC funds to control costs. Some maintained that 
offering permanent help for needy children in single-parent 
families had encouraged family breakup, enabled nonmarital 
births, and fostered long-term dependency.
    Repeated efforts by Congress dating back to the 1960s to 
reduce welfare use and promote self-sufficiency generally had 
been discouraging. Reform measures had included 
``rehabilitative'' services; work requirements, work rewards; 
education and training; support services including child care; 
child support enforcement; and provisions to establish 
paternity of nonmarital children. In 1988, Congress enacted the 
Family Support Act, which stressed the mutual obligation of 
government and welfare recipient to promote self-sufficiency of 
AFDC families. In the early 1990s many States received 
permission, through waivers from one or more AFDC Federal rules 
to test their own reform ideas--special behavioral rules, 
rewards, penalties, and welfare-to-work (WTW) strategies. By 
early 1995, many Governors pressed for a cash welfare block 
grant to free them from AFDC rules. The concept of a fixed 
block grant that States could use for temporary and work-
conditioned programs of their own design was included in reform 
bills passed by Congress in 1995 and 1996; both were vetoed. 
But a third bill that included changes discussed during the 2 
years of debate was enacted by Congress in July 1996 and was 
signed by President Clinton on August 22, 1996. By the time of 
TANF's passage, AFDC enrollment had decreased to 4.4 million 
families. The mandatory start date for TANF was July 1, 1997, 
but most States made the transition from AFDC earlier.
    TANF combined into a single block grant peak-year Federal 
funding levels for AFDC benefits and administration and two 
related programs--Emergency Assistance to Needy Families (EA) 
and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program 
(JOBS). TANF entitles each State to an annual family assistance 
grant equal to the largest yearly amount paid by the Federal 
Government to the State for AFDC benefits and administration, 
EA, and JOBS during the fiscal year 1992-95 period. From their 
own funds, States are required to spend on needy families at 
least 75 percent of their ``historic'' level, defined as fiscal 
year 1994 spending on programs replaced by TANF, including 
AFDC-related child care. This is known as the maintenance-of-
effort (MOE) rule. (If a State fails to achieve a required work 
participation rate, its MOE rises to 80 percent.)
    The 1996 welfare law also provided supplemental grants for 
some States with above-average population growth and below-
average fiscal year 1994 Federal welfare spending per poor 
person, bonus funds for reducing nonmarital birth rates while 
also reducing abortion rates, bonus funds for high performance, 
and a contingency fund for States with failing economies. In 
1997, Congress added to TANF a special WTW Program of matching 
formula grants and some competitive grants, with funding for 
fiscal years 1998 and 1999 only.
    The TANF law makes family assistance grants available to 
the outlying areas of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands, all of which participated in AFDC. American Samoa was 
eligible for AFDC but did not operate the program; it could 
participate in TANF under special rules that provide a 75 
percent Federal match. It also permits Indian tribes, defined 
to include Alaska Native organizations, to conduct their own 
tribal family assistance programs. Indian tribes had been 
excluded from operating AFDC, although some tribes conducted 
their own JOBS Program.
    Major differences between TANF and AFDC include:
  --Entitlement.--TANF expressly denies entitlement to 
        individuals. Under AFDC, States were required to aid 
        all families eligible under State income standards.
  --Funding.--TANF law preappropriates a fixed family 
        assistance grant for each State, plus some extra funds. 
        To avoid fiscal penalties, States may not reduce their 
        own spending by more than 20-25 percent (MOE rule). 
        States must provide matching funds for WTW grants. AFDC 
        law provided unlimited matching funds for AFDC and EA, 
        but put a ceiling on matching funds for JOBS.
  --Time limit for benefits.--TANF sets a 5-year limit on 
        federally funded aid, with a 20 percent hardship 
        exemption. AFDC had no time limit.
  --Work trigger.--TANF requires work (defined by the State) 
        after a maximum of 2 years of benefits. AFDC had no 
        work trigger.
  --Work requirement.--TANF requires a specified and rising 
        percentage of the total caseload to engage in work 
        activities listed in the law. The JOBS Program had 
        participation requirements, but participation did not 
        require work and about half the caseload was exempted.
  --Eligibility.--TANF allows States to decide what categories 
        of families to aid. AFDC prohibited aid for children in 
        two-parent families unless the second parent was 
        incapacitated or unemployed.
  --Treatment of earnings.--Under TANF, States decide whether 
        to disregard some earnings as a work incentive, and, if 
        so, how much. AFDC law set rules about treatment of 
        earnings.
    Two basic program features of AFDC were retained by TANF. 
States decide how needy families must be to receive aid, and 
States establish maximum benefit levels (Burke, 1999).

                        BASIC OUTLINE OF PROGRAM

                                Purpose

    Section 401(a) of the Social Security Act says that the 
purpose of TANF is to increase flexibility of States in 
operating a program designed to:
 1. Provide assistance to needy families so that children may 
        be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of 
        relatives;
 2. End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits 
        by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
 3. Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock 
        pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for 
        preventing and reducing the incidence of these 
        pregnancies; and
 4. Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent 
        families.

                      Allowed Uses of Block Grants

    The law provides that States may use their family 
assistance grant ``in any manner reasonably calculated'' to 
promote any of the four goals above. Expenditures for the first 
two goals must be made on behalf of needy families, but 
spending aimed at the latter two goals--reduction of nonmarital 
pregnancies and promotion of two-parent families--may be made 
for nonneedy families.
    States also may use TANF funds to continue other activities 
not related to the four program objectives that they were 
authorized to undertake in individual State plans under AFDC, 
EA, or JOBS. They may make limited transfers of TANF funds 
(totaling 30 percent) to the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant (CCDBG) and the Social Services Block Grant (title XX), 
with the title XX transfer no greater than 10 percent (4.25 
percent effective October 1, 2000). They may use TANF funds 
(within overall transfer limits) as matching funds for job 
access grants.\1\ The law also explicitly permits States to use 
TANF funds to fund individual development accounts established 
by persons eligible for TANF assistance. Clearly, TANF is a 
funding stream for a variety of allowed purposes, not just a 
program of cash welfare aid.
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    \1\ Authorized by Public Law 105-277, job access grants are 
matching grants to local governments and nonprofit organizations for 
transportation services, including reverse commuter projects for 
welfare recipients and other low-income persons (U.S. General 
Accounting Office, 1999).
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    TANF funds may be carried over from fiscal year to fiscal 
year without limit. However, carried over funds may be spent 
only for ``assistance.'' The law does not define assistance, 
but final regulations adopted by the U.S. Department of Health 
and Human Services (DHHS) restrict it to benefits designed to 
meet a family's ``ongoing basic needs'' (that is, for food, 
clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care 
items, and general incidental expenses) plus supportive 
services such as transportation and child care for families who 
are not employed. Funds used for nonassistance (including 
nonrecurrent, short-term benefits, work subsidies, and 
supportive services to employed families) must be obligated by 
the end of the fiscal year for which they are awarded, and 
expended by the end of the next year.
    TANF funds cannot be used to: fund activities required 
under the State plans of child support enforcement or foster 
care and adoption assistance; finance the construction or 
purchase of buildings; finance a funding deficiency in another 
Federal program; provide medical services other than 
prepregnancy family planning services; or assist a family that 
includes a person who, as an adult or minor household head, has 
received 60 months of assistance.
    Administrative costs may not exceed 15 percent except in 
the case of expenditures for information technology and 
computerization needed for tracking or monitoring.

                Major Conditions Attached to TANF Grants

    TANF sets some eligibility/ineligibility conditions; it 
imposes work rules and sets a 5-year time limit for federally 
funded benefits; it requires States to spend certain sums of 
their own funds on needy families--MOE rule; it allows waiver 
from its rules under restricted conditions; and it requires 
States to report certain expenditure data and some data on 
recipient families.
Eligibility/ineligibility
    A State may give TANF assistance to a family only if it 
includes a minor child or pregnant person. To be eligible, 
families must assign child/spousal support rights to the State. 
Ineligible are unwed mothers under 18 and their children unless 
they live in an adult-supervised arrangement (for good cause 
the State may waive this rule) and (if a high-school dropout) 
attend school once their youngest child is 12 weeks old. 
Ineligible for 5 years are noncitizens who enter the United 
States after the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act's August 22, 1996 enactment. States that use 
their own funds to help legal immigrants and minor parents not 
living in an adult-supervised setting may count this spending 
toward their required MOE. Also ineligible are fugitive felons 
and violators of probation/parole and, unless the State opts 
out by State law, persons convicted of a drug-related felony 
for conduct occurring after the law's 1996 enactment.
Work rules
    TANF law sets work trigger time limits, requires States to 
achieve minimum rates of work participation, requires States to 
penalize work infractions by recipients, and sets fiscal 
penalties for States that fail to achieve participation rates. 
The Labor Department has ruled that the Fair Labor Standards 
Act (which governs hours and wages) applies to most 
``workfare'' programs in which TANF recipients participate in 
exchange for their benefit.
     Work trigger rule (State definition of work).--In their 
TANF plans, States must outline how they intend to require 
parents and other caretaker relatives who receive TANF 
assistance to engage in work, as defined by the State, after a 
maximum of 24 months of benefits or earlier. More than half of 
the States have adopted the Federal maximum of 24 months as 
their work trigger time limit. More than a dozen say they 
require immediate work activity, such as job search. In many 
States the TANF recipient who takes a paid job remains eligible 
for a reduced TANF benefit until reaching the State's absolute 
benefit cutoff; this is especially likely if the work is part 
time and the wage rate is relatively low.
    TANF law also sets a 2-month community service trigger, 
with tasks and required hours to be decided by States, for 
recipients not engaged in or exempt from work, but allows 
States to opt out by notification of the Governor to DHHS. Only 
four States (Michigan, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) 
use this 2-month workfare trigger; the others have opted out. 
However, some other States specify that after a longer period 
unemployed TANF recipients will receive aid only if they 
perform community service or other work in exchange for their 
benefits. For instance, California allows aid beyond 18 months 
for those not otherwise working only if the county determines 
that a job is unavailable and the recipient participates in 
community services. Delaware and Pennsylvania have similar 
requirements.
    Minimum work participation rates (Federal definition of 
work).--States must achieve minimum rates of participation by 
adult recipients (or teen parent recipients) of TANF assistance 
in one or more of 12 activities listed in the statute. The 
statutory rates, which began in fiscal year 1997 at 25 percent 
for all families and 75 percent for two-parent families, rose 
by stages to 40 percent and 90 percent, respectively, in fiscal 
year 2000; the all-family rate is to climb to a final peak of 
50 percent in fiscal year 2002. However, the law requires DHHS 
to reduce a State's required participation rates if average 
monthly caseloads are below those of fiscal year 1995. For each 
percentage point drop in the caseload not attributed to State 
policy changes, the required work rate is lowered by 1 
percentage point. The caseload dropped so sharply between 
fiscal year 1995 and fiscal year 1997 that all States exceeded 
their adjusted all-family target rates, which in some cases 
plunged to zero. However, 15 jurisdictions failed the higher 
two-parent work rate, even after adjustment (table 7-21). A 
State's monthly participation rate, expressed as a percentage, 
equals: (1) the number of families receiving ``assistance'' 
that include an adult or minor head of household who is engaged 
in creditable work for the month, divided by (2) the number of 
all families receiving assistance that include an adult or 
minor household head recipient (but excluding families subject 
that month to a penalty for refusal to work, provided they have 
not been penalized for more than 3 months in the preceding 12 
months; 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.
    Creditable work activities.--The creditable work activities 
can be grouped by priority. In the first priority group are 
nine activities: (1) unsubsidized employment; (2) subsidized 
private employment; (3) subsidized public sector employment; 
(4) work experience; (5) on-the-job training; (6) job search 
and job readiness assistance (6 weeks maximum of job search, 
with 12 weeks allowed under certain unemployment conditions); 
(7) community service programs; (8) vocational educational 
training (12 months maximum); and (9) providing child care for 
a community service participant. In the second priority group 
are three activities: (1) job skills training directly related 
to employment; (2) education directly related to employment 
(high school dropout only); and (3) satisfactory attendance at 
secondary school or in an equivalent course of study (high 
school dropout only). Not more than 30 percent of families may 
be credited with work activity by reason of vocational 
education training or, if teens without a high school diploma, 
by reason of secondary school attendance or education directly 
related to employment.
    Required hours of work participation.--To be counted as a 
work participant, a TANF recipient generally must be engaged in 
one of the above creditable activities for at least 30 hours 
per week, on average, in fiscal years 2000-2002 (fewer hours 
were required in earlier years), and 20 of those hours must be 
in one of the nine high-priority activities. The law provides 
two exceptions to this rule: (1) if a TANF recipient is the 
only parent or caretaker relative of a child under age 6, she 
need work only 20 weekly hours, all in high-priority 
activities; and (2) if a TANF recipient is a single teen 
household head or married teen without high school diploma, he 
may receive work credit by maintaining satisfactory high school 
attendance, or, for an average of at least 20 hours weekly, by 
engaging in schooling directly related to work. Special rules 
apply to two-parent families. They must work at least 35 hours 
weekly, with at least 30 hours in high-priority activities (the 
two parents may share the work hours). If the family receives 
federally funded child care 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 first priority activities. If the second parent in a two-
parent family is disabled, the State must treat it as a single-
parent family.
    Penalties to enforce work rules.--TANF law prescribes 
penalties against States that fail participation rates, and it 
requires States to penalize recipients for work refusal. If a 
State falls short of the required participation rate for a 
fiscal year, its family assistance grant for the next year is 
reduced by 5 percent (first failure). 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 was due to a specified high rate of unemployment 
or to ``extraordinary circumstances, such as a natural disaster 
or regional recession.'' Before assessing a penalty, the 
Secretary must notify the State of its violation and allow it 
to enter into a corrective compliance plan. DHHS has indicated 
that most States that failed fiscal year 1997 or 1998 two-
parent work participation rates have filed corrective action 
plans.
    If an adult recipient of assistance refuses to engage in 
work, the law requires the State to reduce aid to the family 
``pro rata'' (or more, at State option) with respect to the 
period of work refusal, or to 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 cannot 
obtain needed child care for a reason listed in the law. The 
law does not define ``pro rata'' reduction, and the regulations 
do not prescribe a method. States have adopted various 
penalties for failing to comply with work requirements: about 
one-third end the family's benefit for a first violation; most 
make a partial benefit cut (removing the adult from the grant); 
penalties are increased in size or duration for repeat 
violations.
    TANF law also explicitly permits a State to reduce a 
family's benefit, by an amount the State considers appropriate, 
if a family member fails without good cause to comply with an 
individual responsibility plan that she has signed. Most State 
TANF plans include use of individual responsibility plans that 
establish an employment goal, set forth obligations of the 
recipient, and describe services to be provided by the State.
     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.
Lifetime federally funded benefit time limit
    A State may not use any part of its family assistance grant 
to provide assistance to a family that includes a person, who 
as an adult (or minor household head) has already received 60 
months of assistance. However, States may exempt 20 percent of 
the caseload from the Federal time limit for ``hardship'' 
reasons or because the family includes a person who has been 
``battered or subjected to extreme cruelty.'' If a State uses 
its own funds for families that have reached the Federal time 
limit, it may count the expenditures toward its MOE 
requirement.
    States may establish their own time limits (within 60 
months) for use of Federal funds and (without limit) for use of 
their own funds. Almost half the States have adopted limits 
shorter than 60 months. Some permit extensions, some provide 
exemptions (months that do not count toward the time limit), 
and some continue children's benefits indefinitely (Falk, 
1998).
Family violence waivers
    The 1996 law allows States to certify in their TANF plans 
that they have adopted standards to screen and identify TANF 
recipients with a history of domestic violence, refer them to 
services, and waive program requirements (including time limits 
and work rules) in some cases. DHHS regulations allow a State 
that has adopted the family violence option to receive 
``reasonable cause'' exceptions to penalties for failing work 
and time limit rules if the State had granted domestic violence 
waivers that meet certain standards.
Data reporting
    Regulations covering data reporting rules of the 1996 law 
took effect October 1, 1999. Before then, an Emergency TANF 
Data Report was used. The 1996 law requires States to collect 
on a monthly basis, and report on a quarterly basis, certain 
case-by-case information about families \2\ receiving 
assistance (defined by regulation as benefits for ongoing basic 
needs plus support services for nonemployed families) under the 
State program funded by TANF. Reports must provide some data 
for each family, each family member, and each adult. Required 
data include amount of assistance and type, type of family, 
cash resources, child support received (family data); race/
ethnicity, educational status, citizenship status (for each 
family member); and marital status, employment status and 
earnings, and disability status (for each adult). Under DHHS 
regulations, if a State wishes to receive a high-performance 
bonus or qualify for a caseload reduction credit (to lower its 
required work participation rate), it must also file a similar 
quarterly case-by-case report on families receiving assistance 
under separate State programs (SSPs), financed with MOE funds. 
Disaggregated (case-by-case) data also must be reported about 
families no longer receiving assistance. Reports about closed 
cases are to show data for the last month of assistance; States 
are not expected to track ex-recipient families for these 
reports.
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    \2\ TANF law does not define ``family.'' Instructions to the TANF 
regulations say that for reporting purposes family means all persons 
who receive assistance as part of the family under the State TANF 
Program or the separate State program plus (if not included in the 
foregoing recipient group) parent(s), caretaker relative(s) and minor 
siblings of any child recipient, and anyone whose income or resources 
would be counted in determining the family's eligibility for or amount 
of aid.
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    Also required are quarterly reports providing aggregated 
numerical totals, which may be based on sampling about families 
applying for, receiving, and no longer receiving assistance 
under the State TANF Program. In addition, if the State wants 
to qualify for a high-performance bonus or a caseload reduction 
credit, it must submit quarterly reports on the State MOE 
Program.
    Other required reports from States include: an annual 
report on State TANF and separate State MOE Programs; a 
quarterly report on expenditures; and, for States competing for 
an annual high-performance bonus, a quarterly report on 
measures of job entry and success in the work force.

                                Benefits

    Most States have continued pre-TANF maximum benefit 
schedules, although some have reduced benefits for families 
expected to work (tables 7-9 to 7-13). Some States have 
increased benefits, including California, West Virginia, 
Mississippi, and Idaho. Two have adopted bonuses, Oregon for 
cooperation with its work program and West Virginia for 
marriage. Wisconsin and Idaho have ceased adjusting benefits 
for family size. Most States have increased asset limits and 
work incentives (the portion of earnings disregarded in 
calculating benefits).
    Under TANF more than 20 States have adopted formal policies 
to divert applicants from enrollment. These States pay welfare 
diversion or welfare avoidance grants to help families meet 
temporary emergencies. The grants are generally lump-sum 
payments, usually with a maximum equal to several months of 
TANF benefits.

                               Child Care

    Unlike AFDC, which required States to guarantee child care 
for recipients who needed it to work or study, TANF has no 
child care guarantees. However, the 1996 welfare law expanded 
the Child Care and Development Block Grant to pay for care for 
low-income families. Appropriated for this new block grant was 
$13.9 billion over 6 years, more than $4 billion above spending 
levels estimated by the Congressional Budget Office for the 
repealed AFDC-related child care programs. The law required 
States to integrate these mandatory funds with CCDBG 
discretionary funds and authorized $1 billion annually for 
fiscal years 1996-2002 for discretionary funding. DHHS has 
designated the combined mandatory/discretionary child care 
grants as the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). For more 
information, see the chapter on child care (Section 9).

             Interaction with Other Major Benefit Programs

Medicaid
    Although the 1996 law repealed AFDC, it preserved AFDC 
eligibility limits for Medicaid use. States must provide 
Medicaid coverage and benefits to children and family members 
who would have been eligible for AFDC as it existed on July 16, 
1996. States may lower AFDC income and resource standards to 
those in effect on May 1, 1988 (continuing a provision of old 
law) and may increase them by the percentage rise since July 
16, 1996 in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers; 
they also may adopt more liberal methods of determining income 
and resources (for example, more generous disregard of 
earnings). In general, if a State's TANF eligibility limits are 
the same as or more restrictive than those of AFDC on July 16, 
1996, all TANF children and adults must receive Medicaid. Also, 
all children born since September 30, 1983 are eligible for 
Medicaid if their family income falls short of the Federal 
poverty level. The law permits States to end Medicaid for 
adults who refuse TANF work requirements, but requires 
continued Medicaid for their children. The law also requires 12 
months of medical assistance to children and adults who lose 
TANF eligibility because of earnings that lift counted income 
above the July 16, 1996, AFDC eligibility limit.
    Despite these provisions, an Urban Institute study found 
that from fiscal year 1995 to fiscal year 1997, when the 
average monthly number of AFDC/TANF families declined by 19 
percent, the number of AFDC/TANF children and adults enrolled 
in Medicaid fell by 20 and 24 percent, respectively (Ku, 1999). 
The study, which defined Medicaid enrollment as the 
unduplicated number of persons signed up for Medicaid at any 
time in the fiscal year, showed that the number of children 
enrolled in Medicaid dropped by 2.3 million over the 2 years 
(to 9 million). In the same period the average monthly number 
of children enrolled in AFDC/TANF fell by 2 million (to 7.3 
million). On December 6, 1999, DHHS announced in the Federal 
Register (p. 69202) that it proposed to add three new nonwork 
measures (including Medicaid coverage) to factors used to 
determine high-performance TANF bonus awards to States.
Food assistance
    TANF recipients not living with others automatically are 
eligible for food stamps; 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 violating TANF rules 
may be disqualified also for food stamps. If a TANF household's 
cash benefits are reduced for noncompliance with TANF rules, 
the State may also reduce its food stamp allotment by 25 
percent, and may not increase food stamp benefits to offset the 
cash loss.
    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). These provisions continue AFDC policy.
    Food stamp coverage is the second nonwork high-performance 
bonus measure proposed by DHHS. Effective in bonus year 2001, 
DHHS plans to base awards, in part, on the increase in the 
percentage of low-income working families with children who 
receive food stamps. An Urban Institute study reports that only 
42 percent of eligible former cash welfare families received 
food stamps in 1997; their participation rate was similar to 
the traditionally low rate of working poor families (Zedlewski, 
1999).
Earned income credit (EIC)
    States have authority to decide whether to count EIC 
payments received by TANF recipients as income (the 1996 
welfare law is silent on this issue). However, Public Law 105-
34 prohibits EIC payments for TANF recipients whose earnings 
are derived from work experience or community service.

                    Privatization/Charitable Choice

    The 1996 law authorizes States to administer and provide 
TANF services (and those under Supplemental Security Income) 
through contracts with charitable, religious, or private 
organizations, a provision which often is called ``charitable 
choice.'' It authorizes States 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 and may not discriminate against 
applicants on the basis of religion. Furthermore, States must 
provide an alternative provider for a beneficiary who objects 
to the religious character of the designated organization. The 
charitable choice/privatization provision of the 1996 welfare 
law also covers food stamps and Medicaid, but it has not been 
implemented because food stamp and Medicaid law effectively 
require eligibility to be determined by a public official. For 
background and discussion of selected legal issues raised by 
charitable choice, see Ackerman (1999).

                Enforcement of Penalties Against States

    Penalties for any quarter cannot exceed 25 percent of the 
basic grant; unrecovered penalties must be carried forward into 
subsequent years. Penalty amounts are withheld from Federal 
block grant payments to the State; States must replace withheld 
Federal funds with their own funds. Here is an overview of the 
major penalties specified in the 1996 law:
  --Failure to maintain a certain level of historic State 
        spending. If a State fails to maintain State spending 
        equal to at least 75 percent of spending in 1994, the 
        Secretary must reduce the following year's TANF grant 
        by the shortfall in MOE spending. In addition, if the 
        State received WTW grant funds for the year, the 
        Secretary must reduce the following year's TANF grant 
        by the amount of those WTW funds.
  --Failure to timely repay a loan from the Federal loan fund. 
        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. 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 with State funds. 
        The Secretary may 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.
  --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.
    In the case of some violations of TANF law, the Secretary 
may allow States to enter into corrective compliance plans or 
may allow a penalty exemption on grounds of reasonable cause 
for the violation. Here are the violations that permit 
corrective compliance or exemption:
  --Failure to comply with the 5-year TANF benefit limit (5 
        percent maximum);
  --Failure to enforce penalties required by the child support 
        agency against TANF recipients who fail to cooperate 
        with the Child Support Program (5 percent maximum);
  --Failure to submit a required report (4 percent; 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 (2 percent maximum);
  --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, an additional 5 percent);
  --Misuse of competitive WTW grants (an amount equal to the 
        misused funds);
  --Failure to maintain aid for a single parent who cannot 
        obtain care for a child under 6 (5 percent maximum);
  --Failure to reduce TANF aid for recipients who refuse 
        without good cause to work (not less than 1 percent or 
        more than 5 percent).

                          STATE TANF PROGRAMS

                        State Plan Requirements

    To be eligible for a family assistance grant, States must 
submit each 2 years a TANF plan that contains required 
elements. The plan must outline how the State intends to: (1) 
conduct a program that provides cash assistance to needy 
families and that provides parents with work and support 
services; (2) require a parent or caretaker recipients to 
engage in work, as defined by the State, after a maximum of 24 
months; (3) comply with the requirement for participation in 
creditable work activities by certain percentages of adult 
recipients; (4) take steps to restrict the use and disclosure 
of information about TANF recipients; (5) establish goals and 
take action to prevent and reduce the incidence of nonmarital 
pregnancies; and (6) conduct a program providing education and 
training on the problem of statutory rape. Also, the document 
must indicate whether the State intends to treat families 
moving into the State differently from State residents, whether 
it intends to provide aid to noncitizens, and if so, provide an 
overview of the aid. The plan must contain certain 
certifications, including that the State will operate a Child 
Support Enforcement Program and a Foster Care and Adoption 
Program, that it will provide equitable access to TANF for 
Indians who are not eligible for aid under a tribal plan, and 
that it has established and is enforcing standards and 
procedures against program fraud and abuse. The plan may 
certify that the State has established and is enforcing 
standards and procedures to screen and identify recipients with 
a history of domestic violence and will refer them to services 
and waive some program requirements for them in certain cases.
    The law does not require the State plan to provide 
eligibility rules for aid, benefit levels paid, the content of 
work programs, or numerous other details. However, regulations 
that took effect October 1, 1999 stipulate that in order for 
State expenditures to count toward the MOE requirement, the 
families aided must be financially eligible according to the 
appropriate income and resource (when applicable) standards 
established by the State and contained in its TANF plan. The 
preamble to the regulations states that in order for a plan to 
be deemed complete, it must contain the financial eligibility 
criteria for eligible families in the State's TANF Program and 
all State or local MOE Programs and a brief description of the 
corresponding benefit provided under the TANF Program with MOE 
funds.
    The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220) 
allows a State to submit a ``unified'' plan to the 
``appropriate Secretaries'' covering one or more Workforce 
Investment Act activities or vocational education activities 
plus one or more work activities authorized under TANF, food 
stamps, or numerous other programs. The Secretary with 
jurisdiction over a program is authorized to approve the 
portion of the State unified plan dealing with that program 
(applying its plan requirements). A State with an approved 
unified plan cannot be required to submit a separate plan for 
the covered activity.

                  Brief Summary of TANF State Programs

    On the basis of State Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families (TANF) plans, State welfare laws, and data collected 
under interim reporting rules, the range of State programs is 
shown to be broad. As noted earlier, many of the States have 
adopted time limits shorter than the Federal 60-month limit. In 
1999, many State legislatures liberalized some TANF rules, 
allowing more TANF recipients to engage in postsecondary 
education, receive transportation support, and so forth. Some 
States increased maximum benefit levels. These changes were 
facilitated by abundant TANF funds and by the dramatic cut in 
caseload numbers, which has sharply reduced effective work 
participation rates required for all families. Table 7-33 shows 
major provisions of TANF Programs, State by State.
    For other summaries of TANF State Programs, see the State 
Policy Document Project of the Center for Law and Social Policy 
and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (http://
www.spdg.org), the TANF annual report (U.S. Department, 1999), 
and the National Governors' Association (1999).

                             FUNDING OF TANF

                     Basic Family Assistance Grants

    TANF's basic block grant is the State family assistance 
grant, which entitles the 50 States and the District of 
Columbia to a total of $16.5 billion annually through fiscal 
year 2002. The 1996 law preappropriated these funds. 
Distribution of the funds among States is based on record high 
Federal payments made in immediately preceding years for Aid to 
Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), EA, and JOBS. The law 
entitles States to the largest of required Federal payments to 
States for these three programs for:
  --Fiscal years 1992-94, annual average;
  --Fiscal year 1994, plus 85 percent of the amount by which EA 
        payments for fiscal year 1995 exceeded those for fiscal 
        year 1994 if the State amended its EA plan in fiscal 
        year 1994; or
  --Fiscal year 1995.
    Table 7-1 (column 2) shows the basic annual family 
assistance grant for the 50 States and the District of 
Columbia. Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands also are 
eligible to operate TANF and receive a family assistance grant, 
but they operate under special funding rules and are not shown 
in the table (Section 12). American Samoa, which never 
implemented AFDC, although eligible, could receive TANF funds 
at the old AFDC matching rate of 75 percent under section 1108 
of the Social Security Act. However, as of early 2000, it had 
not taken this option.

                   TABLE 7-1.--FAMILY ASSISTANCE GRANTS AND REQUIRED STATE SPENDING UNDER TANF
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                              Maximum child
                                                                              care spending     Minimum spending
                                      Family     75 percent    80 percent      that can be     on needy families
              State                 assistance   of historic   of historic      ``double-        that cannot be
                                      grant         State         State      counted'' toward    double counted
                                                spending \1\  spending \1\  both the CCDF and   for MOEs of both
                                                                                 TANF MOE        CCDF and TANF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..........................      $93,315       $39,214       $41,828             $6,896            $32,318
Alaska...........................       63,609        48,942        52,205              3,545             45,398
Arizona..........................      222,420        95,028       101,363             10,033             84,995
Arkansas.........................       56,733        20,839        22,228              1,887             18,952
California.......................    3,733,818     2,732,406     2,914,566             85,593          2,646,813
Colorado.........................      136,057        82,871        88,396              8,986             73,885
Connecticut......................      266,788       183,421       195,649             18,738            164,683
Delaware.........................       32,291        21,771        23,222              5,179             16,592
District of Columbia.............       92,610        70,449        75,146              4,567             65,882
Florida..........................      562,340       370,919       395,647             33,416            337,503
Georgia..........................      330,742       173,369       184,926             22,183            151,186
Hawaii...........................       98,905        72,981        77,847              4,972             68,010
Idaho............................       31,938        13,679        14,591              1,176             12,503
Illinois.........................      585,057       429,021       457,622             56,874            372,147
Indiana..........................      206,799       113,525       121,093             15,357             98,168
Iowa.............................      131,525        61,963        66,094              5,079             56,885
Kansas...........................      101,931        61,750        65,866              6,673             55,077
Kentucky.........................      181,288        67,418        71,913              7,275             60,144
Louisiana........................      163,972        55,415        59,109              5,219             50,196
Maine............................       78,121        37,778        40,296              1,750             36,028
Maryland.........................      229,098       176,965       188,763             23,301            153,664
Massachusetts....................      459,371       358,948       382,877             44,973            313,974
Michigan.........................      775,353       468,518       499,753             24,411            444,107
Minnesota........................      267,985       179,745       191,728             19,690            160,055
Mississippi......................       86,768        21,724        23,173              1,715             20,009
Missouri.........................      217,052       120,121       128,129             16,549            103,572
Montana..........................       45,534        15,689        16,735              1,314             14,375
Nebraska.........................       58,029        28,971        30,903              6,499             22,472
Nevada...........................       43,977        25,489        27,188              2,580             22,908
New Hampshire....................       38,521        32,115        34,256              4,582             27,533
New Jersey.......................      404,035       303,956       324,219             26,374            277,581
New Mexico.......................      126,103        37,450        39,947              2,895             34,555
New York.........................    2,442,931     1,710,795     1,824,848            101,984          1,608,811
North Carolina...................      302,240       154,176       164,454             37,927            116,248
North Dakota.....................       26,400         9,069         9,674              1,017              8,052
Ohio.............................      727,968       390,551       416,588             45,404            345,147
Oklahoma.........................      148,014        61,250        65,334             10,630             50,620
Oregon...........................      167,925        92,255        98,405             11,715             80,540
Pennsylvania.....................      719,499       407,126       434,267             46,629            360,497
Rhode Island.....................       95,022        60,367        64,392              5,321             55,046
South Carolina...................       99,968        35,839        38,229              4,085             31,754
South Dakota.....................       21,894         8,774         9,359                803              7,971
Tennessee........................      191,524        82,810        88,331             18,976             63,834
Texas............................      486,257       235,725       251,440             34,681            201,043
Utah.............................       76,829        25,291        26,977              4,475             20,816
Vermont..........................       47,353        25,653        27,364              2,666             22,987
Virginia.........................      158,285       128,173       136,718             21,329            106,844
Washington.......................      404,332       272,061       290,198             38,708            233,353
West Virginia....................      110,176        32,701        34,881              2,971             29,730
Wisconsin........................      318,188       169,229       180,511             16,449            152,779
Wyoming..........................       21,781        10,665        11,376              1,554              9,112
                                  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total........................   16,488,667    10,434,961    11,130,625            887,607          9,547,354
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Fiscal year 1994 spending on AFDC, EA, JOBS, and AFDC-related child care.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on information from the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services.

                    State Spending Requirement (MOE)

    To avoid a loss of TANF funds, States must maintain their 
own spending on families with children who are needy under 
State financial standards. The specified level is 75 percent of 
expenditures made from State funds in fiscal year 1994 for 
AFDC, EA, JOBS, and AFDC-related child care (80 percent if a 
State fails to meet work participation minimums). Table 7-1 
(columns 3 and 4) shows the 75 and 80 percent maintenance-of-
effort (MOE) levels by State. At the 75 percent level, required 
spending by States totals $10.4 billion; at the 80 percent 
level, $11.1 billion.
    Countable toward the MOE requirement are expenditures on 
cash assistance, child care, education specifically for TANF 
recipients and not the general population, administrative 
costs, and any other spending on activities that further the 
goals of TANF. These expenditures can be made under the State's 
TANF Program or an SSP not subject to TANF work and time limit 
rules. However, for spending not authorized under a State's 
pre-TANF Programs, a new spending test applies; countable 
toward MOE are only expenditures above the fiscal year 1995 
level. To count toward the TANF MOE, the State expenditure 
cannot be made as a condition of receiving funds from any 
Federal program such as Medicaid. A special exception to this 
rule applies to child care expenditures. State spending for 
child care is countable toward the TANF MOE so long as the 
funds are not used as the State match for the CCDF. To be 
eligible for CCDF matching funds, States must first meet an MOE 
requirement for CCDF. Column 5 of table 7-1 shows that a 
maximum of $0.9 billion in State child care expenditures can be 
counted toward the TANF MOE as well as the CCDF MOE. Column 6 
shows that a minimum of $9.5 billion in State expenditures on 
needy families (the difference between columns 3 and 5) cannot 
be counted toward both the TANF MOE and the CCDF MOE. States 
that maintain child care spending at the higher of their 1994 
or 1995 spending on the replaced programs are entitled also to 
extra funds at the Medicaid match rate.

 Supplemental Grants to States with High Population Growth and/or Low 
             AFDC-Related Federal Spending Per Poor Person

    For fiscal years 1998-2001, the TANF law appropriated a 
total of $800 million for supplemental grants to States with 
high population growth and/or low fiscal year 1994 Federal 
spending per poor person on programs ended by TANF.
    For fiscal year 1998, the supplemental grant has been 
computed as 2.5 percent of the amount required to be paid to 
the State under AFDC, Emergency Assistance to Needy Families 
(EA), JOBS, and AFDC-related child care in fiscal year 1994. In 
subsequent years, it is computed as the prior year's 
supplemental grant plus 2.5 percent of the sum of fiscal year 
1994 base expenditures and the prior year's supplemental grant.
Automatic qualification
    The law qualifies certain States automatically for 
supplemental funds for each year from fiscal year 1998 to 
fiscal year 2001 on the basis of historical data. These are 
States that meet at least one of two conditions: (1) fiscal 
year 1994 Federal expenditures per poor State resident on AFDC, 
EA, JOBS, and AFDC-related child care (poverty count based on 
the 1990 census) were below 35 percent of the corresponding 
national spending per poor person; or (2) the State's 
population grew more than 10 percent from April 1, 1990 to July 
1, 1994. DHHS has determined that 11 States automatically 
qualify for supplemental funds for each year: Alabama, Alaska, 
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Nevada, Utah, and Texas.
Annual qualification
    Other States may qualify only by meeting each of two 
conditions: (1) Federal welfare expenditures per poor State 
resident (poverty count based on the 1990 census) in the 
current year on programs ended by TANF are below fiscal year 
1994 national average comparable expenditures per poor person; 
and (2) during the most recent year with available data, the 
State's population grew at a rate above the national average. 
Further, to qualify for supplemental funds on these grounds, 
States must have met the qualification criteria in fiscal year 
1998. DHHS has determined that six additional States qualified 
on these grounds in fiscal year 1998: Florida, Georgia, 
Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Tennessee. If a State 
does not meet these annual criteria in fiscal years 1999-2001, 
it will continue to receive its prior year supplemental grant, 
but that grant will not increase. In fiscal years 2000 and 
2001, Montana and New Mexico do not qualify for an increase in 
supplemental funds because their 1997-98 population growth rate 
failed to exceed the national population growth rate.
    Table 7-2 shows annual supplemental grants for fiscal year 
1998 and projections of supplemental grants for fiscal years 
through 2001.\3\ Under current projections, the $800 million 
appropriation will be sufficient to pay each State's full 
supplemental grant in fiscal year 2001. However, current law 
provides no supplemental grant for fiscal year 2002, the last 
year for which basic TANF Block Grants are funded. As the table 
shows, more than half of the 17 supplemental grantee States are 
in the South. Not qualifying are the remaining 34 States. 
Further, the law makes the territories ineligible.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\ The projections for fiscal year 2001 assume that all States 
that qualified for an increase in the supplemental grant from fiscal 
year 1999 to fiscal year 2000 will qualify for an increase in the 
supplemental grant from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2001. This 
differs from the projections made by the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services (DHHS) (see Information Memorandum TANF-ACF-IM-99-4), 
which assumes that only the States that automatically qualify for 
supplemental grants will receive an increase in fiscal year 2001.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                         Welfare-to-Work Grants

    The basic TANF Block Grant earmarks no funds for any 
program component. In response to a Presidential budget 
proposal, the 1997 Balanced Budget Act established welfare-to-
work (WTW) grants (Sec. 403(a)(5)) as a component of TANF (for 
details, see below).

TABLE 7-2.--ESTIMATED SUPPLEMENTAL GRANTS TO STATES WITH HIGH POPULATION
      GROWTH AND/OR RELATIVELY LOW FEDERAL AFDC AND RELATED PROGRAM
          EXPENDITURES PER POOR PERSON, FISCAL YEARS 1998-2001
                        [In thousands of dollars]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
            State                1998       1999       2000       2001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.....................     $2,671     $5,410     $8,216    $11,093
Alaska......................      1,659      3,359      5,102      6,888
Arizona.....................      5,762     11,667     17,720     23,925
Arkansas....................      1,497      3,032      4,606      6,218
Colorado....................      3,268      6,617     10,051     13,570
Florida.....................     14,547     29,457     44,740     60,406
Georgia.....................      8,978     18,181     27,614     37,283
Idaho.......................        842      1,706      2,591      3,498
Louisiana...................      4,100      8,303     12,611     17,027
Mississippi.................      2,176      4,406      6,692      9,036
Montana.....................      1,133      1,133      1,133      1,133
Nevada......................        899      1,821      2,765      3,734
New Mexico..................      3,236      6,553      6,553      6,553
North Carolina..............      8,696     17,609     26,745     36,110
Tennessee...................      5,193     10,516     15,973     21,565
Texas.......................     12,693     25,703     39,039     52,708
Utah........................      2,096      4,245      6,447      8,704
                             -------------------------------------------
    Total...................     79,447    159,720    238,599    319,450
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on
  data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the
  Census Bureau. For fiscal years 1999-2001, estimates assume that
  States that qualified for annual increases in grants in fiscal year
  2000 also qualify for an annual increase in fiscal year 2001.


                            Contingency Fund

    The contingency fund provides capped matching grants for 
States that experience high and increasing unemployment rates 
or increased food stamp caseloads. A total of $1.960 billion is 
appropriated to the contingency fund for fiscal years 1997-
2001; the 1996 welfare reform law actually provided $2 billion 
in contingency funds, but the $2 billion was reduced by $40 
million in Public Law 105-89. To qualify for contingency funds, 
a State must meet one of two criteria of ``need'': (1) 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 3-month 
period in either of the previous 2 years; or (2) its food stamp 
caseload over the most recent 3-month period must be at least 
10 percent higher than the adjusted food stamp caseload was in 
the corresponding 3-month period in fiscal years 1994 or 1995. 
For this purpose, fiscal years 1994 and 1995 food stamp 
caseloads are adjusted by subtracting noncitizens that would 
have been ineligible for benefits had the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act's ban on 
food stamp eligibility for noncitizens been in effect in those 
years.
    To qualify for the contingency fund, a State must meet a 
special high MOE requirement. The required State spending level 
is higher (100 percent of fiscal year 1994 spending on AFDC, 
EA, and JOBS) than for the regular TANF MOE, and the categories 
of countable spending are more restrictive. For the contingency 
fund MOE, State spending on SSPs are not countable; spending 
must be on the TANF Program. Further, TANF expenditures on TANF 
child care are excluded from contingency fund countable 
spending (and from the historic spending level base). If a 
State fails to maintain 100 percent of historic State 
expenditures under its TANF Program during a year in which it 
receives contingency funds, DHHS must reduce the State's family 
assistance grant for the next year by the amount of contingency 
funds.
    The maximum sum available to a State from the contingency 
fund is 20 percent of its State family assistance grant, and in 
each month that it qualifies, a State may receive up to one-
twelfth of its maximum contingency grant. The State's full year 
entitlement is calculated by: (1) multiplying its countable 
expenditures above the 100 percent MOE level by the Medicaid 
matching rate and then (2) multiplying the result by the 
proportion of the year (for example, one-twelfth for 1 month; 
one-half for 6 months) that the State met the needy State 
criteria.
    A State's full year entitlement to contingency funds can be 
determined only after the close of the fiscal year. It is based 
on its countable expenditures, including those financed from 
contingency fund advance payments; the number of months it 
qualified; and its matching rate during the fiscal year. If a 
State received more in advances than its full year entitlement, 
it must remit overpayments to the Treasury. Remittance of 
overpayments must be made within 1 year after the State has not 
met the needy State criteria for 3 consecutive months. These 
remittances are also increased by an adjustment. This 
adjustment reflects a provision of Public Law 105-89 (the 
Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997) that reduced the 
contingency fund appropriation by $40 million and 
correspondingly increased required remittances by a maximum $2 
million in fiscal year 1998, $9 million in fiscal year 1999, 
$16 million in fiscal year 2000, and $13 million in fiscal year 
2001. Under this provision, each State's remittance is 
increased by the lesser of its percentage share of total 
contingency fund entitlements multiplied by that year's 
increase in the required remittance or its contingency fund 
entitlement.

                               Loan Fund

    TANF also provides a $1.7 billion revolving loan fund. 
States may receive loans of maturities of 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. A State is ineligible 
for a loan if it is subject to a penalty for misspending TANF 
funds.

                              Bonus Funds

Nonmarital birth rate reduction
    The 1996 welfare reform law appropriates $100 million 
annually for 4 years, fiscal years 1999-2002, for bonuses to a 
maximum of five States (or outlying areas) that make the 
largest percentage reduction in the nonmarital birth rate while 
also reducing abortion rates. Awards are based on the most 
recent 2-year data available from the National Center for 
Health Statistics, compared with that for the previous 2-year 
period. Initial awards were made in 1999 to five jurisdictions 
(Alabama, California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and 
Michigan), each of which received $20 million for achieving the 
largest percentage reductions in out-of-wedlock birth rates 
between 1994-95 and 1996-97. For further information about 
nonmarital birth rates and the illegitimacy bonus, see Appendix 
M.
High performance bonus
    The 1996 law appropriated $1 billion for bonuses averaging 
$200 million for each of 5 years to ``high performing'' States. 
It defined a high performing State as one whose TANF 
performance score for the previous year at least equaled a 
threshold set for that year by the DHHS Secretary. It 
stipulated that State performance was to be measured by a 
formula to be developed by the Secretary in consultation with 
the National Governors' Association and the American Public 
Welfare Association (since renamed the American Public Human 
Services Association). The law said the formula was to measure 
success in achieving ``the goals'' of TANF. DHHS subsequently 
announced that the high-performance bonus formula for 
performance years fiscal years 1998-99 would be based on State 
rankings (absolute and relative) on two work-related measures: 
rates of job entry and success in the work force (job retention 
and earnings gain). In late December 1999, DHHS announced that 
27 States had been selected to share the first high-performance 
bonus of $200 million. At the time the Department said that 
beginning in performance year fiscal year 2001, it planned to 
add three new performance measures to the bonus formula: 
``family formation''--improvement in the percentage of children 
below 200 percent of poverty living in married couple families, 
enrollment in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance 
Program (CHIP), and enrollment in food stamps.
    Winners of the first high-performance bonus, shown in table 
7-3, ranked among the top 10 States in at least one of the four 
categories. Bonuses ranged from $0.5 million in South Dakota 
for improvement in job entry to $45.5 million in California for 
both absolute and relative success in the work force. The 
States that ranked the highest in each category were Indiana 
(job placement), Minnesota (job retention and earnings), 
Washington (biggest improvement in job placement), and Florida 
(biggest improvement in job retention and earnings).

                           TABLE 7-3.--HIGH-PERFORMANCE BONUS AWARDS, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                            [In thousands of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                    1998 performance         1998 performance
                                                               -------------------------       improvement
                      State                        Total bonus                          ------------------------
                                                                 Job entry   Work force               Work force
                                                                            success \1\   Job entry  success \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona..........................................     $2,707.7  ..........     $1,981.5  ..........       $726.1
California.......................................     45,454.2  ..........     33,264.4  ..........     12,189.8
Connecticut......................................      2,376.8  ..........      2,376.8  ..........  ...........
Delaware.........................................      1,614.5      $943.7  ...........      $670.8  ...........
Florida..........................................      6,845.7  ..........      5,009.9  ..........      1,835.9
Hawaii...........................................        881.1  ..........        881.1  ..........  ...........
Illinois.........................................     21,571.9    19,661.9  ...........  ..........      1,910.0
Indiana..........................................      8,792.2     6,949.9      1,842.4  ..........  ...........
Iowa.............................................      1,171.8  ..........      1,171.8  ..........  ...........
Louisiana........................................      3,770.2  ..........  ...........     3,770.2  ...........
Massachusetts....................................     10,562.2  ..........  ...........    10,562.2  ...........
Michigan.........................................      2,531.3  ..........  ...........  ..........      2,531.3
Minnesota........................................      9,424.1  ..........      2,387.5     6,161.7        874.9
Nevada...........................................      2,198.8     1,285.2  ...........       913.6  ...........
New York.........................................      7,975.4  ..........  ...........  ..........      7,975.4
North Dakota.....................................        887.2       887.2  ...........  ..........  ...........
Oklahoma.........................................      3,403.2  ..........  ...........     3,403.2  ...........
Pennsylvania.....................................     24,180.1    24,180.1  ...........  ..........  ...........
Rhode Island.....................................      2,495.0  ..........  ...........     2,184.8        310.2
South Carolina...................................      1,217.0  ..........        890.6  ..........        326.4
South Dakota.....................................        503.4  ..........  ...........       503.4  ...........
Tennessee........................................      6,436.5     6,436.5  ...........  ..........  ...........
Texas............................................     16,341.5    16,341.5  ...........  ..........  ...........
Utah.............................................      2,582.0     2,582.0  ...........  ..........  ...........
Washington.......................................     10,616.7  ..........  ...........     9,296.7      1,320.0
West Virginia....................................      2,533.3  ..........  ...........     2,533.3  ...........
Wyoming..........................................        926.1       732.0        194.1  ..........  ...........
                                                  --------------------------------------------------------------
    Total........................................    200,000.0    80,000.0     50,000.0    40,000.0     30,000.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To determine success in the work force, measures of job retention and earnings gain were weighted, combined,
  and then reranked.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on information from the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services.


                            TANF FOR INDIANS

    The 1996 welfare law gave 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 \4\ with funds subtracted from 
their State's TANF Block Grant. In mid-February 2000, 22 tribal 
TANF plans were in operation, covering approximately 4,480 
families in 12 States, and 22 plans were pending that would 
cover 78 more tribes and villages and raise the total number of 
families served by tribal plans to 17,800. The 1996 welfare law 
also appropriated $7.6 million annually for 6 years, fiscal 
years 1997-2002, for work and training activities to tribes in 
24 States that operated the repealed JOBS Programs (the 
replacement program is called Native Employment Works (NEW)), 
authorized direct Federal funding to recognized Indian tribes 
for operation of Child Support Enforcement Programs, and set 
aside a share of child care funds for Indian tribes. Further, 
the 1997 Balanced Budget Act (Public Law 105-33), which 
established a 2-year program of WTW grants to serve TANF 
recipients with impediments to work, reserved $30 million of 
its formula grants for Indian programs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\ Before enactment of TANF, American Indians or Alaska Natives 
(Indians, Inuit [Eskimos] or Aleuts) received AFDC on the same terms as 
other families in their State, with benefits and income eligibility 
rules set by the State and costs paid by Federal and State funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Tribal TANF Programs have several distinctive features, 
including:
  --Work participation rates and time limit rules are set by 
        the Secretary of DHHS with participation of the tribe. 
        The 1996 law exempts from the 60-month TANF benefit 
        time limit any month of aid during which the recipient 
        lived on a reservation (or in an Alaska Native village) 
        of at least 1,000 persons in which at least 50 percent 
        of adults were unemployed;
  --Tribal plans are for 3 years (rather than 2, as for 
        States), and contain many fewer required elements than 
        State plans;
  --DHHS has ruled that State funds contributed to an approved 
        tribal plan may be counted toward the TANF MOE level;
  --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 area served by a 
        tribal plan; and
  --Tribal TANF regulations, issued February 18, 2000, and 
        effective June 17, 2000, permit 35 percent of a tribal 
        grant to be used for administrative costs in the first 
        year, 30 percent in the second year, and 25 percent 
        thereafter. State TANF Programs, however, may spend no 
        more than 15 percent of their grants on administration 
        (with the exception of computerization expenses for 
        tracking and monitoring.)
    Data compiled by the Division of Tribal Services show that 
only four tribal plans adopted the statutory work participation 
rate of 35 percent for fiscal year 1999. The others set lower 
participation rates, ranging from 15 to 30 percent. However, 
most tribal plans adopted the TANF 60-month lifetime benefit 
limit (two set a limit of 24 months within an 84-month period, 
and one, a limit of 24 consecutive months within 60 months). 
DHHS reports that in fiscal year 1998, more than 4,000 adults 
in tribal programs entered employment; another 4,000 achieved 
other program goals, such as earning a high school diploma or 
general education degree or completing a training program
    A tribe's TANF grant equals Federal payments made to the 
State for fiscal year 1994 for AFDC, EA, and JOBS that are 
attributable to Indians in its service area. A tribe's grant is 
smaller than the sum spent on AFDC Indian children in fiscal 
year 1994 because it lacks the State matching share. Although 
the existence of a tribal program within a State reduces the 
State's potential TANF caseload, States are not required to 
help fund the tribal plan. However, some nine States do so for 
at least some of the tribal plans within their borders (Alaska, 
Arizona, California, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, 
Washington, and Wyoming). South Dakota says it provides 
transition funds and training.
    In 1999, Congress amended the law to permit tribal TANF 
Programs, like State programs, to reserve TANF funds for 
assistance (aid for basic ongoing needs) in any future year 
(Public Law 106-169). Final regulations for tribal TANF 
Programs were issued February 18, 2000 (Federal Register, 
2000).

                             AFDC/TANF DATA

                               Highlights

    Since Congress ended the entitlement of eligible families 
with children to cash aid in August 1996, AFDC/TANF rolls have 
continued to shrink, and work by families still on the rolls 
has doubled. To promote work, State TANF Programs employ tough 
work sanctions, generous work rewards, ``work first'' policies, 
and welfare avoidance (diversion) payments. Data reported by 
States indicate that higher average earnings for those 
remaining on the rolls apparently have more than offset a 
slight drop in average benefits (chart 7-6), that the 
percentage of welfare children cared for by a nonrecipient 
(child-only cases) has increased, but that otherwise the 
composition of TANF families resembles that of AFDC families 
(table 7-27), and that the share of welfare adults who are 
nonwhites apparently has increased (table 7-28). National data 
are not available about families who have left TANF, but 
studies indicate that in some States from 50 to 65 percent of 
persons who leave TANF have jobs then or a short time later 
(compared with a general work exit rate of almost 50 percent 
before TANF), that the jobs generally pay wages slightly above 
the minimum, and that about one-fifth or more of ex-recipients 
return to the rolls within several months. (See Appendix L for 
review of TANF research.)

                               Caseloads

Historical national trends
    As table 7-4 shows, enrollment in family welfare, which 
soared to an all-time peak in fiscal year 1994, has fallen to 
the lowest level since the early 1970s. Some of the decline in 
the reported caseload since 1996 represents families who were 
moved into separate State programs (SSPs) not subject to TANF 
rules. The proportion of U.S. children enrolled in AFDC/TANF 
hovered between 11 and 12 percent throughout the 1970s and 
1980s and then soared above 14 percent in 1993-94. Since then 
the share has been cut in half, to an estimated 6.9 percent in 
September 1999.
    Chart 7-1 shows that the number of AFDC families began 
climbing in fiscal year 1990, reached a record peak in spring 
1994 and then plunged to 2.5 million in September 1999. More 
than one-fourth of this decline occurred before passage of 
TANF. Food stamp enrollment also dropped sharply, by more than 
10 million persons, from spring 1994 to October 1999.

                  TABLE 7-4.--HISTORICAL TRENDS IN AFDC/TANF ENROLLMENTS, FISCAL YEARS 1970-99
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 Average monthly number (in thousands)  Total child     Percent
                                                ---------------------------------------  population      all
                  Fiscal year                                                            (under age  children on
                                                   Families    Recipients    Children     18) \1\     AFDC/TANF
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1970...........................................        1,909        7,415        5,494       69,759          7.9
1971...........................................        2,532        9,556        6,963       69,806          9.9
1972...........................................        2,918       10,632        7,698       69,417         11.1
1973...........................................        3,124       11,038        7,965       68,762         11.6
1974...........................................        3,170       10,845        7,824       67,984         11.5
1975...........................................        3,357       11,094        7,952       67,164         11.8
1976...........................................        3,575       11,386        8,054       66,250         12.2
1977...........................................        3,593       11,130        7,846       65,461         12.0
1978...........................................        3,539       10,672        7,492       64,773         11.6
1979...........................................        3,496       10,318        7,197       64,106         11.2
1980...........................................        3,642       10,597        7,320       63,754         11.5
1981...........................................        3,871       11,160        7,615       63,213         12.0
1982...........................................        3,569       10,431        6,975       62,813         11.1
1983...........................................        3,651       10,659        7,051       62,566         11.3
1984...........................................        3,725       10,866        7,153       62,482         11.4
1985...........................................        3,692       10,813        7,165       62,623         11.4
1986...........................................        3,748       10,997        7,300       62,865         11.6
1987...........................................        3,784       11,065        7,381       63,056         11.7
1988...........................................        3,748       10,920        7,325       63,246         11.6
1989...........................................        3,771       10,934        7,370       63,457         11.6
1990...........................................        3,974       11,460        7,755       63,942         12.1
1991...........................................        4,374       12,592        8,513       65,069         13.1
1992...........................................        4,768       13,625        9,226       66,075         14.0
1993...........................................        4,981       14,143        9,560       66,963         14.3
1994...........................................        5,046       14,226        9,611       67,804         14.2
1995...........................................        4,879       13,659        9,280       68,438         13.6
1996...........................................        4,552       12,644        8,671       69,023         12.6
1997...........................................        3,947       10,954        7,781       69,528         10.5
1998...........................................        3,179        8,770        6,330       70,229          8.9
1999...........................................        2,648        7,203    \2\ 5,114       70,548          7.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Census Bureau estimates of the resident child population (under age 18) as of July 1 each year. Figures for
  1998 and 1999 are ``middle series'' projections.
\2\ Rough estimate, based on ratio of children to total recipients in 1998.

Note.--Family, recipient, and child data, fiscal years 1970-96 are from DHHS AFDC baseline book (table 2.1); and
  for 1997-98 are from DHHS Second Annual Report on indicators of welfare dependence.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service on the basis of data from the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services.


    Many factors have helped to shrink the caseload, including 
the new ``work first'' culture, the improved economy, tougher 
work sanctions, the existence of a lifetime limit for federally 
funded benefits, and widespread adoption of diversion 
practices. Under TANF, not only are recipients departing from 
welfare at a faster rate, but fewer persons are joining the 
rolls to replace them. An August 1999 report by the Council of 
Economic Advisors (pp. 2 and 4) estimates that about one-third 
of the 1996-98 caseload drop was due to Federal and State 
welfare policy changes, from 8 to 10 percent to the strong 
economy, 10 percent to the higher minimum wage, and from 1 to 5 
percent to the lower real value of cash welfare benefits.

                 CHART 7-1. AFDC/TANF FAMILIES, 1982-99


    Source: Chart prepared by the Congressional Research 
Service on the basis of the U.S. Department of Health and Human 
Services data.


State caseload trends
    By fiscal year 1999, the national average Aid to Families 
with Dependent Children (AFDC)/TANF monthly caseload had 
plunged 48 percent (almost 2.4 million families) below its all-
time peak of 5 million families in fiscal year 1994. Table 7-5 
shows that decreases occurred in all jurisdictions except Guam. 
Rates of decline varied, changing the distribution of welfare 
families across States. For example, the share of welfare 
families in California and New York, the two largest AFDC/TANF 
States, rose from 27 percent in fiscal year 1994 to 34.7 
percent in fiscal year 1999. In addition, the percentage of the 
caseload residing in inner cities has increased (Allen & Kirby, 
2000). As noted earlier, the fiscal year 1995 caseload has 
special significance; required work participation rates are 
reduced for States whose caseload is below the 1995 base level. 
The national caseload in fiscal year 1999 was down 45.7 percent 
from 1995; in 38 of the 54 TANF jurisdictions, the caseload 
reduction appeared large enough to reduce the required fiscal 
year 2000 overall work rate from the statutory level of 40 
percent to zero.

                                             TABLE 7-5.--AFDC/TANF FAMILIES, MONTHLY AVERAGE BY FISCAL YEAR
                                                                 [Families in thousands]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                 Percent change: fiscal
                                                                                                                                     year 1999 from
                      State                           1994         1995         1996         1997         1998         1999    -------------------------
                                                                                                                                    1995         1994
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................         50.3         46.0         42.4         34.5         23.3         20.3        -56.0        -59.7
Alaska..........................................         12.8         12.4         12.3         12.0         10.2          8.5        -31.9        -33.7
Arizona.........................................         72.0         69.6         63.4         54.7         39.6         34.1        -51.0        -52.6
Arkansas........................................         26.0         24.3         22.7         20.9         13.8         11.9        -50.9        -54.1
California......................................        909.0        919.5        896.0        815.9        707.0        624.1        -32.1        -31.3

Colorado........................................         41.6         38.6         35.4         29.9         21.2         14.3        -63.0        -65.7
Connecticut.....................................         59.2         61.0         58.1         55.8         48.1         33.9        -44.4        -42.7
Delaware........................................         11.5         10.8         10.4          9.8          7.2          6.2        -42.1        -45.5
District of Columbia............................         27.1         26.8         25.7         24.1         21.1         19.1        -28.8        -29.7
Florida.........................................        247.1        230.8        212.0        170.5        108.0         82.0        -64.5        -66.8

Georgia.........................................        141.5        139.1        130.4        105.9         75.0         62.2        -55.3        -56.0
Guam............................................          1.9          2.1          2.1          2.3          2.1          2.5         20.7         34.8
Hawaii..........................................         20.4         21.7         22.0         21.3         16.8         16.0        -26.2        -21.7
Idaho...........................................          8.7          9.1          9.0          6.5          1.9          1.4        -84.8        -84.1
Illinois........................................        240.3        236.2        224.1        198.9        169.7        122.8        -48.0        -48.9

Indiana.........................................         73.8         65.6         52.9         44.7         40.1         36.7        -44.0        -50.3
Iowa............................................         39.6         36.5         32.8         28.8         25.2         22.0        -39.8        -44.5
Kansas..........................................         30.1         28.2         25.1         20.2         14.1         12.8        -54.5        -57.3
Kentucky........................................         79.8         75.4         71.8         65.3         52.9         42.6        -43.4        -46.6
Louisiana.......................................         86.9         79.8         70.6         56.5         48.2         39.4        -50.7        -54.7

Maine...........................................         22.9         21.7         20.5         18.5         15.7         13.5        -37.9        -41.3
Maryland........................................         80.1         80.4         74.1         59.2         47.4         34.7        -56.8        -56.6
Massachusetts...................................        111.8        100.9         88.4         78.0         66.5         54.5        -46.0        -51.3
Michigan........................................        223.9        201.7        178.0        151.6        123.7         95.2        -52.8        -57.5
Minnesota.......................................         63.0         61.3         58.3         53.3         48.3         42.5        -30.8        -32.6

Mississippi.....................................         56.8         52.5         48.0         38.5         23.7         16.6        -68.3        -70.7
Missouri........................................         92.1         89.3         82.7         71.8         60.0         50.9        -43.0        -44.7
Montana.........................................         11.9         11.5         10.8          8.9          6.4          4.8        -58.0        -59.5
Nebraska........................................         15.9         14.8         14.2         13.9         13.0         11.3        -23.5        -28.9
Nevada..........................................         14.2         15.7         14.8         11.9         10.4          8.0        -48.9        -43.3

New Hampshire...................................         11.5         10.8          9.5          8.1          6.9          6.4        -41.0        -44.5
New Jersey......................................        122.4        118.9        112.0         95.4         80.5         62.2        -47.6        -49.2
New Mexico......................................         33.6         34.4         33.9         27.0         21.1         25.5        -26.0        -24.2
New York........................................        455.0        456.9        431.7        384.4        336.9        294.4        -35.6        -35.3
North Carolina..................................        131.2        125.5        113.1         98.9         78.0         59.3        -52.7        -54.8

North Dakota....................................          5.9          5.2          4.9          4.2          3.3          3.1        -40.6        -47.3
Ohio............................................        250.2        228.2        206.7        191.4        151.5        113.8        -50.1        -54.5
Oklahoma........................................         47.0         44.8         38.8         30.3         24.5         20.1        -55.2        -57.3
Oregon..........................................         42.1         39.3         33.4         24.1         18.2         16.9        -57.0        -60.0
Pennsylvania....................................        210.2        204.8        190.3        163.6        127.7        105.7        -48.4        -49.7

Puerto Rico.....................................         58.8         54.8         50.9         47.7         41.9         36.2        -34.0        -38.5
Rhode Island....................................         22.7         22.2         21.2         19.8         19.3         18.0        -19.0        -20.6
South Carolina..................................         51.9         49.0         45.8         34.2         25.3         18.4        -62.5        -64.6
South Dakota....................................          6.9          6.3          6.0          5.1          3.8          3.2        -48.7        -53.4
Tennessee.......................................        110.8        104.0         99.1         70.4         57.4         57.6        -44.6        -48.0

Texas...........................................        283.7        273.0        255.0        209.0        145.3        114.1        -58.2        -59.8
Utah............................................         17.8         16.6         14.8         12.2         10.7          9.8        -41.1        -44.9
Vermont.........................................          9.9          9.6          9.1          8.3          7.4          6.6        -31.5        -33.1
Virginia........................................         74.8         72.1         64.9         53.9         43.3         37.0        -48.7        -50.5
Virgin Islands..................................          1.1          1.3          1.4          1.3          1.1          1.0        -26.6        -12.5

Washington......................................        103.0        101.9         98.9         93.0         79.4         62.6        -38.6        -39.2
West Virginia...................................         40.7         38.4         36.6         33.6         19.7         11.4        -70.2        -71.9
Wisconsin.......................................         77.2         72.4         60.1         38.9         12.8         19.1        -73.6        -75.2
Wyoming.........................................          5.7          5.2          4.7          2.8          1.3          0.8        -84.4        -85.9
                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.......................................      5,046.3      4,879.0      4,551.7      3,941.8      3,178.7      2,648.1        -45.7        -47.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data reported by States to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


                                Benefits

Average benefits
    In 20 of 52 jurisdictions with available data (California 
and Minnesota are missing), average monthly TANF benefits in 
1998 rose above 1997 levels, but elsewhere they continued the 
general downward trend from previous years. As table 7-6 shows, 
benefits fell short of fiscal year 1994 levels except in 
Kentucky, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, South Dakota, 
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the 
Virgin Islands. As noted earlier, employment rates of AFDC/
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) adults more than 
tripled from 1994 to 1998, and higher earnings resulted in some 
decline in average welfare payments paid.

                TABLE 7-6.--AVERAGE MONTHLY BENEFIT FOR AFDC/TANF FAMILIES, FISCAL YEARS 1994-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                          State                               1994       1995       1996       1997       1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................    $148.48    $146.13    $144.21    $142.10    $139.58
Alaska...................................................     805.26     822.90     769.01         NA     669.00
Arizona..................................................     299.27     299.57     291.11     290.03     278.76
Arkansas.................................................     177.71     177.65     169.70     170.92     166.68
California...............................................     551.72     558.16     538.51     526.25         NA
Colorado.................................................     315.20     313.97     302.36     304.10     300.48
Connecticut..............................................     563.73     515.32     463.10     465.67     462.35
Delaware.................................................     297.41     296.00     304.35     280.74     270.52
District of Columbia.....................................     393.86     392.48     384.00     350.80     345.68
Florida..................................................     254.20     255.50     250.42     229.89     228.45
Georgia..................................................     245.56     244.63     242.62     242.74     236.82
Guam.....................................................     504.77     494.60     548.80     527.29     502.30
Hawaii...................................................     665.54     671.64     668.11     613.17     519.78
Idaho....................................................     282.16     269.75     265.88     287.74     256.78
Illinois.................................................     314.82     306.12     295.17     289.18     280.74
Indiana..................................................     257.29     255.46     244.52     233.00     229.34
Iowa.....................................................     359.21     340.97     336.95     326.52     329.62
Kansas...................................................     345.68     335.91     319.59     311.40     296.90
Kentucky.................................................     207.58     202.97     222.90     223.19     219.64
Louisiana................................................     163.28     159.62     153.10     157.20     159.13
Maine....................................................     418.28     403.84     393.79     390.97     367.95
Maryland.................................................     315.53     315.76     309.46     303.14     310.60
Massachusetts............................................     544.42     531.80     523.65     473.84     504.94
Michigan.................................................     429.23     415.58     405.87     396.30     357.37
Minnesota................................................     477.69     479.75     470.28     477.85         NA
Mississippi..............................................     119.72     123.00     116.95     117.51     101.15
Missouri.................................................     261.37     260.71     257.45     251.67     243.68
Montana..................................................     343.80     344.00     349.25     348.29     367.84
Nebraska.................................................     319.39     308.88     310.58     320.13     323.14
Nevada...................................................     283.83     284.82     279.38     274.23     288.09
New Hampshire............................................     467.30     467.82     466.26     459.14     417.12
New Jersey...............................................     361.01     355.41     345.61     332.28     342.72
New Mexico...............................................     325.21     343.13     352.13     342.24     382.99
New York.................................................     495.43     494.04     487.14     478.50     479.85
North Carolina...........................................     229.37     226.97     222.86     218.72     219.56
North Dakota.............................................     355.43     352.73     353.23     355.62     338.29
Ohio.....................................................     308.46     305.18     301.91     291.52     306.25
Oklahoma.................................................     292.14     279.85     258.36     252.62     217.22
Oregon...................................................     394.67     394.49     339.51     401.37     380.99
Pennsylvania.............................................     379.69     379.48     373.71     372.95     364.83
Puerto Rico..............................................     101.79     100.47      99.69     101.95      98.33
Rhode Island.............................................     495.11     510.40     485.89     490.56     477.20
South Carolina...........................................     175.31     180.34     176.45     162.21     157.60
South Dakota.............................................     293.10     292.58     301.72     285.44     294.23
Tennessee................................................     168.65     170.71     172.35     163.74     169.91
Texas....................................................     162.50     157.60     155.95     159.96     164.49
Utah.....................................................     341.60     356.51     347.66     346.16     354.40
Vermont..................................................     525.63     502.31     450.18     442.75     460.60
Virginia.................................................     259.33     251.29     248.18     247.18     245.74
Virgin Islands...........................................     264.51     268.23     256.91     285.65     334.15
Washington...............................................     492.65     498.13     489.02     476.38     464.08
West Virginia............................................     236.44     230.16     228.13     225.33     239.80
Wisconsin................................................     463.01     457.28     432.54     422.37     565.70
Wyoming..................................................     300.01     299.47     286.91     263.06     218.50
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NA--Not available.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data reported by States to the U.S.
  Department of Health and Human Services.


Maximum benefits
    Table 7-7 presents maximum benefit levels (amounts paid to 
those without income) for families of three. The last column 
shows that between July 1994 and January 2000, the real value 
of maximum benefits decreased in most States. Most States did 
not change maximum benefits (with the result that their 
inflation-adjusted value fell by almost 11 percent). Sixteen 
States increased benefits, but only seven jurisdictions raised 
benefits enough to more than offset price inflation: Guam, 
Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, West Virginia, and 
Wisconsin.
    Table 7-8 shows maximum TANF benefits, by State, for a 
single-parent family from one to six persons, with no earned 
income, as of January 1, 2000. Table 7-9 shows maximum combined 
TANF and food stamp benefits, by State and family size, for 
single-parent families who have no earnings. Table 7-10 shows 
AFDC/TANF maximum benefits for three persons in nominal dollars 
over the long term (1970-2000) for selected years: July 1970, 
July 1975, July 1980, July 1985, January 1990, January 1995, 
January 2000, with the last column showing the percent change 
in real dollars from 1970 to 2000.

  TABLE 7-7.--MAXIMUM COMBINED AFDC/TANF BENEFITS FOR A FAMILY OF THREE (PARENT WITH TWO CHILDREN), JULY 1994-
                                                  JANUARY 2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                    Percent real
                                                                                                     change from
                             State                                July     July     July   January   July 1994-
                                                                  1994     1996     1998     2000   January 2000

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.......................................................     $164     $164     $164     $164       -10.7
Alaska........................................................      923      923      923      923       -10.7
Arizona.......................................................      347      347      347      347       -10.7
Arkansas......................................................      204      204      204      204       -10.7
California....................................................      607      596      565      626        -7.9
Colorado......................................................      356      356      356      357       -10.5
Connecticut...................................................      680      636      636      636       -16.5
Delaware......................................................      338      338      338      338       -10.7
District of Columbia..........................................      420      415      379      379       -19.5
Florida.......................................................      303      303      303      303       -10.7
Georgia.......................................................      280      280      280      280       -10.7
Guam..........................................................      330      673      673      673        82.0
Hawaii:
    Work exempt...............................................      712      712      712      712       -10.7
    Nonexempt.................................................      712      712      570      570       -28.5
Idaho.........................................................      317      317      276      293       -17.5
Illinois......................................................      377      377      377      377       -10.7
Indiana.......................................................      288      288      288      288       -10.7
Iowa..........................................................      426      426      426      426       -10.7
Kansas........................................................      429      429      429      429       -10.7
Kentucky......................................................      228      262      262      262         2.6
Louisiana.....................................................      190      190      190      190       -10.7
Maine.........................................................      418      418      439      461        -1.6
Maryland......................................................      373      373      388      417        -0.2
Massachusetts:
    Work exempt...............................................      579      579      579      579       -10.7
    Nonexempt.................................................      579      565      565      565       -12.9
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County..........................................      489      489      489      489       -10.7
    Wayne County..............................................      459      459      459      459       -10.7
Minnesota.....................................................      532      532      532      532       -10.7
Mississippi...................................................      120      120      120      170        26.5
Missouri......................................................      292      292      292      292       -10.7
Montana.......................................................      416      438      461      469         0.6
Nebraska......................................................      364      364      364      364       -10.7
Nevada........................................................      348      348      348      348       -10.7
New Hampshire.................................................      550      550      550      575        -6.7
New Jersey....................................................      424      424      424      424       -10.7
New Mexico....................................................      381      389      489      439         2.8
New York:
    New York City.............................................      577      577      577      577       -10.7
    Suffolk County............................................      703      703      703      703       -10.7
North Carolina................................................      272      272      272      272       -10.7
North Dakota..................................................      431      431      440      457        -5.4
Ohio..........................................................      341      341      362      373        -2.4
Oklahoma......................................................      324      307      292      292       -19.6
Oregon........................................................      460      460      460      460       -10.7
Pennsylvannia.................................................      421      421      421      421       -10.7
Puerto Rico...................................................      180      180      180      180       -10.7
Rhode Island..................................................      554      554      554      554       -10.7
South Carolina................................................      200      200      201      204        -9.1
South Dakota..................................................      430      430      430      430       -10.7
Tennessee.....................................................      185      185      185      185       -10.7
Texas.........................................................      188      188      188      201        -4.6
Utah..........................................................      414      416      451      451        -2.8
Vermont.......................................................      650      633      656      708        -2.8
Virgin Islands................................................      240      240      240      240       -10.7
Virginia......................................................      354      354      354      354       -10.7
Washington....................................................      546      546      546      546       -10.7
West Virginia.................................................      253      253      253      328        15.7
Wisconsin:
    Community service.........................................      517      517      673      673        16.2
    W2 transition.............................................      517      517      628      628         8.4
Wyoming.......................................................      360      360      340      340       -15.7
    Median State..............................................      381      415      421      421       -10.5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers inflation adjustment factor for converting July 1994
  dollars to January 2000 dollars is 1.1203.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service on the basis of data from the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services.


        TABLE 7-8.--MAXIMUM MONTHLY TANF BENEFIT FOR FAMILIES OF ONE TO SIX PERSONS, JANUARY 1, 2000 \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Family size
                              State                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                   1 \2\     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:
    Region 1....................................................     310     505     626     746     849     953
    Region 2....................................................     294     481     596     710     808     907
Colorado........................................................     214     281     357     432     513     591
Connecticut.....................................................     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:
    Work exempt.................................................     418     565     712     859    1006    1153
    Nonexempt...................................................     335     452     570     687     805     922
Idaho...........................................................     293     293     293     293     293     293
Illinois........................................................     212     278     377     414     485     545
Indiana.........................................................     139     229     288     346     405     463
Iowa............................................................     183     361     426     495     548     610
Kansas..........................................................     267     352     429     497     558     619
Kentucky........................................................     186     225     262     328     383     432
Louisiana.......................................................      72     138     190     234     277     316
Maine...........................................................     219     345     461     581     698     815
Maryland........................................................     185     328     417     503     583     641
Massachusetts:
    Work exempt.................................................     392     486     579     668     760     854
    Nonexempt...................................................     383     474     565     651     741     832
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County............................................     305     401     489     593     689     822
    Wayne County................................................     276     371     459     563     659     792
Minnesota.......................................................     250     437     532     621     697     773
Mississippi.....................................................     110     146     170     194     218     242
Missouri........................................................     136     234     292     342     388     431
Montana.........................................................     278     374     469     564     659     754
Nebraska........................................................     222     293     364     435     506     577
Nevada..........................................................     229     289     348     407     466     525
New Hampshire...................................................     439     506     575     638     698     779
New Jersey......................................................     162     322     424     488     552     616
New Mexico......................................................     281     360     439     519     598     677
New York:
    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....................................................     271     363     457     549     642     735
Ohio............................................................     223     305     373     461     539     600
Oklahoma........................................................     180     225     292     361     422     483
Oregon..........................................................     310     395     460     565     660     755
Pennsylvannia...................................................     215     330     421     514     607     687
Puerto Rico.....................................................     132     156     180     204     228     252
Rhode Island....................................................     327     449     554     634     714     794
South Carolina..................................................     121     162     204     245     286     328
South Dakota....................................................     304     380     430     478     528     578
Tennessee.......................................................      95     142     185     226     264     305
Texas...........................................................      84     174     201     241     268     308
Utah............................................................     261     362     451     528     601     663
Vermont.........................................................     503     604     708     792     881     940
Virginia........................................................     220     294     354     410     488     534
Virgin Islands..................................................     120     180     240     300     360     420
Washington......................................................     349     440     546     642     740     841
West Virginia...................................................     224     276     328     387     435     488
Wisconsin:
    Community service...........................................       0     673     673     673     673     673
    W2 transition...............................................       0     628     628     628     628     628
Wyoming.........................................................     195     320     340     340     360     360
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Calculations assume a single-parent family with no earned income and use normal rounding rules.
\2\ A family size of one represents a pregnant woman or a child-only case. Colorado and Texas have separate
  payment schedules for the two groups; the table shows amounts for pregnant women. Maximum child-only benefits
  are smaller; $117 in Colorado and $68 in Texas.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service on the basis of a telephone survey of States.


TABLE 7-9.--MAXIMUM COMBINED TANF AND FOOD STAMP \1\ BENEFIT FOR FAMILIES OF ONE TO SIX PERSONS, JANUARY 1, 2000
                                                       \2\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                    Family size
                              State                              -----------------------------------------------
                                                                     1       2       3       4       5       6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................................    $238    $370    $490    $602    $703    $823
Alaska..........................................................     558     904   1,101   1,285   1,456   1,652
Arizona.........................................................     310     466     618     758     888   1,039
Arkansas........................................................     208     387     518     639     746     878
California:
    Region 1....................................................     384     627     813     988   1,140   1,314
    Region 2....................................................     373     610     792     963   1,111   1,282
Colorado........................................................     316     471     625     768     905   1,060
Connecticut.....................................................     448     633     820     984   1,130   1,301
Delaware........................................................     307     463     611     751     878   1,028
District of Columbia............................................     334     482     640     790     919   1,086
Florida.........................................................     293     442     587     721     844     988
Georgia.........................................................     275     438     571     697     810     934
Guam............................................................     498     717     942   1,131   1,303   1,510
Hawaii:
    Work exempt.................................................     531     800   1,061   1,305   1,533   1,794
    Nonexempt...................................................     473     721     962   1,185   1,392   1,632
Idaho...........................................................     372     479     580     671     751     852
Illinois........................................................     315     468     639     756     885   1,028
Indiana.........................................................     264     434     576     708     829     971
Iowa............................................................     295     526     673     812     929   1,074
Kansas..........................................................     354     520     675     814     936   1,080
Kentucky........................................................     297     431     558     695     814     949
Louisiana.......................................................     199     370     508     630     740     868
Maine...........................................................     320     515     697     872   1,034   1,217
Maryland........................................................     296     503     667     818     954   1,095
Massachusetts:
    Work exempt.................................................     441     614     780     933   1,078   1,245
    Nonexempt...................................................     435     606     770     921   1,064   1,229
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County............................................     380     554     717     881   1,028   1,222
    Wayne County................................................     360     533     696     860   1,007   1,201
Minnesota.......................................................     358     629     789     934   1,061   1,207
Mississippi.....................................................     237     376     494     602     698     816
Missouri........................................................     262     438     579     705     817     948
Montana.........................................................     361     536     703     861   1,007   1,175
Nebraska........................................................     322     479     630     770     900   1,051
Nevada..........................................................     327     476     618     751     872   1,014
New Hampshire...................................................     474     628     777     912   1,034   1,192
New Jersey......................................................     280     499     672     807     932   1,078
New Mexico......................................................     363     526     682     829     964   1,121
New York:
    New York City...............................................     413     601     779     947   1,106   1,266
    Suffolk County..............................................     479     677     867   1,043   1,210   1,373
North Carolina..................................................     293     439     565     674     773     891
North Dakota....................................................     356     528     695     850     995   1,161
Ohio............................................................     323     487     636     788     923   1,067
Oklahoma........................................................     293     431     579     718     841     985
Oregon..........................................................     384     550     697     861   1,008   1,175
Pennsylvania....................................................     317     505     669     826     971   1,128
Puerto Rico \3\.................................................     206     296     379     453     522     601
Rhode Island....................................................     396     588     763     910   1,046   1,203
South Carolina..................................................     248     387     518     637     746     876
South Dakota....................................................     380     540     676     800     915   1,051
Tennessee.......................................................     222     373     504     624     731     860
Texas...........................................................     211     396     515     634     733     862
Utah............................................................     349     527     690     835     966   1,111
Vermont.........................................................     519     697     870   1,020   1,162   1,305
Virginia........................................................     321     480     623     753     887   1,021
Virgin Islands..................................................     308     511     703     878   1,038   1,230
Washington......................................................     411     582     757     915   1,064   1,235
West Virginia...................................................     324     467     604     737     850     988
Wisconsin:
    Community service...........................................   (\4\)     745     846     937   1,017   1,118
    W2 transition...............................................   (\4\)     713     814     905     985   1,086
Wyoming.........................................................     303     498     613     704     798    899
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Food stamp calculations assume that the family does not receive an excess shelter deduction. In very low
  benefit States, combined benefits shown reflect the maximum food stamp allotment for the family size, but in
  some States the excess shelter deduction would increase food stamps (by up to $83 monthly--more in Alaska and
  Hawaii).
\2\ Calculations assume a single-parent family with no earned income and use normal rounding rules.
\3\ Puerto Rico does not have a standard Food Stamp Program, but it operates a program of nutritional cash
  assistance under a block grant. The table shows TANF benefits plus amounts from the Nutritional Cash
  Assistance Program.
\4\ Wisconsin has no one-person families in its regular W-2 (TANF) Program. Pregnant women without children are
  ineligible and ``child-only'' recipients have been moved into special programs.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service.


Benefits for minimum wage workers
    Table 7-11 shows annual earnings net of payroll taxes, plus 
TANF, the earned income credit (EIC), and food stamps (January 
2000 levels) for a minimum wage worker with two children who 
works half time all year round. (This and subsequent tables 
should not be taken to imply that all workers actually receive 
these benefits.)
    Table 7-12 shows the same thing for a full-time, year-round 
minimum wage worker.
     Table 7-10 shows maximum Aid to Families with Dependent 
Children (AFDC)/TANF benefits for a three-person family by 
State for selected years from July 1970 to January 2000. Over 
the three decades, the real value of cash payments declined in 
all States. In 25 jurisdictions the decline was 50 percent or 
greater. However, part of this loss was offset by the 
intervening development of the Food Stamp Program, which in 
1970 did not operate in more than half the Nation and lacked 
standard rules. In many States maximum combined TANF food stamp 
benefits for three persons (table 7-9) now exceed the 
inflation-adjusted value of AFDC alone on July 1970. The most 
dramatic impact of food stamps has occurred in Mississippi and 
Puerto Rico, where combined benefits for a family of three with 
no earnings ($494 and $379, respectively), now are double the 
real value of AFDC benefits back in July 1970 ($242 and $186).

       TABLE 7-10.--AFDC/TANF MAXIMUM BENEFIT FOR A THREE-PERSON FAMILY BY STATE, SELECTED YEARS 1970-2000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                         Year
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                      Percent
                State                   July     July   July   July   January   January   January    change in
                                      1970 \1\   1975   1980   1985  1990 \2\  1995 \2\  2000 \2\   real value,
                                                                                                   1970-2000 \3\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.............................      $65    $108   $118   $118     $118      $164      $164          -42
Alaska..............................      328     350    457    719      846       923       923          -35
Arizona.............................      138     163    202    233      293       347       347          -42
Arkansas............................       89     125    161    192      204       204       204          -47
California..........................      186     293    473    587      694       607   \4\ 626          -22
Colorado............................      193     217    290    346      356       356       356          -57
Connecticut.........................      283     346    475    569      649       680       636          -48
Delaware............................      160     221    266    287      333       338       338          -51
District of Columbia................      195     243    286    327      409       420       379          -55
Florida.............................      114     144    195    240      294       303       303          -39
Georgia.............................      107     123    164    223      273       280       280          -40
Guam................................       NA      NA    261    265      330       330       673           NA
Hawaii..............................      226     428    468    468      602       712   \5\ 712          -27
Idaho...............................      211     300    323    304      317       317       293          -68
Illinois............................      232     261    288    341      367       377       377          -62
Indiana.............................      120     200    255    256      288       288       288          -45
Iowa................................      201     294    360    360      410       426       426          -51
Kansas..............................      222     321    345    391      409       429       429          -55
Kentucky............................      147     185    188    197      228       228       262          -59
Louisiana...........................       88     128    152    190      190       190       190          -50
Maine...............................      135     176    280    370      453       418       461          -21
Maryland............................      162     200    270    329      396       373       417          -40
Massachusetts.......................      268     259    379    432      539       579   \5\ 579          -50
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County................       NA      NA     NA    447      546       489       489           NA
    Wayne County....................      219     333    425    417      516       459       459          -52
Minnesota...........................      256     330    417    528      532       532       532          -52
Mississippi.........................       56      48     96     96      120       120       170          -30
Missouri............................      104     120    248    274      289       292       292          -35
Montana.............................      202     201    259    354      359       416       469          -46
Nebraska............................      171     210    310    350      364       364       364          -51
Nevada..............................      121     195    262    285      330       348       348          -34
New Hampshire.......................      262     308    346    389      506       550       575          -49
New Jersey..........................      302     310    360    404      424       424       424          -68
New Mexico..........................      149     169    220    258      264       381       439          -32
New York:
    New York City...................      279     332    394    474      577       577       577          -52
    Suffolk County..................       NA      NA     NA    579      703       703       703           NA
North Carolina......................      145     183    192    246      272       272       272          -57
North Dakota........................      213     283    334    371      386       431       457          -50
Ohio................................      161     204    263    290      334       341       373          -46
Oklahoma............................      152     217    282    282      325       324       292          -56
Oregon..............................      184     337    282    386      432       460       460          -42
Pennsylvania........................      265     296    332    364      421       421       421          -63
Puerto Rico.........................       43      43     44     90       90       180       180           -3
Rhode Island........................      229     278    340    409      543       554       554          -44
South Carolina......................       85      96    129    187      206       200       204          -45
South Dakota........................      264     289    321    329      377       430       430          -62
Tennessee...........................      112     115    122    153      184       185       185          -62
Texas...............................      148     116    116    167      184       188       201          -69
Utah................................      175     252    360    376      387       426       451          -40
Vermont.............................      267     322    492    583      662       650       708          -39
Virgin Islands......................       NA     131    209    171      240       240       240           NA
Virginia............................      225     268    310    354      354       354       354          -64
Washington..........................      258     315    458    476      501       546       546          -51
West Virginia.......................      114     206    206    249      249       253       328          -33
Wisconsin...........................      184     342    444    533      517       517   \6\ 628          -21
Wyoming.............................      213     235    315    360      360       360       340          -63
                                     ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Median State \7\................      184     235    288    332      364       377       421         -47
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 reports of the (then) Department of Health,
  Education and Welfare.
\2\ Congressional Research Service survey data.
\3\ Real percentage change. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers inflation adjustment factor used
  for converting July 1970 dollars to January 2000 dollars was 4.3256.
\4\ Benefits for region 1.
\5\ Benefits for persons exempt from work.
\6\ Benefits for persons in W-2 transitions (work preparation activities).
\7\ Among the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

 NA--Not available.

 Source: Table compiled by the Congressional Research Service on the basis of data from the U.S. Department of
  Health and Human Services and the Congressional Research Service.


 TABLE 7-11.--ANNUALIZED EARNINGS AND INCOME FROM SELECTED MAJOR BENEFIT PROGRAMS FOR SINGLE PARENT WITH TWO CHILDREN WORKING HALF TIME AT MINIMUM WAGE
                                                       IN MONTH 13 OF EMPLOYMENT, JANUARY 1, 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                               As a percent of 1999 poverty threshold
                                                              Net                         Food   Combined ----------------------------------------------
                                                           earnings    EIC      TANF     stamps    total      Net                        Food   Combined
                                                                                                           earnings    EIC      TANF    stamps    total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................    $4,946   $2,142         0   $3,216   $10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Alaska...................................................     5,426    2,350   $11,076        0    18,853      40.4     17.5     82.5      0.0     140.5
Arizona..................................................     4,946    2,142     1,171    2,856    11,115      36.8     16.0      8.7     21.3      82.8
Arkansas.................................................     4,946    2,142     1,224    4,020    12,333      36.8     16.0      9.1     29.9      91.9
California:
    Region 1.............................................     5,523    2,392     5,872    1,296    15,083      41.1     17.8     43.7      9.7     112.4
    Region 2.............................................     5,523    2,392     5,512    1,404    14,831      41.1     17.8     41.1     10.5     110.5
Colorado \1\.............................................     4,946    2,142       658    3,012    10,758      36.8     16.0      4.9     22.4      80.1
Connecticut..............................................     5,907    2,558     7,632    2,208    18,305      44.0     19.1     56.9     16.4     136.4
Delaware.................................................     5,426    2,350     2,804    2,244    12,825      40.4     17.5     20.9     16.7      95.5
District of Columbia.....................................     5,907    2,558     1,950    2,376    12,791      44.0     19.1     14.5     17.7      95.3
Florida..................................................     4,946    2,142     2,158    2,568    11,815      36.8     16.0     16.1     19.1      88.0
Georgia..................................................     4,946    2,142       812    2,964    10,865      36.8     16.0      6.0     22.1      80.9
Guam \2\.................................................     4,946    2,142     3,800    3,228    14,117      36.8     16.0     28.3     24.0     105.2
Hawaii:
    Work exempt..........................................     5,042    2,184     7,284    3,252    17,763      37.6     16.3     54.3     24.2     132.3
    Nonexempt............................................     5,042    2,184     5,580    3,768    16,575      37.6     16.3     41.6     28.1     123.5
Idaho....................................................     4,946    2,142     1,370    2,796    11,255      36.8     16.0     10.2     20.8      83.8
Illinois.................................................     4,946    2,142     2,739    2,388    12,215      36.8     16.0     20.4     17.8      91.0
Indiana..................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Iowa \1\.................................................     4,946    2,142     2,970    2,316    12,374      36.8     16.0     22.1     17.3      92.2
Kansas \1\...............................................     4,946    2,142     2,582    2,436    12,107      36.8     16.0     19.2     18.1      90.2
Kentucky.................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Louisiana................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Maine....................................................     4,946    2,142     5,122    1,680    13,891      36.8     16.0     38.2     12.5     103.5
Maryland \1\.............................................     4,946    2,142     1,523    2,760    11,371      36.8     16.0     11.3     20.6      84.7
Massachusetts: \1\
    Work exempt..........................................     5,763    2,496     1,788    2,460    12,507      42.9     18.6     13.3     18.3      93.2
    Nonexempt............................................     5,763    2,496     1,620    2,508    12,387      42.9     18.6     12.1     18.7      92.3
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County.....................................     4,946    2,142     3,503    2,160    12,752      36.8     16.0     26.1     16.1      95.0
    Wayne County.........................................     4,946    2,142     3,143    2,268    12,500      36.8     16.0     23.4     16.9      93.1
Minnesota \1\............................................     4,946    2,142     4,011    3,084    14,184      36.8     16.0     29.9     23.0     105.7
Mississippi..............................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Missouri.................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Montana..................................................     4,946    2,142     3,411    2,184    12,684      36.8     16.0     25.4     16.3      94.5
Nebraska.................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Nevada...................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
New Hampshire............................................     4,946    2,142     4,222    1,944    13,255      36.8     16.0     31.5     14.5      98.7
New Jersey...............................................     4,946    2,142     2,410    2,484    11,983      36.8     16.0     18.0     18.5      89.3
New Mexico...............................................     4,979    2,157     3,493    2,160    12,789      37.1     16.1     26.0     16.1      95.3
New York: \1\
    New York City........................................     4,946    2,142     4,615    1,824    13,528      36.8     16.0     34.4     13.6     100.8
    Suffolk County.......................................     4,946    2,142     6,127    1,368    14,584      36.8     16.0     45.6     10.2     108.6
North Carolina...........................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
North Dakota.............................................     4,946    2,142     1,574    2,736    11,399      36.8     16.0     11.7     20.4      84.9
Ohio.....................................................     4,946    2,142     3,298    2,220    12,607      36.8     16.0     24.6     16.5      93.9
Oklahoma.................................................     4,946    2,142     1,546    2,748    11,383      36.8     16.0     11.5     20.5      84.8
Oregon \1\...............................................     6,243    2,704     2,140    2,232    13,319      46.5     20.1     15.9     16.6      99.2
Pennsylvania.............................................     4,946    2,142     2,374    2,496    11,959      36.8     16.0     17.7     18.6      89.1
Rhode Island \1\.........................................     5,426    2,350     4,730    1,668    14,175      40.4     17.5     35.2     12.4     105.6
South Carolina...........................................     4,946    2,142       979    2,916    10,984      36.8     16.0      7.3     21.7      81.8
South Dakota.............................................     4,946    2,142     1,739    2,688    11,516      36.8     16.0     13.0     20.0      85.8
Tennessee................................................     4,946    2,142     2,220    2,544    11,853      36.8     16.0     16.5     19.0      88.3
Texas....................................................     4,946    2,142         0    3,216    10,305      36.8     16.0      0.0     24.0      76.8
Utah.....................................................     4,946    2,142     3,334    2,208    12,631      36.8     16.0     24.8     16.4      94.1
Vermont \1\..............................................     5,523    2,392     3,596    1,980    13,491      41.1     17.8     26.8     14.8     100.5
Virginia.................................................     4,946    2,142     4,248    1,932    13,269      36.8     16.0     31.6     14.4      98.9
Virgin Islands \2\.......................................     4,946    2,142         0    5,136    12,225      36.8     16.0      0.0     38.3      91.1
Washington...............................................     6,243    2,704     3,172    1,920    14,039      46.5     20.1     23.6     14.3     104.6
West Virginia............................................     4,946    2,142     1,794    2,676    11,558      36.8     16.0     13.4     19.9      86.1
Wisconsin: \1\
    Community service....................................     4,946    2,142     2,760    2,388    12,237      36.8     16.0     20.6     17.8      91.2
    W2 transition........................................        NA       NA        NA       NA        NA        NA       NA       NA       NA        NA
Wyoming..................................................     4,946    2,142     1,124    2,868    11,081      36.8     16.0      8.4     21.4     82.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These States have their own earned income credits (generally calculated as a percentage of the Federal EIC) but they are not shown in this table.
\2\ Guam and the Virgin Islands have territorial tax systems that mirror the Internal Revenue Code, including the earned income credit (EIC). However,
  revenues foregone and refunds paid under their EICs affect their own territorial treasuries, not the U.S. Treasury.

NA--Not applicable. (Persons with jobs are not eligible for the Wisconsin program of transitional aid.)

Note.--Puerto Rico is omitted from this table. It is not covered by the Federal income tax and has no EIC. A half-time minimum wage worker in Puerto
  Rico would be ineligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on State and Federal minimum wage laws, EIC law, food stamp law, and the CRS January
  2000 Survey of State TANF benefit levels and program rules.


 TABLE 7-12.--EARNINGS AND INCOME FROM SELECTED MAJOR BENEFIT PROGRAMS FOR SINGLE PARENT WITH TWO CHILDREN WORKING FULL TIME AT MINIMUM WAGE, WORKING IN
                                                          MONTH 13, ANNUALIZED, JANUARY 1, 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                 As a percent of poverty threshold
                                                              Net                         Food   Combined ----------------------------------------------
                                                           earnings    EIC      TANF     stamps    total      Net                        Food   Combined
                                                                                                           earnings    EIC      TANF    stamps    total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama..................................................    $9,893   $3,888         0   $1,920   $15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Alaska...................................................    10,853    3,888    $7,440        0    22,181      80.9     29.0     55.4      0.0     165.2
Arizona..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Arkansas.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
California:
    Region 1.............................................    11,045    3,888     2,882      756    18,571      82.3     29.0     21.5      5.6     138.4
    Region 2.............................................    11,045    3,888     2,522      864    18,319      82.3     29.0     18.8      6.4     136.5
Colorado \1\.............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Connecticut..............................................    11,813    3,867     7,632    2,208    25,520      88.0     28.8     56.9     16.4     190.1
Delaware.................................................    10,853    3,888         0    1,680    16,421      80.9     29.0      0.0     12.5     122.3
District of Columbia.....................................    11,813    3,867         0    1,428    17,108      88.0     28.8      0.0     10.6     127.5
Florida..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Georgia..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Guam \2\.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    3,072    16,853      73.7     29.0      0.0     22.9     125.5
Hawaii:
    Work exempt..........................................    10,085    3,888     4,489    2,784    21,246      75.1     29.0     33.4     20.7     158.3
    Nonexempt............................................    10,085    3,888     2,785    3,300    20,058      75.1     29.0     20.7     24.6     149.4
Idaho....................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Illinois.................................................     9,893    3,888       953    1,644    16,378      73.7     29.0      7.1     12.2     122.0
Indiana..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Iowa \1\.................................................     9,893    3,888       827    1,680    16,288      73.7     29.0      6.2     12.5     121.3
Kansas \1\...............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Kentucky.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Louisiana................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Maine....................................................     9,893    3,888     2,444    1,188    17,413      73.7     29.0     18.2      8.9     129.7
Maryland \1\.............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Massachusetts: \1\
    Work exempt..........................................    11,525    3,888         0    1,500    16,913      85.9     29.0      0.0     11.2     126.0
    Nonexempt............................................    11,525    3,888         0    1,500    16,913      85.9     29.0      0.0     11.2     126.0
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County.....................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
    Wayne County.........................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Minnesota \1\............................................     9,893    3,888       691    3,084    17,555      73.7     29.0      5.1     23.8     130.8
Mississippi..............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Missouri.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Montana..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Nebraska.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Nevada...................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
New Hampshire............................................     9,893    3,888     1,544    1,464    16,789      73.7     29.0     11.5     10.9     125.1
New Jersey...............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
New Mexico...............................................     9,896    3,888         0    1,920    15,704      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
New York: \1\
    New York City........................................     9,893    3,888     1,723    1,404    16,907      73.7     29.0     12.8     10.5     126.0
    Suffolk County.......................................     9,893    3,888     3,235      960    17,975      73.7     29.0     24.1      7.2     133.9
North Carolina...........................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
North Dakota.............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Ohio.....................................................     9,893    3,888       620    1,740    16,141      73.7     29.0      4.6     13.0     120.2
Oklahoma.................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Oregon \1\...............................................    12,486    3,713         0    1,248    17,447      93.0     27.7      0.0      9.3     130.0
Pennsylvania.............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Rhode Island \1\.........................................    10,853    3,888     1,792    1,140    17,673      80.9     29.0     13.4      8.5     131.7
South Carolina...........................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
South Dakota.............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Tennessee................................................     9,893    3,888       676    1,728    16,185      73.7     29.0      5.0     12.9     120.6
Texas....................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Utah.....................................................     9,893    3,888       656    1,728    16,165      73.7     29.0      4.9     12.9     120.4
Vermont \1\..............................................    11,045    3,888         0    1,632    16,565      82.3     29.0      0.0     12.2     123.4
Virginia.................................................     9,893    3,888     4,248      648    18,677      73.7     29.0     31.6      4.8     139.1
Virgin Islands \2\.......................................     9,893    3,888         0    3,840    17,621      73.7     29.0      0.0     28.6     131.3
Washington...............................................    12,486    3,713         0    1,248    17,447      93.0     27.7      0.0      9.3     130.0
West Virginia............................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
Wisconsin: \1\
    Community service \3\................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
    W2 transition........................................        NA       NA        NA       NA        NA        NA       NA       NA       NA        NA
Wyoming..................................................     9,893    3,888         0    1,920    15,701      73.7     29.0      0.0     14.3     117.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ These States have their own earned income credits (generally calculated as a percentage of the Federal EIC) but they are not shown in this table.
\2\ Guam and the Virgin Islands have territorial tax systems that mirror the Internal Revenue Code, including the EIC. However, revenues foregone and
  refunds paid under their EICs affect their own territorial treasuries, not the U.S. Treasury.
\3\ This entry applies to a person who has moved from community service to a full-time unsubsidized job (and thus is no longer eligible for a community
  service payment).

NA--Not applicable. (Persons with jobs are not eligible for the Wisconsin program of transitional aid.)

Note.--Puerto Rico is omitted from this table. It is not covered by the Federal income tax and has no EIC. A full-time minimum wage worker in Puerto
  Rico would be ineligible for TANF.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on State and Federal minimum wage laws, EIC law, food stamp law, and the CRS January
  2000 Survey of State TANF benefit levels and program rules.

                           Break-Even Levels

    The earnings levels at which Temporary Assistance for Needy 
Families (TANF) eligibility ends (TANF break-even points) 
depend on a State's payment standard, its treatment of 
earnings, and duration on a job. Table 7-13 presents break-even 
points for a family of three for the first 13 months in a job. 
Two States ignore all earnings for a period of time (Alabama, 
for the first 4 months of employment and New Jersey for 1 
month). Connecticut ignores all earnings so long as they are 
below the Federal poverty level (and the family has not reached 
the State's 21-month benefit cutoff). Some States retain old 
AFDC policy and count a higher proportion of earnings against 
the benefit after 4 months on a job, and still more after 1 
year of work (Georgia is an example).

                           Uses of TANF Funds

    Through fiscal year 1999, States spent $33.5 billion out of 
$46.8 billion in cumulative TANF awards for fiscal years 1997, 
1998 and 1999 (table 7-14). They also transferred $6.4 billion 
to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and the Social 
Services Block Grant, and obligated $4.7 billion. This left an 
unobligated balance of $2.2 billion. Nationally, expenditures 
represented 72 percent of total awards; transfers, 14 percent; 
unliquidated obligations (that is, obligated balances), 10 
percent, and unobligated balances, 5 percent. The pattern of 
fund use varied widely among States: 10 States spent less than 
60 percent of their TANF funds (Colorado, Florida, Idaho, 
Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Wisconsin, 
and Wyoming); 3 States spent more than 90 percent (Delaware, 
Maine, and Nebraska); 4 States made no transfers of TANF funds 
(Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Oregon); and 4 
States transferred more than 20 percent of funds (Indiana, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, and Wyoming).

                              Expenditures

Trends
    Total expenditures for TANF and predecessor programs peaked 
at $30.1 billion in fiscal year 1995 and declined to $21.5 
billion in fiscal year 1998, then rose slightly (table 7-15). 
At the same time the share of total expenditures paid with 
Federal funds has declined, from 54.3 percent in 1990 and 53.7 
percent in the peak spending year of 1995 to 52.1 percent in 
1999. Through fiscal year 1996, data in the table represent Aid 
to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Emergency 
Assistance to Needy Families (EA), and JOBS. Data for the 
transition year of fiscal year 1997 combine expenditures for 
AFDC, EA, and JOBS with expenditures for TANF. Fiscal year 1998 
expenditures are for TANF. State TANF expenditures represent 
spending counted toward the State maintenance of effort (MOE), 
including State spending on separate State programs (SSPs), but 
exclude child care spending that can be double counted toward 
both the TANF MOE and the Child Care and Development Block 
Grant (CCDBG) MOE.

           TABLE 7-13.--TANF BREAK-EVEN POINTS--MONTHLY EARNINGS THAT END ELIGIBILITY, SINGLE-PARENT FAMILY WITH TWO CHILDREN, JANUARY 1, 2000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                          Month of employment
                    State                    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                 1        2        3        4        5       6       7       8       9      10      11      12      13
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama....................................    (\1\)    (\1\)    (\1\)    (\1\)    $193    $193    $193    $193    $193    $193    $193    $193    $193
Alaska......................................   $1,998   $1,998   $1,998   $1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,998   1,793
Arizona.....................................      572      572      572      572     572     572     572     572     572     572     572     572     572
Arkansas....................................      697      697      697      697     697     697     697     697     697     697     697     697     697
California:
    Region 1................................    1,458    1,458    1,458    1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458   1,458
    Region 2................................    1,398    1,398    1,398    1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398   1,398
Colorado....................................      734      734      734      734     530     530     530     530     530     530     530     530     500
Connecticut.................................    1,157    1,157    1,157    1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157
Delaware....................................    1,391    1,391    1,391    1,391     968     968     968     968     968     968     968     968     938
District of Columbia........................      839      839      839      839     839     839     839     839     839     839     839     839     839
Florida.....................................      787      787      787      787     787     787     787     787     787     787     787     787     787
Georgia.....................................      741      741      741      741     535     535     535     535     535     535     535     535     505
Guam........................................    1,115    1,115    1,115    1,115     784     784     784     784     784     784     784     784     754
Hawaii:
    Work exempt.............................    1,622    1,622    1,622    1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622   1,622
    Nonexempt...............................    1,344    1,344    1,344    1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344   1,344
Idaho.......................................      621      621      621      621     621     621     621     621     621     621     621     621     621
Illinois....................................    1,131    1,131    1,131    1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131
Indiana.....................................      537      537      537      537     399     399     399     399     399     399     399     399     369
Iowa........................................    1,041    1,041    1,041    1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041   1,041
Kansas......................................      789      789      789      789     789     789     789     789     789     789     789     789     789
Kentucky....................................      973      973      408      408     408     408     283     283     283     283     283     283     283
Louisiana...................................    1,081    1,081    1,081    1,081   1,081   1,081     301     301     301     301     301     301     301
Maine.......................................    1,023    1,023    1,023    1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023   1,023
Maryland....................................      627      627      627      627     627     627     627     627     627     627     627     627     627
Massachusetts:
    Work exempt.............................      660      660      660      660     660     660     660     660     660     660     660     660     660
    Nonexempt...............................      646      646      646      646     646     646     646     646     646     646     646     646     646
Michigan:
    Washtenaw County........................      799      799      799      799     799     799     799     799     799     799     799     799     799
    Wayne County............................      762      762      762      762     762     762     762     762     762     762     762     762     762
Minnesota \2\...............................      986      986      986      986     986     986     986     986     986     986     986     986     986
Mississippi.................................      680      680      680      680     680     680     442     442     442     442     442     442     442
Missouri....................................    1,116    1,116    1,116    1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116   1,116     373
Montana.....................................      813      813      813      813     813     813     813     813     813     813     813     813     813
Nebraska....................................      443      443      443      443     443     443     443     443     443     443     443     443     443
Nevada......................................    1,532    1,532    1,532      677     677     677     677     677     677     677     677     677     429
New Hampshire...............................    1,131    1,131    1,131    1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131   1,131
New Jersey..................................    (\1\)      847      847      847     847     847     847     847     847     847     847     847     847
New Mexico \3\..............................      928      928      928      928     928     928     928     928     928     928     928     928     928
New York:
    New York City...........................    1,067    1,067    1,067    1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067   1,067
    Suffolk County..........................    1,301    1,301    1,301    1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301   1,301
North Carolina..............................      558      558      558      558     383     383     383     383     383     383     383     383     353
North Dakota................................    1,250    1,250    1,250    1,250   1,250   1,250   1,250   1,250     893     893     695     695     625
Ohio........................................      977      977      977      977     977     977     977     977     977     977     977     977     977
Oklahoma....................................      685      685      685      685     685     685     685     685     685     685     685     685     685
Oregon......................................      616      616      616      616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616
Pennsylvania................................      823      823      823      823     823     823     823     823     823     823     823     823     823
Puerto Rico.................................      360      360      360      360     300     300     300     300     300     300     300     300     300
Rhode Island................................    1,259    1,259    1,259    1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259   1,259
South Carolina..............................    1,069    1,069    1,069    1,069     650     650     650     650     650     650     650     650     650
South Dakota................................      616      616      616      616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616     616
Tennessee...................................      940      940      940      940     940     940     940     940     940     940     940     940     940
Texas.......................................      407      407      407      407     312     312     312     312     312     312     312     312     282
Utah........................................      983      983      983      983     983     983     983     983     983     983     983     983     983
Vermont.....................................    1,167    1,167    1,167    1,167     819     819     819     819     819     819     819     819     789
Virginia....................................    1,157    1,157    1,157    1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157   1,157
Virgin Islands..............................      465      465      465      465     351     351     351     351     351     351     351     351     321
Washington..................................    1,073    1,073    1,073    1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073   1,073
West Virginia...............................      818      818      818      818     818     818     818     818     818     818     818     818     818
Wisconsin:
    Community service.......................    1,330    1,330    1,330    1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330   1,330
    W2 transition...........................       NA       NA       NA       NA      NA      NA      NA      NA      NA      NA      NA      NA      NA
Wyoming.....................................      531      531      531      531     531     531     531     531     531     531     531     531    531
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ During these months all earnings are disregarded, and the State has no gross income limit.
\2\ TANF break-even points in Minnesota share the earnings level at which the cash portion of the full standard is reduced to zero. The food stamp
  portion is not reduced (i.e., full food stamp benefits are paid) until earnings have reduced the cash portion to zero.
\3\ A recipient in New Mexico could earn as much as $1,264 without losing benefits. This could occur because New Mexico's excess hours disregard does
  not count income from the hours in excess of 29 hours per week.

NA--Not applicable. (Persons with jobs are not eligible for the Wisconsin program of transitional assistance.)

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on the CRS January 1, 2000 Survey of State TANF benefit levels and program rules.



             TABLE 7-14.--STATE USE OF CUMULATIVE TANF GRANTS FOR FISCAL YEARS 1997, 1998, AND 1999
                                            [In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 Total                                                Unexpended balance
            State                grant    Transfers  Available      TANF     -----------------------------------
                                 awards               for TANF  expenditures  Obligated  Unobligated     Total
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama.....................     $297.2      $82.5     $214.7       $178.6        $4.8       $31.3       $36.1
 Alaska......................      148.8       40.8      108.0        101.0         0.0         7.0         7.0
 Arizona.....................      679.4      107.5      571.9        480.6        91.3         0.0        91.3
 Arkansas....................      137.9        4.1      133.8         86.7        47.1         0.0        47.1
 California..................   10,683.3      590.3   10,093.0      8,472.4     1,620.6         0.0     1,620.6
 Colorado....................      323.3       59.8      263.5        186.4        77.1         0.0        77.1
 Connecticut.................      800.4       53.9      746.5        705.7         0.0        40.7        40.7
 Delaware....................       84.5        4.2       80.3         77.3         2.9         0.0         2.9
 District of Columbia........      250.2       38.8      211.4        161.3        32.8        17.3        50.1
 Florida.....................    1,731.0      320.1    1,410.9      1,018.3       392.6         0.0       392.6
 Georgia.....................      949.5      119.2      830.3        694.4        15.3       120.6       136.0
 Hawaii......................      225.7       22.3      203.4        198.0         1.4         4.0         5.4
 Idaho.......................       78.0       13.2       64.8         31.7        16.9        16.2        33.1
 Illinois....................    1,358.9      234.0    1,124.9      1,144.0         0.0         0.0         0.0
 Indiana.....................      620.4      186.1      434.3        259.8       174.5         0.0       174.5
 Iowa........................      365.0       40.0      325.0        298.3         5.7        21.0        26.7
 Kansas......................      305.8       43.6      262.2        262.2         0.0         0.0         0.0
 Kentucky....................      531.8      119.4      412.4        412.4         0.0         0.0         0.0
 Louisiana...................      473.4      102.1      371.3        259.0         0.0       112.2       112.2
 Maine.......................      228.7       23.1      205.7        205.7         0.0         0.0         0.0
 Maryland....................      648.6      137.5      511.1        426.0        50.9        34.2        85.2
 Massachusetts...............    1,398.1      415.4      982.7        913.6         0.0        69.1        69.1
 Michigan....................    2,346.1      501.3    1,844.7      1,698.6         0.0       146.1       146.1
 Minnesota...................      638.9      111.0      527.9        401.3        67.3        59.3       126.6
 Mississippi.................      266.9       50.0      216.9        123.2        20.5        73.2        93.7
 Missouri....................      621.9       86.8      535.1        508.3        15.3        11.4        26.8
 Montana.....................      124.6       21.8      102.8         80.4         0.0        22.4        22.4
 Nebraska....................      165.4        0.0      165.4        156.2         0.0         9.2         9.2
 Nevada......................      126.3        0.4      125.9        108.4        17.5         0.0        17.5
 New Hampshire...............      115.6        0.0      115.6        105.0         4.6         6.0        10.6
 New Jersey..................    1,110.3      333.1      777.2        524.1       253.1         0.0       253.1
 New Mexico..................      322.5       27.0      295.5        238.7         0.0        56.9        56.9
 New York....................    6,868.2      958.0    5,910.2      4,882.4       343.6       684.1     1,027.7
 North Carolina..............      851.1      101.2      749.9        648.2        98.3         3.4       101.7
 North Dakota................       63.9        0.0       63.9         53.3         3.1         7.5        10.6
 Ohio........................    2,183.9      218.4    1,965.5      1,231.6       583.9       150.0       733.9
 Oklahoma....................      443.5      133.0      310.4        249.0         0.0        61.4        61.4
 Oregon......................      501.4        0.0      501.4        477.6        23.8         0.0        23.8
 Pennsylvania................    1,886.2      180.0    1,706.2      1,554.1       123.3        28.9       152.1
 Rhode Island................      237.4       15.8      221.6        221.6         0.0         0.0         0.0
 South Carolina..............      293.8       38.5      255.3        223.2        32.1         0.0        32.1
 South Dakota................       60.7        7.7       53.0         39.0         2.2        11.9        14.0
 Tennessee...................      590.3       83.8      506.5        401.9        25.3        79.2       104.5
 Texas.......................    1,464.2      253.2    1,211.1      1,035.5       175.6         0.0       175.6
 Utah........................      236.8       11.8      225.1        207.3         0.0        17.8        17.8
 Vermont.....................      142.1       31.3      110.7        107.8         0.0         3.0         3.0
 Virginia....................      434.2      100.5      333.7        318.0        14.2         1.5        15.7
 Washington..................    1,096.9      150.0      947.0        748.6        68.1       130.2       198.4
 West Virginia...............      302.5       45.6      256.9        112.1         0.0       144.8       144.8
 Wisconsin...................      953.2      184.4      768.8        447.9       290.1        30.7       320.9
 Wyoming.....................       60.5       18.0       42.4          7.3         0.0        35.1        35.1
                              ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Total...................   46,829.3    6,420.6   40,408.7     33,484.2     4,695.9     2,247.7     6,943.5
                              ==================================================================================
     Percent of total........  .........         14         86           72          10           5          15
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.



   TABLE 7-15.--TOTAL, FEDERAL, AND STATE EXPENDITURES FOR TANF AND PREDECESSOR PROGRAMS (AFDC, EA, AND JOBS),
                                              FISCAL YEARS 1990-99
                                             [In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Fiscal year                                 Total          Federal          State
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actual (current) dollars:
     1990.......................................................         $22,018         $11,953         $10,066
     1991.......................................................          24,133          13,169          10,964
     1992.......................................................          26,606          14,567          12,039
     1993.......................................................          27,037          14,790          12,247
     1994.......................................................          28,854          15,686          13,168
     1995.......................................................          30,091          16,173          13,918
     1996.......................................................          28,193          15,067          13,126
     1997.......................................................          23,179          12,494          10,686
     1998.......................................................          21,513          11,286          10,227
     1999.......................................................          21,728          11,323          10,405
 Percent change: 1995-99 (change from peak expenditures)........           -27.8           -30.0           -25.2
 Constant (1999) dollars:
     1990.......................................................          26,773          14,534          12,239
     1991.......................................................          28,244          15,412          12,832
     1992.......................................................          30,341          16,612          13,729
     1993.......................................................          30,116          16,474          13,642
     1994.......................................................          31,459          17,102          14,357
     1995.......................................................          32,111          17,259          14,852
     1996.......................................................          29,497          15,764          13,733
     1997.......................................................          23,792          12,824          10,968
     1998.......................................................          21,784          11,429          10,356
     1999.......................................................          21,728          11,323          10,405
 Percent change: 1995-99 (change from peak expenditures)........           -32.3           -34.4           -29.9
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--State TANF expenditures exclude child care expenditures that can be ``double counted'' toward both the
  Child Care and Development Fund and TANF maintenance-of-effort requirement.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.


    Chart 7-2 shows the national trends in expenditures, from 
1995 to 1999. Fiscal year 1995 and 1996 expenditures are 
Federal and State expenditures made under AFDC, EA, and JOBS. 
Fiscal year 1997 are transition year expenditures, combining 
TANF and pre-TANF expenditures. State expenditures under TANF 
exclude child care that could be credited toward the MOE 
requirements of both TANF and the CCDF.
Expenditures by State
    Table 7-16 shows TANF and comparable pre-TANF (AFDC, EA and 
JOBS) expenditures, Federal and State, by State, for fiscal 
years 1995 and 1999. The Federal share of expenditures, which 
was a minimum of 50 percent under AFDC, has dropped


  CHART 7-2. FEDERAL AND STATE EXPENDITURES FOR TANF AND PREDECESSOR 
                     PROGRAMS, FISCAL YEARS 1990-99


    Note._State expenditures include those made under the State 
TANF Program and State SSP expenditures but exclude State 
expenditures that can be double counted toward both the TANF 
and Child Care and Development Fund maintenance-of-effort 
requirements.

    Source: Chart prepared by the Congressional Research 
Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services.


below that level in a number of States, including New York. 
Nationally Federal expenditures in fiscal year 1999 declined by 
$4.9 billion (a 30 percent reduction) while State expenditures 
fell by $3.5 billion (a 25 percent reduction) from their peak 
levels of fiscal year 1995.
    TANF law gives States unlimited time in which to spend 
funds for assistance (benefits to meet a family's ongoing basic 
needs, plus supportive services for unemployed families), but 
requires that funds used for nonassistance must be obligated by 
the end of the fiscal year for which they are awarded and spent 
by the end of the next year. As shown in table 7-17, $3.3 
billion of total TANF expenditures made in fiscal year 1999 
came from funds awarded for fiscal years 1997 and 1998. The 
table also shows that 16.7 percent of fiscal year 1999 TANF 
awards were transferred by States (6.2 percent to the Social 
Services Block Grant and 10.6 percent to the CCDF). Twenty 
States transferred 20 percent or more of their 1999 TANF awards 
(Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North 
Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, 
Wisconsin, and Wyoming).

                 TABLE 7-16.--FEDERAL AND STATE EXPENDITURES IN AFDC/TANF AND RELATED PROGRAMS, BY STATE, \1\ FISCAL YEARS 1995 AND 1999
                                                                 [In millions of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                   1995                                   1999                   Change in expenditures
                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      State                                                   Federal                                Federal
                                                    Federal       State        share       Federal       State        share       Federal       State
                                                                             (percent)                              (percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.........................................        $84.6        $46.1         64.7        $51.7        $32.3         61.5       -$32.9       -$13.8
 Alaska.........................................         60.7         60.0         50.3         38.2         47.2         44.7        -22.6        -12.8
 Arizona........................................        214.2        119.7         64.1        142.2         87.5         61.9        -72.0        -32.2
 Arkansas.......................................         48.0         23.3         67.3         45.4         24.3         65.1         -2.5          1.1
 California.....................................      3,708.2      3,701.1         50.0      3,345.5      2,821.0         54.3       -362.7       -880.0
 Colorado.......................................        131.2        118.1         52.6         70.1         80.4         46.6        -61.1        -37.7
 Connecticut....................................        277.2        273.8         50.3        202.0        164.7         55.1        -75.3       -109.1
 Delaware.......................................         35.4         34.4         50.7         32.7         21.5         60.4         -2.6        -12.9
 District of Columbia...........................         83.9         81.6         50.7         51.2         72.5         41.4        -32.7         -9.0
 Florida........................................        549.0        446.6         55.1        112.9        337.6         25.1       -436.1       -109.0
 Georgia........................................        317.0        208.4         60.3        235.1        152.6         60.6        -82.0        -55.9
 Hawaii.........................................        101.3         99.0         50.6         86.9         81.0         51.8        -14.3        -18.0
 Idaho..........................................         33.0         19.1         63.3         12.2         13.3         48.0        -20.7         -5.8
 Illinois.......................................        595.4        580.1         50.7        409.5        373.2         52.3       -185.9       -206.9
 Indiana........................................        168.6        113.0         59.9         66.7        105.7         38.7       -101.9         -7.3
 Iowa...........................................        126.7         85.0         59.8        113.3         56.9         66.6        -13.5        -28.1
 Kansas.........................................         91.8         68.9         57.1        107.5         61.7         63.5         15.7         -7.3
 Kentucky.......................................        156.9         81.1         65.9        126.3         76.5         62.3        -30.6         -4.6
 Louisiana......................................        140.1         76.4         64.7         69.2         53.9         56.2        -70.9        -22.5
 Maine..........................................         74.1         45.9         61.7         68.0         38.8         63.6         -6.1         -7.1
 Maryland.......................................        235.4        230.4         50.5        151.3        153.7         49.6        -84.0        -76.7
 Massachusetts..................................        411.2        401.8         50.6        270.5        316.1         46.1       -140.8        -85.7
 Michigan.......................................        713.0        558.0         56.1        562.9        446.9         55.7       -150.1       -111.1
 Minnesota......................................        253.6        217.3         53.8        177.0        180.6         49.5        -76.6        -36.7
 Mississippi....................................         82.3         29.8         73.5         21.1         21.5         49.6        -61.2         -8.3
 Missouri.......................................        210.4        151.6         58.1        188.4        111.6         62.8        -22.0        -40.1
 Montana........................................         45.5         22.5         66.9         24.9         14.4         63.3        -20.7         -8.1
 Nebraska.......................................         59.3         46.6         56.0         85.6         24.0         78.1         26.3        -22.5
 Nevada.........................................         44.7         40.0         52.8         37.5         25.0         60.1         -7.2        -15.0
 New Hampshire..................................         38.0         37.7         50.2         27.9         27.5         50.4        -10.0        -10.2
 New Jersey.....................................        397.5        387.4         50.6        149.4        273.8         35.3       -248.1       -113.6
 New Mexico.....................................        130.4         53.5         70.9         89.8         37.1         70.8        -40.6        -16.5
 New York.......................................      2,532.0      2,499.8         50.3      1,533.6      2,016.7         43.2       -998.3       -483.1
 North Carolina.................................        320.3        213.9         60.0        222.8        133.4         62.6        -97.5        -80.5
 North Dakota...................................         26.1         16.6         61.2         23.9          8.1         74.8         -2.2         -8.5
 Ohio...........................................        629.8        434.8         59.2        242.4        368.4         39.7       -387.4        -66.4
 Oklahoma.......................................        134.6         69.5         65.9         85.3         54.7         60.9        -49.2        -14.8
 Oregon.........................................        164.1        113.6         59.1        194.7         79.9         70.9         30.6        -33.7
 Pennsylvania...................................        798.9        702.5         53.2        603.7        387.6         60.9       -195.2       -314.8
 Rhode Island...................................         92.9         76.6         54.8         94.9         64.1         59.7          2.0        -12.5
 South Carolina.................................         97.1         48.8         66.5         70.9         31.8         69.0        -26.2        -17.0
 South Dakota...................................         20.5         11.4         64.2         12.4          8.3         59.8         -8.1         -3.1
 Tennessee......................................        183.6        112.7         62.0        120.5         88.3         57.7        -63.2        -24.3
 Texas..........................................        474.4        318.6         59.8        339.2        216.8         61.0       -135.3       -101.9
 Utah...........................................         71.5         35.5         66.8         54.6         20.8         72.4        -16.8        -14.6
 Vermont........................................         46.2         31.3         59.6         37.6         24.7         60.4         -8.5         -6.6
 Virginia.......................................        143.8        140.9         50.5        129.9        106.8         54.9        -13.9        -34.1
 Washington.....................................        397.8        364.8         52.2        212.3        257.6         45.2       -185.4       -107.2
 West Virginia..................................         96.6         38.0         71.8         14.6         40.6         26.4        -82.0          2.7
 Wisconsin......................................        306.0        217.8         58.4        153.4        152.4         50.2       -152.7        -65.4
 Wyoming........................................         18.1         12.7         58.9          3.4          9.3         26.9        -14.7         -3.3
                                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
     Total......................................     16,173.2     13,917.9         53.7     11,323.2     10,405.2         52.1     -4,850.0     -3,512.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Excludes State TANF MOE child care expenditures that can also be counted toward the Child Care and Development Fund MOE.

Note.--Funds included in the columns for 1999 reflect actual State expenditures, not the annual amount of Federal TANF funding allocated for each State.
  Excludes State TANF maintenance-of-effort child care expenditures that can also be counted toward the Child Care and Development Fund maintenance-of-
  effort requirement.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


                                         TABLE 7-17.--TANF GRANTS, TRANSFERS AND EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                                                 [In millions of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                         Transfers                     Fiscal year 1999 expenditures
                                                                          ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                 Spending
                            State                             Fiscal year               Transfer to                 Spending   from fiscal      Total
                                                               1999 grant  Transfer to     Social        Total    from fiscal   year 1997   expenditures
                                                                               CCDF       Services    transfers    year 1999     and 1998     in fiscal
                                                                                        Block Grant                  funds        funds       year 1999
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama....................................................       $118.7        $23.7        $11.9        $35.6        $47.0         $4.6         $51.7
 Alaska.....................................................         64.5         13.8          5.6         19.4         38.2          0.0          38.2
 Arizona....................................................        230.6          0.0         23.0         23.0        132.1         10.0         142.2
 Arkansas...................................................         59.8          0.0          4.1          4.1         16.1         29.3          45.4

 California.................................................      3,751.1        307.3          0.0        307.3      1,831.2      1,514.3       3,345.5
 Colorado...................................................        142.7          0.0         20.3         20.3         45.3         24.9          70.1
 Connecticut................................................        266.8          0.0         24.1         24.1        202.0          0.0         202.0
 Delaware...................................................         32.3          0.1          0.0          0.1         29.5          3.3          32.7

 District of Columbia.......................................         92.6         18.5          9.3         27.8         32.1         19.2          51.2
 Florida....................................................        591.8        117.6         59.2        176.8         22.4         90.5         112.9
 Georgia....................................................        348.9         15.8         34.9         50.7        174.8         60.2         235.1
 Hawaii.....................................................         98.9          5.6          1.0          6.6         86.9          0.0          86.9

 Idaho......................................................         33.1          6.6          3.3          9.9          0.0         12.2          12.2
 Illinois...................................................        585.1        117.0         58.5        175.5        409.5          0.0         409.5
 Indiana....................................................        206.8         56.0          6.0         62.0         16.7         50.1          66.7
 Iowa.......................................................        131.5         14.7         12.8         27.6         77.2         36.0         113.3

 Kansas.....................................................        101.9          6.1         10.2         16.3         85.6         21.9         107.5
 Kentucky...................................................        181.3         36.2         18.1         54.4        126.9         -0.6         126.3
 Louisiana..................................................        172.3         51.7          0.0         51.7         41.6         27.6          69.2
 Maine......................................................         78.1          7.6          2.5         10.1         68.0          0.0          68.0

 Maryland...................................................        229.1          0.0         22.9         22.9        126.7         24.6         151.3
 Massachusetts..............................................        479.4         91.9         47.9        139.8        270.5          0.0         270.5
 Michigan...................................................        795.4         96.1         79.5        175.6        473.6         89.3         562.9
 Minnesota..................................................        267.4         45.0         26.7         71.7         69.1        107.9         177.0

 Mississippi................................................         91.2          8.7          8.7         17.4         20.3          0.8          21.1
 Missouri...................................................        217.1         43.4         21.7         65.1        125.2         63.2         188.4
 Montana....................................................         45.5          5.5          0.0          5.5         23.5          1.4          24.9
 Nebraska...................................................         58.0          0.0          0.0          0.0         48.9         36.7          85.6

 Nevada.....................................................         45.8          0.0          0.4          0.4         28.6          8.9          37.5
 New Hampshire..............................................         38.5          0.0          0.0          0.0         27.9          0.0          27.9
 New Jersey.................................................        404.0         80.8         40.4        121.2         78.5         70.9         149.4
 New Mexico.................................................        132.7         13.7          0.0         13.7         65.5         24.3          89.8

 New York...................................................      2,442.9          5.0        244.0        249.0      1,314.8        218.9       1,533.6
 North Carolina.............................................        319.8         80.3          7.7         88.0        130.2         92.6         222.8
 North Dakota...............................................         26.4          0.0          0.0          0.0         18.1          5.8          23.9
 Ohio.......................................................        728.0          0.0         72.8         72.8        206.0         36.4         242.4

 Oklahoma...................................................        147.6         29.5         14.8         44.3         42.0         43.4          85.3
 Oregon.....................................................        166.8          0.0          0.0          0.0        143.0         51.7         194.7
 Pennsylvania...............................................        719.5        127.0          0.0        127.0        460.8        142.9         603.7
 Rhode Island...............................................         95.0         13.6          2.2         15.8         79.2         15.7          94.9

 South Carolina.............................................        100.0          3.5         10.0         13.5         64.4          6.5          70.9
 South Dakota...............................................         21.3          0.0          2.1          2.1         12.4          0.0          12.4
 Tennessee..................................................        202.0         51.8          0.0         51.8        114.9          5.6         120.5
 Texas......................................................        512.0         30.6         51.2         81.8        254.6         84.5         339.2

 Utah.......................................................         81.1          3.7          4.9          8.6         54.6          0.0          54.6
 Vermont....................................................         47.4          7.7          4.7         12.4         31.9          5.7          37.6
 Virginia...................................................        158.3         29.2         15.8         45.0         97.6         32.3         129.9
 Washington.................................................        403.3        121.0          0.0        121.0         84.0        128.3         212.3

 West Virginia..............................................        110.2         10.0         11.0         21.0          0.0         14.6          14.6
 Wisconsin..................................................        317.5         63.5         31.8         95.3         50.2        103.1         153.4
 Wyoming....................................................         20.8          4.1          2.1          6.2          2.7          0.7           3.4
                                                             -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...................................................     16,712.6      1,764.0      1,028.2      2,792.2      8,002.9      3,320.4      11,323.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Fiscal year 1999 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 
(TANF) expenditures, including State-funded MOE spending, 
totaled $22.6 billion (table 7-18). Because it includes all 
State-funded MOE child care, this sum is higher than the $21.7 
billion fiscal year 1999 total shown in table 7-15. The 
difference represents child care outlays that can be counted 
for both the TANF and CCDF MOE. Of the $22.6 billion total, 
$13.5 billion (59.6 percent) was used for cash and work-based 
assistance, $1.8 billion (7.8 percent) for work activities; 
$2.0 billion (8.8 percent) for child care; $2.3 billion (10.1 
percent) for administration and computerization needed for 
tracking and monitoring, and $3.1 billion (13.7 percent) for 
other purposes. The table shows sharp State variations. In 14 
States (Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, 
Kansas, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South 
Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin) cash and work-based assistance 
accounted for less than half of expenditures. At the other 
extreme, three States (Hawaii, New Mexico, and Vermont) 
attributed more than 80 percent of their spending to cash and 
work-based help. In 10 States child care accounted for 10 
percent or more of TANF outlays (Alabama, Connecticut, 
Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, 
Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin).
    State maintenance-of-effort expenditures.--Table 7-19 shows 
total fiscal year 1999 State TANF maintenance-of-effort (MOE) 
expenditures broken down by three categories: expenditures 
under the regular TANF Program, State child care expenditures, 
and expenditures under separate State programs (SSPs). 
Inclusion of all MOE child care expenditures ($1.4 billion) 
raises total State spending to $11.3 billion (compared with 
$10.4 billion in table 7-16, which excludes $856 million in 
child care that could be double counted for both the TANF and 
Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) MOE. Nationally, 
expenditures under the regular TANF Program accounted for 82.2 
percent of State MOE spending, child care for 12.4 percent, and 
SSP programs for 5.4 percent. A total of 21 States reported MOE 
expenditures (other than child care) under SSPs. Two States 
(Hawaii and Tennessee) reported using no MOE funds for child 
care.
    Expenditures per family.--Table 7-20 shows expenditures 
(excluding TANF MOE spending that also could be counted toward 
the CCDF MOE) per family for each year from fiscal year 1995 to 
fiscal year 1999. Expenditures per family did not change much 
between fiscal years 1995 and 1996, fell slightly in fiscal 
year 1997, then rose. Over the 4-year period, per-family 
expenditures were up $2,088, or 33.5 percent). However, caution 
should be used in interpreting these numbers. The counts of 
families reflect only those receiving TANF ``assistance.'' Some 
States have moved families that were considered Aid to Families 
with Dependent Children (AFDC) families into SSPs other than 
TANF. For example, some States aid two-parent families and/or 
child-only cases in an SSP. Some forms of aid might not be 
considered by a State to be TANF assistance, and families 
receiving such aid might not be counted as a TANF family. Both 
of these factors would reduce the reported number of recipient 
families and thus inflate the calculated expenditure per 
family.

        TABLE 7-18.--TOTAL TANF AND TANF MOE EXPENDITURES, BY STATE AND MAJOR CATEGORY, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                            [In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Cash and
                  State                   work-based      Work      Child  Administration    Other      Total
                                          assistance  activities    care     and systems            expenditures
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Alabama................................      $35.3       $15.4     $14.4        $10.7       $15.1       $90.9
 Alaska.................................       64.0        10.3       5.1          8.5         0.5        88.4
 Arizona................................      121.6        14.5      12.3         34.1        57.2       239.7
 Arkansas...............................       23.8        22.0       5.1          7.6        13.0        71.6
 California.............................    4,289.9       311.7     411.6        425.3       813.5     6,252.1
 Colorado...............................       55.1         8.8      10.8         15.4        69.4       159.5
 Connecticut............................      199.3        15.6     103.8         36.5        30.2       385.4
 Delaware...............................       23.7        10.2      11.9         13.5         0.0        59.4
 District of Columbia...................       80.1        17.5      16.0         12.7         2.0       128.3
 Florida................................      306.4       104.9      34.4         30.9         7.4       483.9
 Georgia................................      206.8        30.7      35.2         39.1        98.1       409.9
 Hawaii.................................      148.9         5.7       0.0         13.3         0.0       167.9
 Idaho..................................        4.2         1.8       1.2          3.1        16.3        26.7
 Illinois...............................      574.1        33.3     117.0        115.3         0.0       839.6
 Indiana................................       85.3        13.1      15.4         44.3        29.8       187.8
 Iowa...................................       91.9        24.3       6.2         29.1        23.7       175.2
 Kansas.................................       45.7         7.5       6.7          9.4       106.5       175.8
 Kentucky...............................      120.1        20.7      15.9         22.5        29.1       208.4
 Louisiana..............................       67.1        14.2       5.2         20.8        21.0       128.3
 Maine..................................       74.3         9.8       7.1         12.3         5.1       108.6
 Maryland...............................      189.2        49.5      26.1         58.0         5.5       328.3
 Massachusetts..........................      331.1        35.4      86.9         86.9        91.2       631.5
 Michigan...............................      435.3       151.7     308.5         60.3        78.5     1,034.2
 Minnesota..............................      233.8        45.0      50.4         47.8         0.3       377.3
 Mississippi............................       26.7         7.4       1.7          7.6         0.8        44.3
 Missouri...............................      165.5        40.8      43.1         20.6        46.6       316.5
 Montana................................       25.5         5.3       1.3          6.1         2.3        40.6
 Nebraska...............................       68.1        16.5       6.5         25.1         0.0       116.2
 Nevada.................................       27.6         1.5       2.2         13.4        20.0        64.7
 New Hampshire..........................       36.3         3.5       4.6          9.6         6.0        60.1
 New Jersey.............................      302.0        31.9      47.9         67.7         0.0       449.6
 New Mexico.............................      108.4         0.0       2.9          8.0        10.4       129.8
 New York...............................    2,347.2       179.9     182.0        442.6       500.6     3,652.3
 North Carolina.........................      176.0         3.7      43.9         29.4       141.1       394.1
 North Dakota...........................       22.0         1.6       1.0          5.7         2.6        33.0
 Ohio...................................      380.4         4.7      68.8         98.0       104.3       656.2
 Oklahoma...............................       57.9        31.4      27.4          8.7        25.2       150.7
 Oregon.................................      177.0        54.2      19.9         34.6         0.6       286.3
 Pennsylvania...........................      529.9        72.0      46.6         79.8       309.7     1,038.0
 Rhode Island...........................      115.0         7.6      14.3         17.7         9.7       164.3
 South Carolina.........................       38.6        22.9       4.1         19.7        21.6       106.9
 South Dakota...........................       11.3         3.3       0.8          3.3         2.9        21.6
 Tennessee..............................      110.0        34.4       4.7         19.6        40.1       208.8
 Texas..................................      233.4        47.5      34.7         62.3       212.7       590.6
 Utah...................................       40.6        25.5       4.5          9.3         0.1        79.9
 Vermont................................       52.3         0.3       4.4          8.0         0.0        65.0
 Virginia...............................      140.2        60.8      21.9         35.0         0.3       258.1
 Washington.............................      316.9        39.2      34.1         58.5        55.4       504.0
 West Virginia..........................       32.7         3.1       3.0         18.8         0.6        58.2
 Wisconsin..............................       90.7        80.0      60.5         23.0        68.1       322.2
 Wyoming................................       10.4         1.5       1.6          0.8         0.0        14.3
                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................   13,449.5     1,754.0   1,995.5      2,290.7     3,095.2    22,584.9
                                         =======================================================================
Percent of total........................       59.6         7.8       8.8         10.1        13.7       100.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.


           TABLE 7-19.--STATE MAINTENANCE-OF-EFFORT EXPENDITURES BY PROGRAM CATEGORY, FISCAL YEAR 1999
                                            [In millions of dollars]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                        Total
                                            State               Child     Separate                  expenditures
                                        expenditures   Total     care       State                    minus child
                 State                    under the    child     that      program        Total       care that
                                        TANF Program    care    can be  expenditures  expenditures     can be
                                         (excluding             double   (excluding                    double
                                         child care)           counted   child care)                   counted
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................       $32.2       $6.9     $6.9        $0.1         $39.2         $32.3
 Alaska...............................        47.2        3.0      3.0         0.0          50.2          47.2
 Arizona..............................        87.5       10.0     10.0         0.0          97.6          87.5
 Arkansas.............................        21.1        5.1      1.9         0.0          26.2          24.3
 California...........................     2,617.2      240.2     85.6        49.2       2,906.6       2,821.0
 Colorado.............................        78.6       10.8      9.0         0.0          89.4          80.4
 Connecticut..........................        96.2       68.1     18.7        19.2         183.4         164.7
 Delaware.............................        14.1       11.9      5.2         0.6          26.7          21.5
 District of Columbia.................        61.1       16.0      4.6         0.0          77.1          72.5
 Florida..............................       313.4       34.4     33.4        23.2         371.0         337.6
 Georgia..............................        79.0       35.2     22.2        60.5         174.8         152.6
 Hawaii...............................        32.3        0.0      0.0        48.6          81.0          81.0
 Idaho................................        13.3        1.2      1.2         0.0          14.4          13.3
 Illinois.............................       308.1       81.8     56.9        40.2         430.1         373.2
 Indiana..............................        80.7       15.4     15.4        25.0         121.1         105.7
 Iowa.................................        55.7        6.2      5.1         0.1          62.0          56.9
 Kansas...............................        61.7        6.7      6.7         0.0          68.3          61.7
 Kentucky.............................        76.5        5.6      5.6         0.0          82.1          76.5
 Louisiana............................        53.9        5.2      5.2         0.0          59.1          53.9
 Maine................................        16.2        7.1      1.7        17.3          40.6          38.8
 Maryland.............................       120.1       23.6     23.3        33.2         177.0         153.7
 Massachusetts........................       309.5       49.4     45.0         2.1         361.0         316.1
 Michigan.............................       362.7       97.3     24.4        11.3         471.3         446.9
 Minnesota............................       149.6       50.4     19.7         0.3         200.3         180.6
 Mississippi..........................        21.5        1.7      1.7         0.0          23.2          21.5
 Missouri.............................        85.0       43.1     16.5         0.0         128.1         111.6
 Montana..............................        14.4        1.3      1.3         0.0          15.7          14.4
 Nebraska.............................        24.0        6.5      6.5         0.0          30.5          24.0
 Nevada...............................        25.0        2.2      2.2         0.0          27.2          25.0
 New Hampshire........................        27.5        4.6      4.6         0.0          32.1          27.5
 New Jersey...........................       273.1       26.4     26.4         0.6         300.2         273.8
 New Mexico...........................        37.1        2.9      2.9         0.0          39.9          37.1
 New York.............................     1,694.9      182.0    102.0       241.8       2,118.7       2,016.7
 North Carolina.......................       128.5       42.8     37.9         0.0         171.3         133.4
 North Dakota.........................         8.1        1.0      1.0         0.0           9.1           8.1
 Ohio.................................       364.4       49.4     45.4         0.0         413.8         368.4
 Oklahoma.............................        48.4       16.9     10.6         0.0          65.3          54.7
 Oregon...............................        77.5       14.1     11.7         0.0          91.6          79.9
 Pennsylvania.........................       387.6       46.6     46.6         0.0         434.3         387.6
 Rhode Island.........................        45.8       14.3      5.3         9.4          69.4          64.1
 South Carolina.......................        31.8        4.1      4.1         0.0          35.9          31.8
 South Dakota.........................         8.3        0.8      0.8         0.0           9.1           8.3
 Tennessee............................        88.3        0.0      0.0         0.0          88.3          88.3
 Texas................................       216.8       34.7     34.7         0.0         251.4         216.8
 Utah.................................        19.9        4.5      4.5         0.9          25.3          20.8
 Vermont..............................        24.0        3.4      2.7         0.0          27.4          24.7
 Virginia.............................        84.1       21.3     21.3        22.7         128.2         106.8
 Washington...........................       257.6       34.1     34.1         0.0         291.7         257.6
 West Virginia........................        40.6        3.0      3.0         0.0          43.6          40.6
 Wisconsin............................       130.9       36.3     16.4         1.7         168.9         152.4
 Wyoming..............................         9.3        1.6      1.6         0.0          10.9           9.3
                                       -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.............................     9,262.4    1,391.1    856.4       608.2      11,261.6      10,405.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services.


   TABLE 7-20.--TOTAL TANF/AFDC AND RELATED PROGRAM EXPENDITURES PER FAMILY (EXCLUDES TANF MOE EXPENDITURES THAT COULD ALSO BE COUNTED TOWARD THE CCDF
                                                          MOE), BY STATE, FISCAL YEARS 1995-99
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                               Percent
                            State                                  1995         1996         1997         1998         1999     Change 1995-   change:
                                                                                                                                     99        1995-98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama......................................................       $2,840       $2,933       $2,988       $3,970       $4,144       $1,304         45.9
 Alaska......................................................        9,716        9,843       10,139        9,619       10,092          376          3.9
 Arizona.....................................................        4,797        4,991        5,143        6,060        6,734        1,937         40.4
 Arkansas....................................................        2,932        3,585        3,652        4,159        5,841        2,909         99.2
 California..................................................        8,058        7,869        7,143        7,866        9,881        1,822         22.6
 Colorado....................................................        6,465        7,547        7,079        8,234       10,553        4,088         63.2
 Connecticut.................................................        9,036        7,538        7,091        8,940       10,805        1,769         19.6
 Delaware....................................................        6,476        5,720        5,288        6,984        8,685        2,209         34.1
 District of Columbia........................................        6,177        5,922        5,378        6,820        6,493          315          5.1
 Florida.....................................................        4,313        4,368        4,327        6,167        5,494        1,180         27.4
 Georgia.....................................................        3,777        3,891        4,235        5,581        6,235        2,458         65.1
 Hawaii......................................................        9,240        8,878        6,380       10,156       10,500        1,260         13.6
 Idaho.......................................................        5,738        5,589        2,377       10,441       18,461       12,724        221.8
 Illinois....................................................        4,977        5,232        4,703        5,690        6,376        1,399         28.1
 Indiana.....................................................        4,292        3,834        3,962        4,418        4,698          406          9.5
 Iowa........................................................        5,804        6,594        6,213        6,795        7,750        1,946         33.5
 Kansas......................................................        5,694        6,109        8,390        8,600       13,170        7,476        131.3
 Kentucky....................................................        3,158        3,631        3,460        3,680        4,757        1,599         50.6
 Louisiana...................................................        2,713        2,564        2,747        3,457        3,127          414         15.3
 Maine.......................................................        5,534        5,918        6,270        6,989        7,929        2,395         43.3
 Maryland....................................................        5,794        5,562        5,127        6,136        8,777        2,983         51.5
 Massachusetts...............................................        8,061        8,317        8,512        9,375       10,769        2,708         33.6
 Michigan....................................................        6,302        5,854        7,057        8,118       10,607        4,305         68.3
 Minnesota...................................................        7,678        7,680        5,434        7,438        8,421          744          9.7
 Mississippi.................................................        2,134        1,980        2,296        3,969        2,558          425         19.9
 Missouri....................................................        4,055        4,355        4,311        4,942        5,892        1,837         45.3
 Montana.....................................................        5,917        5,483        5,899        6,715        8,138        2,221         37.5
 Nebraska....................................................        7,143        7,170        4,912        4,880        9,673        2,529         35.4
 Nevada......................................................        5,393        5,530        5,759        7,668        7,781        2,388         44.3
 New Hampshire...............................................        7,006        7,591        7,924        9,036        8,712        1,705         24.3
 New Jersey..................................................        6,602        6,350        5,460        6,050        6,799          197          3.0
 New Mexico..................................................        5,340        5,457        5,950        5,212        4,975         -365         -6.8
 New York....................................................       11,012       10,754        9,845        9,505       12,058        1,046          9.5
 North Carolina..............................................        4,256        4,688        4,621        4,755        6,003        1,747         41.0
 North Dakota................................................        8,182        8,230        8,824       10,278       10,313        2,131         26.0
 Ohio........................................................        4,666        4,668        4,441        4,997        5,367          702         15.0
 Oklahoma....................................................        4,557        5,099        4,481        5,402        6,982        2,425         53.2
 Oregon......................................................        7,072        7,613        9,579       11,202       16,277        9,205        130.2
 Pennsylvania................................................        7,332        7,860        5,682        7,016        9,383        2,051         28.0
 Rhode Island................................................        7,636        7,274        7,781        8,208        8,839        1,203         15.8
 South Carolina..............................................        2,979        3,396        3,582        4,099        5,597        2,617         87.8
 South Dakota................................................        5,086        5,381        5,321        6,044        6,435        1,350         26.5
 Tennessee...................................................        2,849        2,951        3,289        3,620        3,623          774         27.2
 Texas.......................................................        2,905        2,906        2,960        3,808        4,872        1,967         67.7
 Utah........................................................        6,423        6,994        6,943        8,027        7,698        1,274         19.8
 Vermont.....................................................        8,027        7,876        7,392        7,512        9,430        1,403         17.5
 Virginia....................................................        3,947        4,017        4,122        5,036        6,396        2,449         62.1
 Washington..................................................        7,480        7,835        6,565        7,407        7,502           22          0.3
 West Virginia...............................................        3,504        3,744        3,336        3,998        4,825        1,321         37.7
 Wisconsin...................................................        7,238        6,977        8,704       22,378       15,975        8,737        120.7
 Wyoming.....................................................        5,920        5,244        5,780        7,967       15,725        9,805        165.6
                                                              ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total....................................................        6,242        6,269        5,958        6,865        8,330        2,088         33.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Excludes State TANF maintenance-of-effort child care expenditures that can also be counted toward the Child Care and Development Fund maintenance-
  of-effort requirement.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


    Breakdown of expenditures.--As chart 7-3 shows, the bulk of 
fiscal year 1999 expenditures were made for cash assistance. 
Cash assistance accounted for spending of $13.4 billion, 60 
percent of total Federal and State MOE expenditures (down from 
$14.6 billion in fiscal year 1998, 65 percent of total TANF 
spending). The second largest category was ``unclassified'' 
expenditures; that is, expenditures that did not fit into any 
of the other categories (cash, work program expenditures, child 
care, administration, and transitional assistance). The U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) did not collect 
details on unclassified expenditures for fiscal year 1999, but 
this category could include payments for nonassistance such as 
transportation and work expenses. Unclassified expenditures 
were 14 percent of all expenditures; administrative costs 
accounted for 10 percent, child care for 9 percent, and work 
program expenditures totaled 8 percent.

CHART 7-3. FISCAL YEAR 1999 FEDERAL AND STATE TANF AND RELATED PROGRAM 
  EXPENDITURES, BY CATEGORY. INCLUDES TANF CHILD CARE AND STATE CHILD 
                           CARE EXPENDITURES.

                         [DOLLARS IN BILLIONS]


    Note._Details may not add to total because of rounding.

    Source: Chart prepared by the Congressional Research 
Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services.


    Child care expenditures totaled $2.0 billion. Most of these 
expenditures ($1.4 billion) were State child care expenditures 
counted toward the TANF MOE requirement. Only $0.6 billion was 
spent directly on child care from Federal TANF grants. However, 
most Federal funding for child care is provided through the 
CCDF (not shown in this section).\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ For a discussion of CCDF Programs, see Congressional Research 
Service (1998).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                   Work Activities and Participation

Participation rates, fiscal year 1998
    All jurisdictions except Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin 
Islands achieved the all-family work rate in fiscal year 1998, 
but 15 failed the higher two-parent family work rate (two 
States and two territories reported having no two-parent 
families). The statutory minimums for fiscal year 1998 were 30 
percent for all families and 75 percent for two-parent 
families; but, as shown in table 7-21, actual State standards 
were adjusted downward to give credit for reductions in 
caseload from fiscal year 1995 to fiscal year 1997 and, in the 
case of Vermont, to reflect terms of pre-TANF waivers still in 
effect. The six States that placed two-parent families in non-
TANF Programs in fiscal year 1998 were Alabama, Florida, 
Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, and New Jersey. Since then seven 
other States have moved two-parent families into SSPs: 
California and Connecticut, which met their fiscal year 1998 
adjusted work targets of 33 percent and 67 percent, 
respectively, Delaware, Nebraska, Rhode island, and Virginia, 
which failed their adjusted targets, which averaged 52 percent, 
and South Dakota, which reported no two-parent cases in fiscal 
year 1998. States that failed their minimum work participation 
rates are subject to a penalty (for first year's failure, loss 
of 5 percent of the TANF Block Grant, for second year's 
failure, 7 percent of the grant, with the penalty based on 
``the degree of noncompliance''), and under the law they must 
spend from State funds an amount equal to their penalties; 
finally, their required State MOE requirement is increased to 
80 percent of its historic level. Penalties for failure to meet 
fiscal year 1998 two-parent work rates are shown in table 7-22. 
The law permits States that fail to achieve work rates to 
submit a corrective action plan or appeal the penalty on 
grounds of reasonable cause. In addition to the four named 
above, the jurisdictions that failed their fiscal year 1998 
two-parent family work requirement were Alaska, Arkansas, 
District of Columbia, Guam, Minnesota, New Mexico, North 
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. 
In final TANF regulations, DHHS said States that offered TANF 
to noncustodial parents could choose whether to include them in 
calculating work participation rates of two-parent families. In 
fiscal year 1997, 16 States had failed the two-parent work 
requirements. Penalties were imposed on 2 States, and the other 
14 States entered into ``corrective compliance'' plans.\6\ The 
National Council of State Human Services Administrators on 
March 9, 1999,

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\ A corrective compliance plan must include an analysis of why 
the State failed the requirement and describe how, and by what time, it 
will discontinue the violation. A DHHS official said that if penalized 
States moved two-parent families into separate State programs, they 
would be required to achieve specified work rates for these families in 
accordance with a corrective compliance plan in order to have the 
penalty waived on grounds of corrective compliance.

                                              TABLE 7-21.--TANF WORK PARTICIPATION RATES, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                                                      [In percent]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Overall rate                                           Two-person rate
                                       -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                              Two-parent
                 State                   Caseload    Adjusted   Participation               Caseload    Adjusted   Participation               cases in
                                         reduction    target    rate achieved  Met target   reduction    target    rate achieved  Met target   caseload
                                          credit                                             credit                                            (percent)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...............................        25.0         5.0          38.9          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\1\)
Alaska................................         3.2        26.8          42.5          yes         6.4        68.6          36.8           no        14.7
Arizona...............................        21.3         8.7          30.2          yes        21.3        53.7          76.6          yes         1.8
Arkansas..............................        13.4        16.6          19.4          yes        17.2        57.8          20.3           no         1.0

California............................        12.3        17.7          36.6          yes        42.3        32.7          36.2          yes        17.3
Colorado..............................        22.5         7.5          28.7          yes        59.9        15.1          25.7          yes         1.0
Connecticut...........................         8.5        21.5          41.4          yes         8.5        66.5          73.2          yes         6.3
Delaware..............................        20.6         9.4          26.2          yes        20.6        54.4          23.7           no         1.9

District of Columbia..................         9.9        20.1          22.8          yes        44.9        30.1          22.5           no         0.5
Florida...............................        24.2         5.8          34.5          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\1\)
Georgia...............................        23.9         6.1          29.3          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\1\)
Guam..................................         0.0        30.0          12.4           no         0.0        75.0          13.8           no         8.1

Hawaii................................         1.9        28.1          30.0          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\1\)
Idaho.................................        25.8         4.2          28.6          yes        77.0         0.0          22.5          yes         2.4
Illinois..............................        16.4        13.6          37.7          yes        30.0        45.0          77.7          yes         4.3
Indiana...............................        31.9         0.0          29.9          yes        54.9        20.1          32.8          yes         2.2

Iowa..................................        20.9         9.1          56.9          yes        23.6        51.4          53.6          yes         9.1
Kansas................................        28.1         1.9          41.3          yes        51.8        23.2          44.2          yes           4
Kentucky..............................        13.7        16.3          38.3          yes        37.5        37.5          51.6          yes         3.6
Louisiana.............................        28.0         2.0          29.2          yes        77.1         0.0          38.1          yes         0.3

Maine.................................        14.9        15.1          45.6          yes        39.7        35.3          49.9          yes         6.2
Maryland..............................        26.9         3.1          12.7          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\1\)
Massachusetts.........................        22.7         7.3          29.0          yes        30.4        44.6          73.3          yes         3.1
Michigan..............................        24.8         5.2          49.2          yes        36.6        38.4          63.9          yes         9.6

Minnesota.............................        13.0        17.0          30.6          yes        32.5        42.5          30.8           no         6.2
Mississippi...........................        26.3         3.7          25.2          yes        73.8         1.2          70.4          yes         0.0
Missouri..............................        19.6        10.4          24.1          yes        79.7         0.0          34.9          yes         0.7
Montana...............................        22.8         7.2          78.3          yes        22.8        52.2          86.4          yes        10.9

Nebraska..............................         9.4        20.6          36.2          yes        21.9        53.1          39.5           no         4.4
Nevada................................        24.0         6.0          34.5          yes        43.3        31.7          58.7          yes         1.9
New Hampshire.........................        24.5         5.5          37.3          yes        73.4         1.6          44.6          yes         0.9
New Jersey............................        15.3        14.7          26.5          yes       (\1\)       (\1\)         (\1\)        (\1\)       (\2\)

New Mexico............................        21.5         8.5          15.9          yes        39.4        35.6          16.8           no         3.2
New York..............................        15.0        15.0          37.5          yes        36.5        38.5          58.8          Yes         3.2
North Carolina........................        20.0        10.0          14.5          yes        20.0        55.0          30.9           no         2.5
North Dakota..........................        19.3        10.7          31.5          yes       (\2\)       (\2\)         (\2\)        (\2\)       (\2\)

Ohio..................................        18.4        11.6          44.9          yes        25.8        49.2          51.5          yes         6.6
Oklahoma..............................        32.3         0.0          36.2          yes        70.8         4.2          31.4          yes         0.4
Oregon................................        38.7         0.0          98.2          yes        65.2         9.8          95.2          yes         4.1
Pennsylvania..........................        20.1         9.9          19.3          yes        48.7        26.3          21.8           no         2.6

Puerto Rico...........................        12.9        17.1           6.8           no       (\2\)       (\2\)         (\2\)        (\2\)       (\2\)
Rhode Island..........................        10.7        19.3          27.5          yes        23.9        51.1          32.4           no         2.4
South Carolina........................        11.0        19.0          42.7          yes        26.5        48.5          60.9          yes         0.5
South Dakota..........................        18.8        11.2          39.2          yes       (\2\)       (\2\)         (\2\)        (\2\)       (\2\)

Tennessee.............................        28.0         2.0          43.2          yes        70.4         4.6          39.1          yes         0.7
Texas.................................        24.8         5.2          25.2          yes        27.1        47.9          44.3           no         8.9
Utah..................................        27.5         2.5          39.8          yes        27.5        47.5          49.7          yes         1.3
Vermont...............................       (\3\)       (\3\)         (\3\)        (\3\)       (\3\)       (\3\)         (\3\)        (\3\)       (\3\)

Virginia..............................        23.2         6.8          27.5          yes        23.2        51.8          26.5           no         1.1
Virgin Islands........................         2.3        27.7          15.5           no       (\2\)       (\2\)         (\2\)        (\2\)       (\2\)
Washington............................         8.9        21.1          48.5          yes        22.8        52.2          45.5           no        12.8
West Virginia.........................        10.8        19.2          33.4          yes        28.2        46.8          37.2           no        11.2

Wisconsin.............................        46.3         0.0          64.0          yes        76.7         0.0          39.2          yes         3.6
Wyoming...............................        32.2         0.0          55.3          yes        70.1         4.9          65.8          yes        0.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Two-parent cases funded through separate State program.
\2\ No two-parent cases or program.
\3\ Not subject to participation rates as State claims waiver inconsistencies exempt all cases from participation rates.

Note.--The work participation rate standard before the application of the caseload reduction credit was 30 percent for the overall rate and 75 percent
  for the two-parent rate.

Source: Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


   TABLE 7-22.--PENALTIES FOR FAILING FISCAL YEAR 1998 TANF WORK PARTICIPATION RATE FOR TWO-PARENT FAMILIES (PROPORTIONAL REDUCTION BASED ON DEGREE OF
                                                                        FAILURE)
                                                           [Penalties in thousands of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       Percent of
                                                              Adjusted       Rate       adjusted       Base     Reduced for  Proportionally  Reduced for
                           State                              standard     achieved     standard     penalty     percent of      reduced      two-parent
                                                             (percent)    (percent)     achieved                    year         penalty      percentage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alaska....................................................         68.6         36.8         53.6     $2,893.1     $2,169.8       $1,005.8        $143.8
Arkansas..................................................         57.8         20.3         35.1      2,836.6      2,127.5        1,380.3          23.5
Delaware..................................................         54.4         23.7         43.6      1,453.1      1,453.1          820.0          29.5
District of Columbia......................................         30.1         21.9         72.8      1,853.1      1,853.1          504.8           1.5
Minnesota.................................................         42.5         30.8         72.5     12,844.7      9,633.5        2,652.1         251.9
Nebraska..................................................         53.1         39.5         74.4      1,168.7      1,168.7          299.3          19.5
New Mexico................................................         35.6         16.8         47.2      5,639.9      4,229.9        2,233.8         223.4
North Carolina............................................         55.0         30.9         56.2      5,804.3      5,804.3        2,543.3          35.6
Pennsylvania..............................................         26.3         21.8         82.9     33,324.8     33,324.8        5,702.0         256.6
Rhode Island..............................................         51.1         32.4         63.4      4,751.1      4,355.2        1,593.8          90.8
Texas.....................................................         47.9         44.3         92.5      9,146.8      9,146.8          687.4          38.5
Virginia..................................................         51.8         26.5         51.2      2,459.5      2,459.5        1,201.3          24.0
Washington................................................         52.2         45.5         87.2      7,740.8      7,740.8          993.6         103.3
West Virginia.............................................         46.8         39.2         83.8      1,856.0      1,856.0          301.4          34.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Office of Family Assistance, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

adopted a resolution calling on the administration and Congress 
to consider modifying the two-parent work rules. Effective in 
fiscal year 1999, the statutory two-parent work participation 
rate rose to 90 percent.
    DHHS reports that nationally, 35.4 percent of all Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families and 42.3 percent 
of two-parent TANF families were credited with work 
participation in fiscal year 1998. (This means that they 
engaged in creditable activities for the required hours.) 
Participation rates show participants as a percentage of all 
families with an adult recipient (excluding those exempt from 
work because of having a child under 1 or because of a pre-TANF 
waiver, and those under work-refusal sanction for less than 3 
months). Rates achieved varied widely: for the overall rate, 
from 12.7 percent in Maryland (and lower in Puerto Rico and 
Guam) to 98.2 percent in Oregon; for the two-parent rate, from 
16.8 percent in New Mexico (and 13 percent in Guam) to 95.2 
percent in Oregon.
Work activities
    Participants in work activities recognized in TANF law.--As 
noted earlier, TANF law lists 12 activities that are countable 
in determining whether a State has achieved the required work 
participation rate. Table 7-23 shows the number of persons 
(adults or teen parents) in all TANF families who were credited 
with work and their work activities in fiscal year 1998. 
Because some persons participated in more than one activity, a 
percentage breakdown is not possible by activity. However, 
unsubsidized employment was by far the leading activity. Out of 
699,573 families that met the overall work requirement, 490,837 
persons had unsubsidized jobs. In the all-family group, the 
next most popular work activities were job search, with 87,371 
participants, and work experience, with 83,376 persons. Three 
varieties of educational activities (vocational education, 
satisfactory school attendance, and education related to 
employment) accounted for 74,241 participants. Table 7-24 shows 
that a total of 61,208 two-parent families met the work 
participation standard in fiscal year 1998. Among them were 
68,236 adult family members who had unsubsidized jobs (in some 
families, both parents worked), 10,630 who performed job 
search, 8,057 who engaged in work experience, and 4,823 who 
undertook educational activities.
    In the JOBS Program for AFDC adults, education was the 
dominant work-related activity. In fiscal year 1995, 39.4 
percent of JOBS participants were engaged in educational 
activities (high school, general education degree, remedial 
education, English as a second language, or higher education). 
Another 7.8 percent were engaged in vocational training 
(Committee, 1998, p. 482). In contrast, under TANF, only 10.6 
percent of all adults, and 3.9 percent of those in two-parent 
families, who were credited with work during fiscal year 1998 
engaged in one of the three listed educational activities 
(vocational education, satisfactory school attendance, and 
education related to employment). A GAO official told a 
subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the 
Workforce in September, 1999, that under TANF ``education and 
vocational


                                               TABLE 7-23.--TANF WORK PARTICIPANTS \1\ FOR ALL-FAMILY CATEGORY BY WORK ACTIVITY, FISCAL YEAR 1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                 Average monthly number of persons engaged in work by work activity
                                                      Number of   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       State                        participating                                         On-the-                                     Job     Education  Satisfactory  Providing
                                                       families    Unsubsidized  Subsidized     Work        job      Job    Community  Vocational   skills   related to     school       child
                                                                    employment   employment  experience  training   search   service    education  training  employment   attendance      care
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...........................................        3,674         2,278          --          405        16       832        53         404        28         --           192          --
Alaska............................................        3,465         2,471           8           90        14       585       273         589        --         --            46          --
Arizona...........................................        7,278         6,662           3          742         6       748        88         528        54         21           104          --
Arkansas..........................................        1,384           453          26          125        94       433        22         250        --          9            39          10
California........................................      179,953       156,384        2118        1,639       308     9,959     5,048       4,498       338      1,563         1,630         924
Colorado..........................................        3,608         1,894         165          402        11       255       197       1,135        11         --            44          --
Connecticut.......................................       15,439        13,633          --          462        11     1,594        --         645        --         --            64          --
Delaware..........................................          924           882          --           --        --       108         1           4        --         --            --          --
District of Columbia..............................        3,685         3,174         432          347       122       854        51          59        21         29            --          --
Florida...........................................       19,854        14,990         136          438        --     1,174     1,251       1,287        55         50         2,421         193
Georgia...........................................       13,271         5,994         316        3,315        47     1,584       807       2,463        50          6           696          39
Guam..............................................          160            30          --           --        --        --       131          --        --         --            --          --
Hawaii............................................        3,449         2,425         113          917        38       787        37         338        --          6            --          --
Idaho.............................................          284           135           6           18         1       115         4          91        --          1             2          --
Illinois..........................................       45,747        33,295           4        4,558        --     7,215       155       2,823        --         --           849          --
Indiana...........................................        9,262         8,792           7          107        15       706        --         310        85        124           124          --
Iowa..............................................       10,585         9,848          --           84         1       165        14       1,530        --         --           168          --
Kansas............................................        3,222         2,063          --          733         5     1,148         4          40        55        154            --          --
Kentucky..........................................       12,931         7,090          --        3,227        54       265       267       2,650         1         --           243          --
Louisiana.........................................        8,754         5,305          51        2,244        17       305        --       1,855        --         23            23          --
Maine.............................................        5,068         2,813          --          222        13     2,073       720         275       122          2           300          14
Maryland..........................................        3,947         1,834          98          643        15     1,348        --         202        --         --            34          --
Massachusetts.....................................       12,479         7,773         405          125        --       621     1,420         639       720        218           992          44
Michigan..........................................       43,470        40,917          86           --        88     3,013        16         272        35         50           782          --
Minnesota.........................................       11,296         8,514           1           23        --     2,312        44       1,071         5         80         1,476           1
Mississippi.......................................        3,018         1,789         177          492         1       590       203         264         1          6             2          --
Missouri..........................................        6,521         3,195         218        1,329        28     1,189        --          --       864        622           215          --
Montana...........................................        3,417           762          --        1,912        --     3,030        18         480        --         --            42          --
Nebraska..........................................        3,218         2,052          --           14        20     1,481        27         109        83         --           204          --
Nevada............................................        1,810         1,454          16           30        --       163       142         196         4         --            11          --
New Hampshire.....................................        1,188           858          --           57         3       166        --         123        64         --           123          --
New Jersey........................................       14,276         5,570          --        7,172        40     2,060         7       1,948        58        436           192          10
New Mexico........................................        2,801         2,503          28          187        --        14        79          43        13         --            13          --
New York..........................................       83,781        39,020         851       25,568       178     4,514    10,151      10,306       177         39           169          --
North Carolina....................................        5,297         3,972         176          436        --       260        --       1,263        --         --           106          --
North Dakota......................................          550           281          --          175         1        43        33          78         4         15             1          --
Ohio..............................................       42,023        24,211         278       13,667         9     6,434        --       5,356        --         10         1,677          --
Oklahoma..........................................        5,425         2,718          20          505         6       928        --       1,249        --         --            --          --
Oregon............................................        1,479           727         174          174         8       494        --          --        57         62           133          --
Pennsylvania......................................       17,735        13,937          --          110        10     3,518        --       1,160        --         16            52          --
Puerto Rico.......................................           75            30          --           --        --        45        --          --        --         --            --          --
Rhode Island......................................        3,996         2,682         101          141         3       392        --       1,011        --         26            13          --
South Carolina....................................        5,067         4,249          14          198        26       909        12         140        82         12            47          --
South Dakota......................................          890           246          --           --        24       190       461          73        13         52             3          --
Tennessee.........................................       11,698         6,629          --          222     2,012     2,382        --       1,635        --         --         1,046          --
Texas.............................................        7,484         3,289          27        1,033        53     3,320         1         333        --        691           465          --
Utah..............................................        3,654         2,463          --           --         3     1,606        --          --       194         50           258          --
Vermont...........................................        1,702         1,224          47           89        10       433        --         253        16         --            80          --
Virginia Islands..................................          146            16           1           39        19        62         5          28         9         26            22          23
Virginia..........................................        8,218         7,196           9          513        83     1,913        --          23       133         62             9          --
Washington........................................       28,444        16,247          58          776       379     9,610     5,659       2,603       536        551         1,144         332
West Virginia.....................................        4,756         1,140         123        2,665       108       568       372         179        56         12            73           8
Wisconsin.........................................        7,473         2,649          25        4,915         4     2,760       703           7     1,226         --            --          --
Wyoming...........................................          242            79           5           91         1        98         2          65         2         --             5          --
                                                   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................................      699,573       490,837       6,323       83,376     3,905    87,371    28,478      52,883     5,172      5,024        16,334       1,598
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Excludes waiver operations.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1999, table 3:5).


                                            TABLE 7-24.--TANF WORK PARTICIPANTS \1\ FOR TWO-PARENT FAMILY CATEGORY BY WORK ACTIVITY, FISCAL YEAR 1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                 Average monthly number of persons engaged in work by work activity
                                                      Number of   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       State                        participating                                         On-the-                                     Job     Education  Satisfactory  Providing
                                                       families    Unsubsidized  Subsidized     Work        job      Job    Community  Vocational   skills   related to     school       child
                                                                    employment   employment  experience  training   search   service    education  training  employment   attendance      care
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...........................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Alaska............................................          525           555          --           15         2       197       100         107        --         --             5          --
Arizona...........................................          211           291          --           52        --       110         9          12         1          2             4          --
Arkansas..........................................           23            14          --            4         5         9         1           9         1         --            --          --

California........................................       29,597        38,452         706          244       109     1,495        47         445        36        906           141           7
Colorado..........................................          184           181          13           19        --        59         4          75        --         --             6          --
Connecticut.......................................        1,603         1,835          --          332        --       438        --         260        --         10            28          --
Delaware..........................................           13            15          --           --        --         2        --          --        --         --            --          --

District of Columbia..............................           38            51          12            1         1         7        --           1         1         --            --          --
Florida...........................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Georgia...........................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Guam..............................................           18            12          --           --        --        --        15          --        --         --            --          --

Hawaii............................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Idaho.............................................           31            18           1            1        --        18        --          35        --         --            --
Illinois..........................................        3,937         3,756           4        1,039        --       480        80         151         7         --            89          --
Indiana...........................................          280           372          --            4         1        25        --           3         4          5             5          --

Iowa..............................................          932         1,445          --           14        --        38         4         147        --         --            23          --
Kansas............................................          218           215          --           73        --       178        --           4         5         18            --          --
Kentucky..........................................          569           426          --          348         5         4         9          80        --         --             4          --
Louisiana.........................................          117           132          --           34        --         6        --          19        --          1            --          --

Maine.............................................          317           236          --           10         1       268       118          14        10         --            24          --
Maryland..........................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Massachusetts.....................................          397           441          13           --        --        16       157          --        --         14            16           3
Michigan..........................................        3,156         3,989          16           --         9       487        11          29        --         27            38          --

Minnesota.........................................        1,320         1,690          --            8        --       407         4          81         1         54            95          --
Mississippi.......................................            2             2          --            1        --        --         1           1        --         --            --          --
Missouri..........................................           52            44           3           16        --        48        --          --         2          4            --          --
Montana...........................................          685           223          --        1,059        --     1,152         2          55        --         --            19          --

Nebraska..........................................          257           352          --            2        --       195        --           5        35         --            71          --
Nevada............................................          134           169           1            4        --        36        20          11         2         --             2           1
New Hampshire.....................................           20            19          --            5         1        14        --          --         5         --             5          --
New Jersey........................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --

New Mexico........................................          399           486          --           39        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
New York..........................................        5,576         4,196          --        1,735        --       297     1,199         171        --         50            --          --
North Carolina....................................          188           196          16            6        --        24        --          27        --         --            --          --
North Dakota......................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --

Ohio..............................................        3,324         2,732          41        1,784        --       875        --         335        --         29           115          10
Oklahoma..........................................           18             9          --            7        --         8        --           6        --         --            --          --
Oregon............................................          137           105          17           12         1       100        --          --         9         30            11          --
Pennsylvania......................................          315           421          --            5         1        86        --          15        --         --             1          --

Puerto Rico.......................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Rhode Island......................................          369           358           8           11         1       118        --          20        --          5             2          --
South Carolina....................................          147           155          --            2        --        32        --           1         2         --             1          --
South Dakota......................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --

Tennessee.........................................           72            46          --            5        13        27        --          15        --         --            13          --
Texas.............................................          764           431           1          218         3       617        --          24        --          1            14          --
Utah..............................................           21            27          --           --        --        15        --          --        --         --             2          --
Vermont...........................................          216           236          16           12         3        74        --           6         2         --            11          --

Virginia..........................................          213           255          --           21         2       105        --           1         3          7            --          --
Virgin Islands....................................           --            --          --           --        --        --        --          --        --         --            --          --
Washington........................................        3,693         3,183          --          236        --     2,350     1,628         359        --        274            71         274
West Virginia.....................................        1,032           397          38          625        13       163        90          14        --          4            28           8

Wisconsin.........................................           86            67          --           53        --        48        11          --        19         --            --          --
Wyoming...........................................            2             1          --            1        --         2        --          --        --         --            --          --
                                                   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total.........................................       61,208        68,236         908        8,057       171    10,630     3,510       2,538       145      1,441           844         303
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Excludes waiver operations.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data in U.S. Department, 1999, table 3:6.


training are largely reserved for those who need it to get or 
keep a job or to advance on a career ladder.'' (Fagnoni, 1999).
    Work or job preparation activities.--Tables 7-23 and 7-24 
provide data on official work participation rates. They show 
the number of TANF adults who engaged in 1 of 12 work 
activities listed in the law for the required hours and hence 
were counted in calculating the State's work participation 
rate. A broader measure of work and work-related activity is 
shown in the next two tables; namely, the proportion of adults 
reported to be engaged in some form of work or job preparation 
activity at least 1 hour weekly. As table 7-25 shows, by this 
measure work activity has increased under TANF from that 
reported under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). 
The percent of AFDC/TANF adults who were employed, engaged in 
subsidized work, engaged in job search, or engaged in 
educational activities rose in each category from fiscal year 
1994 through fiscal year 1998. Especially sharp gains are shown 
for rates of actual employment: the unsubsidized employment 
rate was up 175 percent from 1994 to 1998, and the subsidized 
employment rate was up 292 percent. Table 7-26 provides this 
information by State for fiscal year 1998. The categories for 
reporting activities were different under AFDC than they are 
under TANF; categories were collapsed to make them as 
comparable as possible. However, some of the trends might be 
affected by changes in the way work or job preparation 
activities were reported.

   TABLE 7-25.--PERCENT OF AFDC/TANF ADULTS ENGAGED IN WORK OR JOB PREPARATION ACTIVITY, FISCAL YEARS 1994-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                       1994     1995     1996     1997     1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some activity......................................................     19.2     20.4     22.4     24.7     35.3
Unsubsidized employment............................................      8.3      9.3     11.3     13.3     22.8
Subsidized employment..............................................      1.4      1.2      1.7      2.4      5.5
Job search.........................................................      4.0      4.1      4.7      5.3      5.1
Education..........................................................      3.6      3.9      3.5      3.0      5.0
Other \1\..........................................................      2.7      2.8      2.4      2.3      1.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes activities that States conduct under pre-TANF waivers from AFDC/JOBS rules.

Source: Congressional Research Service tabulations of the fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample and
  fiscal year 1994-97 AFDC-QC files.


    Employment of adult recipients.--Under TANF, there has been 
a sharp rise in the incidence of welfare and work. In fiscal 
year 1979, before Congress sharply limited a financial work 
incentive,\7\ about one in seven AFDC adults reported 
employment. Thereafter, as shown by chart 7-4, employment rates 
sank. During the 1980s through 1995, fewer than 1 in 10 AFDC 
adults worked. But in 1996, when several States began their own 
reforms under waivers from AFDC rules, the proportion increased 
to 11.3 percent. And in fiscal year 1998, the first full year 
of TANF, the share jumped sharply. That year 22.8 percent of 
all TANF adults were reported to be employed in unsubsidized 
jobs at least 1 hour weekly. In some States it soared above 
one-third, or higher (see table 7-26). The employment measures 
in chart 7-4 differ from official work participation rates of 
TANF law. To be counted as a TANF work participant in fiscal 
year 1998, a recipient in fiscal year 1998 had to work an 
average of 20 hours weekly (more in a two-parent family). In 
fiscal year 1998, 23.8 percent of TANF adults with unsubsidized 
jobs averaged fewer than 20 hours weekly of work (7.6 percent, 
fewer than 10 hours).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \7\ The work incentive was a requirement that in computing 
recipients' benefits, States disregard the first $30 earned monthly 
plus one-third of all remaining earnings, without time limit. The 
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 limited the $30 and one-third 
work reward to the first 4 months of a job, reduced the reward to $30 
in months 8-12, and ended it thereafter. Generally, after 4 months, a 
family's AFDC benefit was reduced dollar-for-dollar for all ``net'' 
earnings (gross earnings minus a standard work expense allowance and 
actual child care costs up to statutory maximums) above $30.

      TABLE 7-26.--PERCENT OF TANF ADULTS ENGAGED IN WORK OR JOB PREPARATION ACTIVITY,\1\ FISCAL YEAR 1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                    In at
                     State                        least one  Unsubsidized  Subsidized    Job   Education   Other
                                                  activity    employment      work     search
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama........................................        32.8         20.2        3.6       6.5       6.2      0.0
Alaska.........................................        45.3         29.7        4.9      10.6       6.5      0.0
Arizona........................................        43.7         38.5        4.2       4.5       4.1      0.0
Arkansas.......................................        34.2          8.4        5.0      10.3      10.0      2.1
California.....................................        36.0         28.0        1.6       2.6       3.5      0.7
Colorado.......................................        31.6         16.1        6.3       2.7      10.0      0.0
Connecticut....................................        54.5         48.9        1.5       4.2       2.7      0.2
Delaware.......................................        26.8         22.3        0.1       6.0       0.1      0.0
District of Columbia...........................        18.8         16.2        3.1       3.0       0.6      0.1
Florida........................................        40.6         28.5        4.9       2.8       7.3      0.0
Georgia........................................        30.3         12.0       12.2       3.3       6.9      0.0
Hawaii.........................................        32.1         24.2        7.3       5.5       2.4      0.0
Idaho..........................................        62.7         17.5        5.2      24.3      18.0     14.7
Illinois.......................................        36.2         26.4        3.5       4.9       3.4      0.1
Indiana........................................        36.9         33.4        0.8       3.4       2.7      0.0
Iowa...........................................        59.4         52.4        0.9       1.5      11.5      0.0
Kansas.........................................        46.4         25.2       10.0      17.3       5.0      0.0
Kentucky.......................................        32.9         16.2        9.8       0.4       6.5      1.6
Louisiana......................................        32.3         17.7        8.9       1.7       8.0      0.0
Maine..........................................        47.4         25.5        8.9      16.0       8.4      0.0
Maryland.......................................        21.8          7.2        3.4      10.6       1.7      0.0
Massachusetts..................................        35.6         20.8        4.8       1.6       9.6      0.0
Michigan.......................................        49.4         44.4        0.2       5.6       1.2      0.0
Minnesota......................................        45.8         31.7        0.5      11.0       8.5      2.0
Mississippi....................................        34.3         18.8        9.7       6.5       4.1      0.8
Missouri.......................................        24.5          7.6        4.4       2.8       5.1     12.4
Montana........................................        82.9         15.6       38.9      71.3      12.7      0.0
Nebraska.......................................        56.5         25.5        0.7      19.7      10.2     15.9
Nevada.........................................        36.5         22.3        3.5       6.6       5.5      3.4
New Hampshire..................................        45.3         23.2        1.4       7.9       9.6     14.8
New Jersey.....................................        31.0         10.9       14.7       6.2       5.4      0.0
New Mexico.....................................        16.9         14.7        1.7       0.1       0.7      0.1
New York.......................................        30.6         14.2       12.7       1.7       4.5      0.0
North Carolina.................................        18.5         10.6        2.0       1.1       6.9      0.0
North Dakota...................................        33.8         15.3       11.6       5.9       4.9      0.5
Ohio...........................................        49.1         26.0       14.0       7.2       8.1      6.7
Oklahoma.......................................        41.9         19.1        3.9       9.5       9.3      0.0
Oregon.........................................        54.6          8.5        5.3      13.3      10.1     32.0
Pennsylvania...................................        29.5         22.2        0.1       5.5       2.9      0.3
Rhode Island...................................        34.6         23.5        1.5       2.6       9.6      0.0
South Carolina.................................        44.4         28.3        1.8       9.3      10.7      0.0
South Dakota...................................        48.2         11.6       21.5       8.9       8.7      6.3
Tennessee......................................        40.6         20.3        5.7       8.0      15.7      0.0
Texas..........................................        10.2          3.4        0.9       4.2       2.2      2.6
Utah...........................................        53.3         26.4        0.0      25.3      11.5      2.0
Vermont........................................        43.5         26.8        2.4      10.9      11.5      0.0
Virginia.......................................        31.3         21.6        2.7      11.6       0.8      0.0
Washington.....................................        55.9         27.8       14.9      18.7       8.6      1.0
West Virginia..................................        30.8          6.9       18.3       3.6       4.4      0.0
Wisconsin......................................        75.9         23.1       56.1      25.0      14.1      0.0
Wyoming........................................        46.6         13.8       14.9      21.2      10.6      3.7
Guam...........................................         5.0          2.4        2.6       0.0       0.0      0.0
Puerto Rico....................................         2.7          1.1        0.0       1.6       0.0      0.0
Virgin Islands.................................        42.9          0.0       12.9      15.7      22.1      2.3
                                                ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Total......................................        35.8         22.8        5.7       5.1       5.0     1.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Includes activities that States may conduct under pre-TANF waivers from AFDC/JOBS rules.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service tabulations of the fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF
  Data Report sample.


    Under TANF, both States and recipients have a greater 
incentive to report work than they did under AFDC. Most States 
have increased the reward to recipients' work. Because failure 
to achieve work participation rates now carries the threat of 
fiscal penalties, States also have a stronger incentive to 
report recipients' work. Thus, some of the increase in the 
reported employment rate may be due to increased reporting.
    Federal AFDC law stipulated what income had to be counted 
when determining AFDC eligibility and benefits. For applicants 
and recipients, the law from 1988 to 1996 set these rules: 
States were required to deduct both the first $90 monthly of 
earnings as a standard work expense allowance and actual child 
care expenses up to statutory maximums of $200 per child under 
age 2 or $175 per older child. For recipients only, AFDC also 
had a time-limited work reward, taken after the work expense 
deduction. The reward was to disregard $30 of earnings plus 
one-third of remaining earnings for the first 4 months of work 
and $30 per month for months 5-12 on a job.
    TANF has no Federal rules about treatment of earnings. More 
than three-fourths of TANF jurisdictions have raised earnings 
disregards from those that existed under AFDC. The new 
disregards permit recipients to keep more of their benefits as 
their earnings increase. They also permit recipients to stay on 
TANF at higher earnings levels than AFDC; that is, they raise 
the exit point from welfare (and the entrance point, unless a 
State treats the earnings of an applicant less generously than 
those of a recipient as many do).

CHART 7-4. PERCENT OF AFDC/TANF ADULTS EMPLOYED, SELECTED YEARS 1979-98


    Source: Chart prepared by the Congressional Research 
Service, on the basis of data tabulations from the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services studies of 
characteristics of AFDC families (1979-88), quality control 
data tapes (1994-97), and the fiscal year 1998 Emergency 
Temporary TANF Data Report.


    On average, the fiscal year 1998 employment rate for TANF 
adults in the 41 States with increased earnings disregards was 
much higher than in States that retained AFDC earnings 
disregards. Chart 7-5 shows that in fiscal year 1998, 25.5 
percent of TANF adults in the States that raised their earnings 
disregards were employed. In contrast, 10.8 percent of TANF 
adults in the 13 jurisdictions that retained AFDC earnings 
disregards that year were employed.
    Although average employment rates of TANF adults were 
higher in the States that liberalized treatment of earnings 
than in those that did not, there was considerable variation by 
State. Further, the low group average for States that kept AFDC 
rules was strongly affected by the 3.9 percent rate in Texas, 
which has the Nation's fourth largest TANF caseload. Also, 
although Delaware and Colorado retained AFDC earnings 
disregards, they also continued to operate ``fill-the-gap'' 
kinds of programs, which provide another form of work 
incentive. Under ``fill-the-gap'' programs, recipients are able 
to use earnings and/or child support payments to fill all or 
part of the income gap between the amount needed by the family, 
according to State standards, and the benefit amount actually 
paid by the State. Therefore, a dollar increase in earnings 
does not necessarily mean a dollar decrease in benefits in 
fill-the-gap States.

   CHART 7-5. EMPLOYMENT RATES FOR TANF ADULTS IN STATES THAT RAISED 
      EARNINGS DISREGARDS AND THOSE THAT DID NOT, FISCAL YEAR 1998


    Source: Congressional Research Service tabulations of the 
fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample and July 
1998 CRS Survey of States regarding TANF financial eligibility 
and benefit rules.


Average AFDC/TANF benefits and earnings
    From fiscal year 1994 through fiscal year 1997, as the 
employment rate increased, average earnings also increased 
slightly, as shown in chart 7-6. However, declines in the 
average cash AFDC benefit offset those earnings increases so 
that the total (cash benefit plus earnings) remained relatively 
flat over these years. In fiscal year 1998, earnings jumped, as 
did the employment rate, and national average cash benefits 
also rose slightly, even though, as table 7-6 showed, average 
benefits in most States declined. Over the 4-year period, 
average benefits plus average earnings (including zero earnings 
for nonworkers) rose by 15 percent, from $354 to $406.
    The increase in earnings and benefits could be at least 
partially explained by changes in State treatment of earnings. 
As noted before, under AFDC benefits generally were reduced one 
dollar for each one dollar of extra earnings after a short 
period of work. By contrast, under TANF most States permit 
recipients to keep more of their benefits as earnings increase.
    The TANF Data Report provides no information about an 
important source of potential income for parents who combine 
TANF with earnings; namely, the earned income credit (EIC). In 
calendar year 1998, a family with one child could earn an EIC 
of up to $2,271; a family with two or more children could earn 
a credit of up to $3,756. Further, according to the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Medicaid and 
food stamps were received in fiscal year 1998 by 98.1 percent 
and 83.5 percent of TANF families, respectively (U.S. 
Department, 1999, table 9:8, p. 85).

CHART 7-6. AVERAGE MONTHLY AFDC/TANF BENEFIT AND EARNINGS, FISCAL YEARS 
                                1994-98


    Source: Congressional Research Service tabulations of the 
fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report file and the fiscal 
year 1994-97 (first three quarters) AFDC-QC data file. Data are 
missing for California and Minnesota.


                 CHARACTERISTICS OF AFDC/TANF FAMILIES

                    Composition of Families, 1969-98

    Since 1969, the proportion of welfare families with no 
adult recipient (child-only families) has more than doubled to 
24 percent, and the average size of families has declined to 
2.8 persons. Between 1969 and 1996, the latest year with 
available data, the proportion of AFDC/TANF families who live 
with nonrecipients increased from one-third to one-half (see 
table 7-27). The share of AFDC/TANF recipients who are teenage 
parents dropped from 2.4 percent in 1994 to 1.6 percent in 
1998.
    The fiscal year 1998 column of the table shows 
circumstances in the first full year of TANF; the fiscal year 
1994 column shows circumstances when AFDC was at its historic 
peak. In this 4-year period, average family size did not 
change, the share of no-adult families rose sharply (while the 
share with single parents or two parents declined), and the 
share whose youngest child was 6 or older increased. The 
increase from 1994 in the share of TANF families that were 
child-only is not the result of an increase in the number of 
child-only families. The number of child-only families 
increased rapidly in the early 1990s (Blank, 1998), but the 
increase in the number leveled off in the mid-1990s, and in 
fiscal year 1998 was below the number of child-only families in 
fiscal year 1994. How-


                   TABLE 7-27.--COMPOSITION OF AFDC/TANF FAMILIES, SELECTED YEARS, 1969-98 \1\
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                               Fiscal   Fiscal   Fiscal   Fiscal
                                                              May     March     year     year     year     year
                                                              1969     1979     1988     1994     1996     1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of family members
    Average number of family members......................      4.0      3.0      3.0      2.8      2.8      2.8
Number of adult recipients (percent of all AFDC/TANF
 families) \1\
    One adult.............................................     78.4     78.9     81.2     74.4     70.7     68.7
    Two adults or more....................................     11.9      6.2      9.2      8.3      7.7      7.3
    No adults.............................................      9.6     14.9      9.6     17.3     21.5     24.0
Number of child recipients (percent of all AFDC/TANF
 families \2\
    One child.............................................     26.7     42.5     43.2     44.8     45.9     44.0
    Two children..........................................     23.1     28.0     30.7     30.0     29.9     29.7
    Three children........................................     17.6     15.5     16.1     15.6     15.0     15.7
    Four children or more.................................     32.6     13.9     10.7      9.6      9.2     10.6
Age of youngest child (percent of all AFDC/TANF families)
    Less than 6 years old.................................       NA     56.5     60.6     62.7     60.0     57.3
    6 years old and older.................................       NA     43.5     39.4     37.3     39.0     42.7
Average age of adult recipients...........................  \3\ 33.  \3\ 28.   \3\ 27     30.8     31.1     31.3
                                                                  1        7
Teen parents (percent of all AFDC/TANF recipients)........       NA      2.2      2.2      2.4      1.9      1.6
Percent of AFDC/TANF families in households with               33.1     40.2     36.8   \4\ 46   \4\ 50       NA
 nonrecipients............................................                                  .4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1984-88 tabulations exclude Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands because
  the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that 1998 data on no-adult families for these
  States were unreliable.
\2\ Rhode Island was excluded from 1994-98 tabulations of the percentage of families with a given number of
  child recipients because 1998 data were found unreliable.
\3\ Median age of mothers.
\4\ This item is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services series of studies on characteristics of
  AFDC families (U.S. Department, 1970, 1982, undated).

NA--Not available.

Note.--Data for 1969 are for May; data for 1979 are for March; the other columns are average monthly data for
  fiscal years.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Health
  and Human Services. For 1969, 1979, and 1988, data are from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  Series of Studies, Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of AFDC Families. Congressional Research
  Service tabulations of these data exclude ``unknowns.'' Unless otherwise indicated, for 1994, 1996, and 1998,
  data are from Congressional Research Service tabulations of the 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample and the
  AFDC-QC data file.


ever, as the caseload declined, the number of child-only 
families fell at a lower rate than the number of families with 
an adult.
    Table 7-27 shows that the share of AFDC/Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families with two or more 
adults, 7.3 percent in fiscal year 1998, was below the 8.3 
percent rate of fiscal year 1994. Under AFDC, a two-parent 
family could be served only if the second parent was disabled 
or was unemployed (defined as working fewer than 100 hours 
monthly) and had a work history. TANF ended those rules, and 
many States have used their new discretion to base two-parent 
eligibility on income, a change that increased potential 
caseloads. However, the reported trend in two-adult TANF 
families is affected by State decisions to place these families 
in separate State programs (SSPs) rather than TANF. By the 
start of fiscal year 2000, according to a DHHS official, the 
number of States that served two-parent families in SSPs had 
more than doubled from 6 in fiscal year 1998 to 13. As noted 
earlier, several States were penalized in fiscal years 1997 and 
1998 for failure to meet work participation rates for two-
parent families in the regular TANF Program.

                       Marital Status of Parents

    In fiscal year 1996, the last full year of AFDC, the 
marital status of their parents was known for about 8.5 million 
recipient children (data were missing or unclear for about 0.2 
million other children). In all, 5.1 million children, 60.4 
percent of the children with parental marital data, were living 
with a single parent who had not married the second parent; 2.2 
million (25.1 percent) were with a parent who was divorced or 
separated. Another 1.1 million (12.9 percent) were in two-
parent families and presumed married; finally, 140,000 children 
(1.6 percent) were living with a widowed parent (data from U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services, Characteristics and 
Financial Circumstances of AFDC Families, Fiscal Year 1996).
    The Emergency TANF Data Report for fiscal year 1998 covered 
6 million TANF children. Congressional Research Service (CRS) 
tabulations about the marital status of parents, however, 
exclude 0.6 million children from seven jurisdictions 
(Colorado, Georgia, Guam, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, 
and Texas). Moreover, for about 1 million children, data about 
the marital status of parents were missing or unknown. Thus, 
relevant data were available for 4.4 million children. 
Tabulations show that the parents of 2.6 million children (57.6 
percent of the children with available data) were never 
married; 1.4 million (31.7 percent) married; 0.4 million (9.9 
percent) divorced; and 0.04 million (0.8 percent) widowed.

                 Race and Ethnicity of AFDC/TANF Adults

    The majority of TANF adults are nonwhite (table 7-28). In 
fiscal year 1998, non-Hispanic whites accounted for slightly 
more than one in three TANF adults (35.8 percent). Nonwhites 
accounted for close to two-thirds of adults on TANF as follows: 
Non-Hispanic blacks, 37.3 percent; Hispanics, 20.1 percent; 
Native American/Alaska Natives, 1.6 percent; Asian/Oriental 
Pacific Islanders, 4.6 percent; and adults of other racial/
ethnic groups, 0.6 percent.
    Over the fiscal year 1994-98 period, nonwhites have 
increased as a percent of all TANF adults. In fiscal year 1994, 
non-Hispanic whites represented an estimated 40 percent of the 
AFDC caseload, but only an estimated 36 percent of the fiscal 
year 1998 TANF caseload. Non-Hispanic blacks grew as a share of 
the caseload every year except 1996 and increased their share 
over the period by 8 percent. Hispanics also grew as a share of 
the caseload until fiscal year 1998. Table 7-28 shows the trend 
in the racial/ethnic makeup of the national caseload from 
fiscal year 1994 to fiscal year 1998. Table 7-29 presents 
State-by-State data on the percentage of nonwhite AFDC/TANF 
adults over the same period.

TABLE 7-28.--RACIAL/ETHNIC COMPOSITION OF AFDC/TANF ADULTS, FISCAL YEARS
                                 1994-98
                              [In percent]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   1994    1995    1996    1997    1998
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-Hispanic white..............    41.4    39.4    39.7    37.5    35.8
Non-Hispanic black..............    34.5    35.2    34.5    35.2    37.3
Hispanic........................    19.1    20.1    20.3    22.2    20.1
Asian/Oriental Pacific Islander.     3.8       4     4.1       4     4.6
Native American.................     1.3     1.3     1.4     1.1     1.6
Other...........................      NR      NR      NR      NR     0.6
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NR--Data not reported.

Source: Congressional Research Service tabulations of the fiscal year
  1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample.



              TABLE 7-29.--PERCENTAGE OF AFDC/TANF ADULTS WHO ARE NONWHITE,\1\ FISCAL YEARS 1994-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               State                                   1994     1995     1996     1997     1998
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama............................................................     74.5     74.7     70.8     70.7     75.1
Alaska.............................................................     50.8     52.0     52.1      0.0     55.5
Arizona............................................................     55.9     59.8     58.4     63.5     64.4
Arkansas...........................................................     54.3     54.2     52.9     51.4     69.3
California.........................................................     68.8     68.9     62.1     69.3     67.7
Colorado...........................................................     55.5     54.7     55.9     65.9     56.1
Connecticut........................................................     65.4     68.0     67.2     69.2     68.3
Delaware...........................................................     67.5     68.9     70.1     64.3     70.2
District of Columbia...............................................     98.9     98.8     99.2     99.5     99.6
Florida............................................................     60.2     65.1     62.9     67.8     74.6
Georgia............................................................     75.9     74.3     72.8     77.5     81.3
Guam...............................................................     96.2     96.9     97.9     98.8     97.3
Hawaii.............................................................     73.7     76.8     75.1     82.4     82.1
Idaho..............................................................     15.8     17.5     12.9     12.0     12.3
Illinois...........................................................     65.3     65.7     68.3     68.8     73.0
Indiana............................................................     36.7     40.8     43.0     39.9     41.7
Iowa...............................................................     14.2     14.3     16.3     12.9     16.2
Kansas.............................................................     31.9     33.8     34.2     28.9     37.7
Kentucky...........................................................     19.1     16.8     19.4     21.2     20.9
Louisiana..........................................................     80.0     81.3     80.3     82.2     84.4
Maine..............................................................      4.2      2.7      2.2      2.8      4.5
Maryland...........................................................     73.6     71.4     76.1     78.6     80.4
Massachusetts......................................................     47.4     54.3     50.3     52.4     53.7
Michigan...........................................................     50.2     53.2     52.1     56.7     53.8
Minnesota..........................................................     36.3     40.5     42.3     44.4     48.1
Mississippi........................................................     82.9     81.5     86.5     84.3     86.3
Missouri...........................................................     41.7     43.7     47.4     50.0     52.6
Montana............................................................     29.1     31.3     37.4     39.3     48.9
Nebraska...........................................................     33.4     32.3     36.3     40.4     41.2
Nevada.............................................................     38.8     39.2     39.6     39.2     47.3
New Hampshire......................................................      1.4      3.5      3.3      3.7      6.2
New Jersey.........................................................     76.3     79.2     80.6     77.1     85.2
New Mexico.........................................................     75.3     78.2     73.6     74.5     75.6
New York...........................................................     71.8     73.4     76.3     72.7     77.5
North Carolina.....................................................     60.7     65.2     65.9     68.0     69.8
North Dakota.......................................................     40.7     39.9     43.3     52.5     57.7
Ohio...............................................................     38.3     42.6     43.5     40.7     49.6
Oklahoma...........................................................     43.4     40.8     42.7     46.3     49.7
Oregon.............................................................     17.0     16.3     16.6     21.4     18.7
Pennsylvania.......................................................     50.6     53.2     53.7     57.1     60.9
Puerto Rico........................................................     99.9    100.0     99.9    100.0    100.0
Rhode Island.......................................................     39.1     39.2     42.9     50.5     45.0
South Carolina.....................................................     72.7     73.2     71.3     76.3     74.6
South Dakota.......................................................     55.1     56.5     54.4     63.7     74.6
Tennessee..........................................................     49.3     50.9     55.1     54.5     66.5
Texas..............................................................     76.0     77.8     78.7     78.5     80.6
Utah...............................................................     24.0     20.0     22.4     22.4     27.4
Vermont............................................................      0.9      4.5      2.5      0.5      2.3
Virginia...........................................................     67.0     66.6     66.4     60.6     62.6
Virgin Islands.....................................................    100.0     98.3    100.0     97.7     98.2
Washington.........................................................     26.3     27.5     27.0     26.5     32.6
West Virginia......................................................      6.2      6.8      8.3      4.9      6.7
Wisconsin..........................................................     52.4     53.6     58.4     67.6     83.0
Wyoming............................................................     20.5     24.1     26.8     27.1     47.4
                                                                    --------------------------------------------
    Total..........................................................     58.6     60.6     60.3     62.5     64.2
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Defined in this table to include non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, Asian/Oriental Pacific Islanders, and
  Native Americans.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on fiscal year 1994-97 AFDC-QC files and
  tabulations of the fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample.


                 Educational Attainment of TANF Adults

    Tabulations of the March 1999 Current Population Survey 
show that TANF adults tend to have below-average schooling. In 
fiscal year 1998, 47 percent of TANF adults did not have at 
least 12 years of school or an educational credential. This 
compares with 15 percent of the total U.S. population aged 25-
64 without a high school degree in 1997.
    It is not possible to compare the educational attainment of 
TANF adults with those of AFDC adults because data are lacking. 
For fiscal years 1992-96, DHHS did not publish tables about 
adult years of education because the information was unknown 
for a high percentage of cases (``unknowns'' accounted for 50 
percent of the adults in 1991, the last year with published 
data).

                  Living Arrangements of TANF Children

    Tabulations of the AFDC Quality Control data file by CRS 
show that in fiscal year 1994, about 1.5 million out of 9.8 
million AFDC children lived in families with no adult recipient 
(``child-only'' families). By law, their adult caretakers had 
to be relatives, but it is not known whether they were parents, 
grandparents, aunts, or other relatives. It is presumed that 
most were themselves ineligible for AFDC because they were 
recipients of SSI, illegal aliens, or nonneedy persons, for 
instance. However, some may have chosen not to join welfare, 
even though eligible.
    The proportion of welfare children living in families with 
no adult recipient climbed from 15 percent in fiscal year 1994 
to 20.8 percent in fiscal year 1998 (Emergency TANF data report 
sample file), and the share of child-only AFDC/TANF families 
made a corresponding increase, from 17.3 percent in 1994 to 24 
percent in 1998 (table 7-27). More than 7 out of 10 children 
(71.8 percent) lived with a single parent in 1998, and fewer 
than one in 10 (7.4 percent) lived with two parents.
    Analysis of the Emergency TANF Data Report sample file for 
fiscal year 1998 provides information about family 
relationships. Table 7-30 shows that of children in families 
without an adult recipient 63 percent were in their parent's 
household, 24.3 percent were with a grandparent, 9.7 percent 
were in the household of another relative, and 3.1 percent were 
with a stepparent or an unrelated household head. Among all 
family types, 90.3 percent of


             TABLE 7-30.--CHILD'S RELATIONSHIP TO HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD BY FAMILY TYPE, FISCAL YEAR 1998
                                                  [In percent]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                  Family type
                                                             ---------------------------------------------------
             Child's relationship to family head                 Single-                                  All
                                                                 parent     Two-parent   Child-only    families
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Child.......................................................         97.4         98.8         63.0         90.3
Grandchild..................................................          1.6          0.4         24.3          6.2
Other related...............................................          0.6          0.3          9.7          2.5
Stepchild or unrelated child................................          0.5          0.6          3.1         1.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note.--Excludes data for Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, the Virgin Islands, West Virginia, and
  Wisconsin.

Source: Congressional Research Service tabulations of the fiscal year 1998 Emergency TANF Data Report sample
  file.


TANF children lived with a parent, 6.2 percent with a 
grandparent, 2.5 percent with another relative, and 1.0 percent 
were with a stepparent or an unrelated household head.

                  WELFARE-TO-WORK (WTW) GRANT PROGRAM

    The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33) created 
a 2-year $3 billion WTW Grant Program to serve hard-to-employ 
welfare recipients and noncustodial parents. After set-asides, 
75 percent of WTW funds were designated for matching formula 
grants and 25 percent for competitive grants. For fiscal years 
1998 and 1999, available formula grants totaled $2.135 billion 
and competitive grants $712 million. States and localities have 
3 years from the award date in which to spend the funds. The 
original law set aside $100 million for performance bonuses, 
$30 million for Indian tribal grants, and $24 million for 
evaluations. Public Law 106-113 reduced the performance bonus 
amount to $50 million.
    Although WTW is a component of TANF (Sec. 403(a)(5) of the 
Social Security Act), it is administered by the U.S. Department 
of Labor (DOL) and not DHHS. Formula grants were allocated by 
DOL to States on the basis of their shares of the national 
adult TANF population and the poverty population. States are 
required to distribute 85 percent of the formula grants to 
local work force investment areas; at least half of the State's 
substate allocation formula must be based on the ``high 
poverty'' population \8\ of the work force investment area and 
the rest on its population of long-term welfare recipients and/
or unemployed persons. Competitive grants were awarded directly 
to local work force investment boards, other local government 
entities, and private entities that applied in conjunction with 
one of the former.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\ Defined as the number of persons in poverty in excess of 7.5 
percent of the area's total population.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    WTW funds are focused on hard-to-employ TANF recipients. As 
originally enacted, at least 70 percent of funds had to be used 
for the benefit of TANF recipients (and noncustodial parents) 
with at least two specified barriers to work who themselves (or 
whose minor children) were long-term recipients (30 months of 
AFDC/TANF benefits) or were within 12 months of reaching the 5-
year limit on federally funded TANF or a shorter State time 
limit. The target groups had to have at least two of these 
three work impediments: (1) lack a high school diploma and have 
low skills in reading or mathematics; (2) require substance 
abuse treatment for employment; or (3) have a poor work 
history. Remaining funds (up to 30 percent) had to be used for 
persons having characteristics associated with long-term 
welfare use. WTW eligibility was liberalized by Public Law 106-
113. Effective July 1, 2000, States may use WTW formula grant 
allotments and State matching funds on behalf of four new 
groups: (1) long-term TANF recipients without specified work 
barriers; (2) former foster care youths 18-24 years old; (3) 
TANF recipients who are determined by criteria of the local 
work force investment board to have significant barriers to 
self-sufficiency; and (4) non-TANF custodial parents with 
income below the poverty line. Not more than 30 percent of the 
funds may be used for the three latter new groups. The revised 
law also changed rules for noncustodial parents. Eligible under 
the new rules, provided they comply with an oral or written 
personal responsibility contract, are noncustodial parents who 
are unemployed, underemployed, or having difficulty paying 
child support if their minor children are eligible for or 
receive TANF benefits (with priority for those whose children 
are long-term recipients), received TANF during the preceding 
year, or are eligible for or receive certain other income-
tested benefits. The expanded eligibility rules took effect on 
January 1, 2000, for competitive grants. Federal expenditures 
from formula grants for the newly eligible groups may not be 
made until October 1, 2000, even though obligations may be 
incurred for them beginning July 1, 2000.
    Activities that may receive WTW funds are the conduct and 
administration of community service or work experience 
programs; job creation through wage subsidies; on-the-job 
training; contracts with providers of readiness, placement, and 
postemployment services; job vouchers for placement, readiness, 
and postemployment services; job retention or support services 
if these services are not otherwise available; and, added by 
Public Law 106-113, up to 6 months of vocational education or 
job training (however, vocational education or job training 
does not become an allowable formula grant activity until July 
1, 2000).
    As of September 30, 1999, $1.969 billion had been awarded 
to States in WTW formula grants for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, 
but States reported spending only $220 million of these funds 
(table 7-31). The table shows that six States did not 
participate in either year (Idaho, Mississippi, Ohio, South 
Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming) and that another three States 
(Arizona, Delaware, and North Dakota) did not participate in 
fiscal year 1999. Any funds not awarded to States revert to the 
Federal Treasury (Public Law 105-277). Over the 2 years, a 
cumulative total of 85,396 persons participated in the formula 
grant program. Two States, Pennsylvania and Oregon, accounted 
for 19 percent of all WTW formula grant participants, although 
their TANF caseloads represented only 5 percent of the national 
total.
    By the end of fiscal year 1999, all available competitive 
grant funds ($712 million) had been awarded to 189 entities. 
Competitive grant expenditures to that date totaled $76.3 
million and more than 23,000 persons had been served. The two 
most popular work activities planned by successful bidders for 
competitive grants were skills training (including on-the-job 
training) and job placement; job creation was least often 
mentioned. Child care, substance abuse treatment, and 
transportation services were about equally popular among 
supportive services (Devere, 2000).

                                          TABLE 7-31.--WELFARE-TO-WORK EXPENDITURES, FISCAL YEARS 1998 AND 1999
                                                                [In thousands of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Expenditures in fiscal      Expenditures in fiscal
                                                             Fiscal       Fiscal             year 1998                   year 1999
                                                           year 1998    year 1999  --------------------------------------------------------
                          State                              grant        grant                       State                       State     Participants
                                                           allotments   allotments     Federal       (match)       Federal       (match)
                                                                                    expenditures  expenditures  expenditures  expenditures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.................................................      $13,978      $13,017             0           $19          $153           $89           313
Alaska..................................................        2,927        2,709             0             0         1,120           862         2,328
Arizona \1\.............................................        9,000           NP             0             0           556           276           238
Arkansas................................................        8,490        7,932          $324             0         4,248         4,245         1,174

California \2\..........................................      190,417      177,228           998             0        39,464         3,723         7,359
Colorado................................................        9,879        9,214             2             0           843         6,412           342
Connecticut \1\.........................................       12,006       11,184             0             0         5,637         5,475         4,454
Delaware................................................        2,762           NP             0             0            31             0            84

District of Columbia....................................        4,646        4,327             0             0           173             0            43
Florida.................................................       50,757       47,414             0             0         1,774             0         1,173
Georgia.................................................       28,409       26,489           827             0        10,413             0         5,072
Guam....................................................          585          546             0             0           122             0           118

Hawaii..................................................        5,086        4,719            44         1,702         1,511         1,056           411
Idaho...................................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0
Illinois \2\............................................       48,663       45,324         4,332         4,247        18,612        42,746         6,985
Indiana.................................................       14,552       13,578           131             0         2,411         1,300           670

Iowa....................................................        8,332        7,779           103            87         3,352         1,110           556
Kansas..................................................        6,668        6,202            50            21         2,780           751           920
Kentucky................................................       17,723       16,521           108             0         2,748         1,842         1,791
Louisiana...............................................       23,707       22,113         1,126           128         9,322         4,319         3,403

Maine...................................................        5,156        4,804            35            18         1,062           811           393
Maryland................................................       14,941       13,915             1            19         1,178           681           285
Massachusetts...........................................       20,692       19,260         1,223             0         9,620         9,255         3,038
Michigan................................................       42,226       39,345             0             0             0             0             0

Minnesota \2\...........................................       14,503       13,537           443            46         7,444         1,966         3,742
Mississippi.............................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0
Missouri \2\............................................       19,767       18,432           872           436         9,961         4,980         3,296
Montana \2\.............................................        3,194        2,975           255           129         2,697         1,706           476

Nebraska \2\............................................        4,022        3,763           518           259         1,824           877           938
Nevada..................................................        3,384        3,174            43           291           494         1,139           194
New Hampshire...........................................        2,762        2,574             0             0           203            32            76
New Jersey \1\..........................................       23,527       21,709             0             0         2,133             0         1,197

New Mexico..............................................        9,716        9,059           108             0           440             0           197
New York................................................       96,886       90,324             0             0         4,522         1,208         1,570
North Carolina..........................................       25,332       23,634            54             0         6,903             0         1,500
North Dakota............................................        2,762           NP             0            37           219         1,174           497

Ohio....................................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0
Oklahoma................................................       11,742       10,920           119             0         3,647           211           779
Oregon..................................................        8,637        8,084             0             0         4,194        10,878         7,402
Pennsylvania............................................       44,296       41,358             0           462         6,965        14,877         8,777

Puerto Rico \1\.........................................       34,566       32,219             0             0         7,398         1,583         1,537
Rhode Island............................................        4,420        4,109            13             0           615             0           271
South Carolina \2\......................................       12,006       11,107         2,068           999         5,195         2,341         2,803
South Dakota............................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0

Tennessee...............................................       21,644       20,215           517           277         3,526         1,556         1,863
Texas...................................................       76,059       70,934             0             0         7,409             0         1,038
Utah....................................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0
Vermont.................................................        2,762        2,574             0            25           937           420           412

Virginia................................................       16,549       15,404             5             0         2,599           103           921
Virgin Islands \1\......................................          554          515             0             0           121            33            84
Washington..............................................       22,675       21,143             0             0         4,194         6,370         2,624
West Virginia \1\.......................................        9,805        9,143             0             0         4,108         2,640         1,628

Wisconsin...............................................       12,886       12,032             2             0         1,682           577           424
Wyoming.................................................           NP           NP             0             0             0             0             0
                                                         -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total...............................................    1,026,058      942,560        14,320         9,202       205,732       139,626        85,396
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ State did not report any data for fiscal year 1998.
\2\ These States are currently expending fiscal year 1998 and 1998 grant funds. Therefore, the expenditures for fiscal year 1999 reflect expenditures
  from fiscal year 1998 and 1999 grant funds.

NP--Not participating.

Note.--Reflects data current as of January 27, 2000.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on data from the U.S. Department of Labor.


    Data from DOL show that expenditures from formula grants 
for the more disadvantaged group (long-term welfare recipients 
with at least two of three specified work impediments) averaged 
$3,627 per participant in the last quarter of fiscal year 1999, 
more than double the average expenditures of $1,578 for other 
participants, those with characteristics associated with long-
term welfare enrollment. In the case of competitive grants, 
however, there was only a small difference in expenditures 
between the two groups ($3,191 compared with $2,806).
    Public Law 106-113 repealed the original WTW reporting 
provisions, which required specified data about participating 
families, and substituted a requirement that the Secretary of 
Labor, in consultation with the DHHS Secretary and others, 
establish data collection and reporting rules.

                            WELFARE DYNAMICS

                           Duration Findings

    Concern about long-term use of Aid to Families with 
Dependent Children (AFDC) was one of the reasons that Congress 
ended the program, named the replacement program Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and barred States from 
using TANF grants to pay unending benefits to a family. Studies 
of families' use of AFDC (Ellwood & Bane, 1985; Pavetti, 1995) 
had shown:
  --New enrollees could be expected to spend an average of 6 
        years, including repeat spells, on AFDC.
  --For families on AFDC at any given time, the average 
        expected length of AFDC receipt, counting repeat 
        spells, was 13 years.
  --Almost half of recipients on the rolls at a given time had 
        received benefits, counting repeat spells, for more 
        than 5 years.
  --Most episodes of AFDC enrollment were found to end within 
        12 months, but most families who exited AFDC came back 
        within 24 months.
  --Durations on AFDC were above average for never-married 
        parents, nonwhites, those with a child under 1, high 
        school dropouts, and those without recent work 
        experience.
    Final data for AFDC show that the median number of months 
of a family's most recent spell on the program rose from 24 
months in fiscal year 1996 to 26 months in fiscal year 1997. 
Further, the number of families continuously on the rolls for 
60 months or more climbed from 935,460 in fiscal year 1994 to 
1,019,175 in fiscal year 1996.\9\ In the same period the 
overall caseload declined by 10 percent, in part because fewer 
new families joined the rolls. More specifically, the number of 
new AFDC/TANF families fell from 293,510 in fiscal year 1994 to 
254,745 in fiscal year 1995, 240,731 in fiscal year 1996, and 
186,125 in fiscal year 1997.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ In fiscal year 1997 (AFDC/TANF transition year) the number of 
families continuously enrolled for at least 30 months declined to 
957,731.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Experience with TANF is too short, and data too limited, to 
tell whether duration of welfare spells is changing. The 
available data for fiscal year 1998 show a family's total time 
on the TANF Program only since the program began in a State and 
not time previously spent on AFDC.

                     Exits and Returns to AFDC/TANF

    Movement on and off the AFDC rolls was frequent. Based on 
monthly caseload data, work exits from AFDC generally accounted 
for slightly less than half of all exits within a 5-year 
period, and many who left 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 (Committee, 1998, pp. 532-35). A study using 
1979-93 data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 
concluded that, after adjusting for other attributes of the 
parent and family, the likelihood of leaving AFDC for at least 
2 years decreased with the length of time that women received 
benefits (Sandefur, 1998).
    Several recent State studies indicate that the percentage 
of returnees to welfare has dropped significantly under TANF 
(even before time limits would prevent their return). Table 7-
32 shows the share of leavers in a number of States who were 
back on the program 12 months after their exit. In some of the 
studies, the calculations cover all leavers, in others, only 
those who were off TANF for at least 1 month or for at least 2 
months (families sometimes regarded as ``churners''). Counting 
all leavers, the share back on TANF 1 year after exit ranged 
from 18 percent in Kansas to 24 percent in Maryland and 
Colorado. In studies that included only families who were off 
TANF for at least 1 or 2 months, the return rate at 1 year 
ranged from 6.5 percent (two-parent families in San Mateo, 
California) and 13 percent (single-parent families in Georgia) 
to 21 percent (Massachusetts). Also, when 30-day ``churners'' 
were omitted from Maryland calculations, the TANF return rate 
at 1 year dropped from 24 percent to 18 percent. The Maryland 
study concluded: ``Given Federal time limits, preventing 
returns to welfare among those who have exited is of tremendous 
importance.'' (University of Maryland, 1999).
    The San Mateo, California, study cited in table 7-32 also 
examined circumstances of applicant families who were 
``informally diverted'' from TANF between July 1997 and 
September 1998. It found that 10.3 percent of one-parent 
families and 7.1 percent of two-parent families received TANF 1 
year after they were denied aid. Larger proportions, 24.3 
percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, received TANF at some 
time during the year.
    Meyer and Cancian (1996), in a study based on 14 years of 
data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 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; about 40 percent were poor after 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 had income 
from a spouse or partner. AFDC was received by 30-40 percent of 
the women each year; child support or alimony by 17-19 percent.

                                                   TABLE 7-32.--RETURNS TO TANF WITHIN 1 YEAR OF EXIT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                      Family categories in                          Percent back on TANF
           State program                      Study             Time of TANF exit            study             Leavers included      1 year after exit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
California CALWORKS (Mancuso &       Examining               Fourth quarter of 1996  All (one- and two-     Includes only cases    14.1 percent (one-
 Moses, 1999).                        circumstances of                                parent families        off TANF for at        parent cases). 6.5
                                      leavers.                                        separately examined).  least 2 months.        percent (two-parent
                                                                                                                                    cases)
Colorado Works (London & Valvano,    Postprogram employment  July-Sept. 1997.......  Adult cases..........  All included.........  23.8 percent
 1999).                               and earnings for
                                      Colorado Works closed
                                      cases.
Georgia TANF (Foster, 1999)........  Amended quarterly       1997..................  Single-adult cases...  Includes only cases    13.2 percent
                                      progress report.                                                       off TANF for at
                                                                                                             least two straight
                                                                                                             months.
Kansas Temporary Assistance to       Statistical summary of  Dec. 1997-Nov. 1998...  All..................  All..................  18 percent
 Families (TAF) (Department of        leaver survey.
 Social, 1999).
Maryland TANF (School of Social      Life after welfare:     October 1996-March      All..................  All \1\..............  24.2 percent
 Work, 1999).                         third interim report.   1998.
Massachusetts Transitional Aid to    How are they doing?     Dec.15, 1996-June 14,   All..................  Includes only cases    20.9 percent
 Families with Dependent Children     (Round four)            1997.                                          off TANF for at
 (TAFDC; Department of                Longitudinal study.                                                    least 30 days.
 Transitional, 1999).
New York Family Assistance (FA;      A study of work and     January-March 1997....  Excludes child-only    Includes only cases    19 percent
 Rockefeller Institute, 1999).        benefit use after                               cases, adults          off TANF for at
                                      case closing.                                   without identifiable   least 2 months.
                                                                                      Social Security
                                                                                      numbers and cases
                                                                                      closed when families
                                                                                      moved out of State.
Washington Work First (Ahn &         A study of Washington   Fourth quarter 1997...  All except child-only  Includes only cases    16 percent
 Fogarty, 1999).                      State TANF departures                           cases.                 off TANF for at
                                      Cohort II.                                                             least 2 months.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The Maryland study also provided data on all closures except: (a) those due to sanctions and (b) cases that returned to TANF within 30 days. For the
  first group, the rate of return to TANF at 12 months was 23.7 percent; for the second group, 17.8 percent.

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service based on evaluation studies listed in table.


               SELECTED PROVISIONS OF STATE TANF PROGRAMS

     Table 7-33 shows some major provisions of Temporary 
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Programs, State by State. 
The table is based on TANF State plans for fiscal years 2000-
2001, the DHHS 1999 annual report, State laws, and CRS benefit 
surveys. In 1999, many State legislatures liberalized some TANF 
rules (allowing more TANF recipients to engage in postsecondary 
education, providing transportation support, etc.). Some States 
increased maximum benefit levels. These changes were 
facilitated by abundant TANF funds and by the dramatic cut in 
caseload numbers, which has sharply reduced effective work 
participation rates required for all families.
     State plans provide different levels of detail, have no 
standard format, and sometimes describe similar programs in 
different ways. Column 2 shows how long a recipient may receive 
basic assistance without engaging in work as defined by the 
State (24 months is the Federal outer limit). Column 3 shows 
the first activity required of an applicant/recipient. Column 4 
shows the State cutoff time limit (60 months is the Federal 
outer limit).\10\ This does not mean that all recipients will 
lose eligibility for ongoing cash assistance after being on the 
rolls for the number of months in the column. States have the 
power to stop their own benefit cutoff clocks by exemption (not 
counting months of assistance during which persons have a time-
limit exemption). Some States exempt certain groups, such as 
the aged, from the clock. Some stop their clocks during months 
in which recipients work a minimum number of hours (examples 
include Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, and Rhode Island). 
States also may extend federally funded assistance beyond their 
own cutoff point if it is shorter than 60 months. The Federal 
clock is a different matter; States have no power to stop the 
Federal clock unless: (1) they use their own funds for benefits 
during months when persons are exempted from the State 
clock;\11\ or (2) under terms of a pre-TANF waiver to the State 
that included a State time clock, the State makes exemptions to 
that time limit and uses Federal funds to pay exempted persons. 
In the former case, months of State-counted aid are not counted 
by the Federal clock; in the latter case, months not counted by 
the State clock even though federally funded, need not be 
counted by the Federal clock (15 States appear to have this 
option).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \10\ The law forbids use of Federal TANF funds for ``assistance'' 
to any family that includes a member who as an adult has received 60 
months of aid. TANF regulations define ``assistance'' narrowly, as 
payments directed at ongoing basic needs, plus supportive services for 
nonemployed families. No time limit applies to ``nonassistance,'' other 
TANF-funded services and aid.
    \11\ For example, Illinois and Maryland use maintenance-of-effort 
(MOE) funds to pay benefits to persons whose State clock is stopped 
while they work.

                                                 TABLE 7-33.--SELECTED PROVISIONS OF STATE TANF PROGRAMS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                 Maximum
                                                                                                                 When first     benefits,
                  Work-trigger                                                                                    families      family of
     State         time limit      First activity required       State-set benefit cutoff limit (in months)      reach time       three      Family cap?
                    (months)                                                                                       limit    ----------------
                                                                                                                              07/96   01/00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama         24               Immediate job search for    60. Aid continues for cases where caretaker was    12/01          $164    $164  No
                                  employable applicants       not TANF recipient (child-only cases).
                                                              Exemptions stop State clock. No extensions
                                                              specified
Alaska          24               Self-sufficiency planning   60. No exemptions and extensions specified         07/02           923     923  No
Arizona         24               Assessment; work activity   24 out of 60 for EMPOWER, 60 for Arizona Works     10/97           347     347  Yes
                                  as soon as possible         pilot; 60-month lifetime limit. Aid continues
                                                              for children. Exemptions stop State clock.
                                                              Extensions to complete education/training (up to
                                                              8 months) and if unable to find work (up to 6
                                                              months)
Arkansas        Immediate        Job search                  24. Exemptions stop State clock. (includes any     07/00           204     204  Yes
                                                              month when person is exempt from required work).
                                                              Extensions for program compliant persons if
                                                              unable to find work, to complete education (6-
                                                              month general limit), or to prevent child
                                                              neglect
California      18               Job search                  18 or (if working or in community service) up to   06/99           596  \1\ 62  Yes
                                                              60. Exemptions stop State clock. Aid continues     (State                   6
                                                              for minors (counties decide form: cash or          work                \2\ 59
                                                              voucher). Extension of 18-month limit (up to 6     trigger                  6
                                                              months) if job imminent or no job available        benefit
                                                                                                                 cutoff)
Colorado        24               Sign individual             60. No exemptions. Extensions for up to 20         07/02           356     356  No
                                  responsibility plan:        percent of caseload for ``good cause.''
                                  immediate work activity
                                  may be required
Connecticut     Immediate        Job search/job readiness    21. Exemptions stop State clock. Up to 6-month     10/97           636     636  Yes
                                                              unlimited extensions if program compliant and
                                                              unable to find job, or earnings below payment
                                                              standard + $90. State-funded safety net provides
                                                              vouchers and third party payments for
                                                              noncompliant families who reach time limit
Delaware        One-parent: 24   One-parent: job search      24 (or, if working or in community service) up to  10/99           338     338  Yes
                Two-parent:      Two-parent: immediate        48. Exemptions for months worked at least 20
                 immediate        workfare (for at least      hours weekly if countable income below need
                                  one parent)                 standard. Time limit lifted if State
                                                              unemployment rate exceeds 7.5 percent (or
                                                              national average). Up to 12-month extension if
                                                              State failed to provide services, no job
                                                              available, or if caretaker received aid for 96
                                                              straight months (workfare required)
District of     24               Immediate job search/job    60. Exemptions stop State clock. No extensions     03/02           415     379  No
 Columbia                         readiness for applicants    specified
                                  assessed able
Florida         Immediate        Assignment to work          24 out of 60 (36 out of 72 if have poor skills     10/98           303     303  Yes
                                  activity                    and little work experience). 48 lifetime limit     (earlier
                                                              for both. Aid continues for cases where            for waiver
                                                              caretaker was not TANF recipient (child-only       cases)
                                                              cases). Exemptions stop State clock. Some
                                                              hardship extensions and 1-month extensions (up
                                                              to total of 12) for each month spent in
                                                              subsidized or unsubsidized work. Extension for
                                                              child (via protective payment) otherwise at risk
                                                              of out-of-home placement
Georgia         24               Recipients expected to      48. No exemptions. Hardship extensions (20         01/01           280     280  Yes
                                  participate in full-time    percent of caseload limit)
                                  work activity whenever
                                  feasible
Guam            60 days (if not  Register at one-stop        60                                                 7/02            673     673  Yes
                 work exempt)     career center
Hawaii          24               Applicants not exempt from  60. Exemptions stop State clock. Aid to all work-  12/01           712  \3\ 71  No
                                  work referred within 12     exempt families, including those whose caretaker                            2
                                  months to further           was not a TANF recipient, continues. 3-month                           \4\ 57
                                  assessment/orientation      renewable extensions for families in which all                              0
                                  and employment planning     adults are program compliant
Idaho           Immediate        Job search required for     24. Exemptions stop State clock. Aid continues     07/99           317     293  Yes (flat
                                  all adult recipients        for families where caretaker was not TANF                                       benefit)
                                                              recipient (child-only cases). Extensions for
                                                              families with disabled child or adult if unable
                                                              to obtain job with earnings equal to State
                                                              maximum benefit
Illinois        24               Job search/work activity    No State limit if working required hours; 24 if    07/99           377     377  Yes
                                  required at application     not in work/workfare and youngest child older
                                                              than 12; 60 otherwise. Exemptions stop State
                                                              clock. State funds exemptions for families
                                                              working required hours (unlimited); single
                                                              parent who is full-time postsecondary student
                                                              with satisfactory grade point average (36
                                                              months); and for family headed by minor parent
Indiana         24               Sign personal               24. Aid continues for children. Exemptions stop    05/97           288     288  Yes
                                  responsibility plan         State clock. Up to 24 extra months may be earned
                                                              through full-time work (1-month extension for 6
                                                              months work)
Iowa            Immediate        Immediate work activity     60. Aid continues for child living with nonparent  1/02            426     426  No
                                                              caretaker. Limited exemption stops State clock.
                                                              No extensions specified
Kansas          24               Immediate job search may    60. Exemptions stop State clock. Aid continues     10/01           429     429  No
                                  be required                 for families where caretaker was not TANF
                                                              recipient (child-only cases). Extensions for up
                                                              to 20 percent of caseload
Kentucky        24               Work registration a         60. Specified extensions (up to 20 percent of      10/01           262     262  No
                                  condition of eligibility    caseload) including program compliant adult
                                                              without sufficient work and grandparent of child
                                                              at risk of foster care)
Louisiana       24               Work activity mandated for  24 out of 60. Lifetime 60. Exemptions stop State   01/99           190     190  No
                                  most recipients             clock, including months when earned income
                                                              disregard applies (6-month maximum). Up to 12-
                                                              month extension to complete education or
                                                              training
Maine           24               Immediate job search for    60. Extensions for whole family if all members     11/01           418     461  No
                                  two-parent families whose   are program compliant. Adults with 3 or more
                                  principal earner is         sanctions are ineligible for a specified time
                                  underemployed and for
                                  single parent with no
                                  child below age 5 who has
                                  skills needed for work
Maryland        Not specified.   Sign responsibility         60. Exemptions stop State clock, including months  1/02            373     417  Yes
                 Localities       contract                    when family member has earnings. No extensions
                 design own                                   specified
                 work plans
Massachusetts   60 days (Single  Community service (State    24 out of 60. Exemptions stop State clock.         12/98           565  \3\ 57  Yes
                 parent with      waiver) required after 60   Unlimited 6-month extensions in certain cases,                              9
                 child under      days                        including if working full time but making less                         \4\ 56
                 school age                                   money than would be eligible to receive as cash                             5
                 exempt.)                                     aid; recipient may be required to undergo
                                                              vocational assessment and participate in
                                                              subsidized work. State funds extension beyond 60-
                                                              month Federal limit
Michigan        2                Immediate work placement    No State limit. Eligible families not self-        No State     \5\ 48  \5\ 48  No
                                  or job search for those     sufficient after 60 months of federally funded     limit            9       9
                                  assessed able. (Community   TANF will receive State-funded aid                             \6\ 45  \6\ 45
                                  service required if no                                                                          9       9
                                  job after 2 months.)
Minnesota       One-parent: 6    Job search for work ready-- 60. Limited exemptions stop State clock. No        07/02           532     532  No
                Two-parent:       postponed if participant    extensions specified
                 immediate        proposes education
                                  program (up to 1 year)
                                  likely to lead to
                                  earnings above TANF
                                  income limits. Job
                                  readiness for nonwork
                                  ready
Mississippi     24               Assessment within 30 days   60. No exemptions. Unspecified extensions (20      10/01           120     170  Yes
                                  and work referral           percent of caseload limit)
Missouri        24               Sign individual             60. Exemptions stop State clock (including months  12/01           292     292  No
                                  responsibility plan;        recipient was in wage supplementation program).
                                  State may require work of   No time limit for permanently disabled
                                  some persons at any time    individuals and those age 60 or older.
                                                              Extensions for hardship and battered persons
Montana         24               Develop and sign family     60. (24 maximum in Pathways Program, followed by   \7\ 2/01        438     469  No
                                  investment agreement,       36 maximum in community services). Exemptions
                                  which may require work      granted only while in Pathways. Unspecified
                                  before 24 months            extensions (of 60-month limit) within 20 percent
                                                              of caseload cap
Nebraska        24 from signing  Assessment and development  24 out of 48; 60 lifetime. Exemptions stop State   12/98           364     364  Yes
                 of self-         of self-sufficiency         clock. (Under waiver, exempt months also do not
                 sufficiency      contract                    count toward Federal 60-month time limit.)
                 contract                                     Extension if no job available, if agency failed
                                                              to provide services in agreement, or if adult
                                                              recipient no longer able to meet conditions of
                                                              agreement
Nevada          24               Immediate job search        24, then ineligible for 12; 60 lifetime. No        01/00           348     348  No
                                                              exemptions. Up to 6-month extension if need more
                                                              time to achieve self-sufficiency. Hardship
                                                              extensions (24- or 60-month limit); only 20
                                                              percent of caseload for 60-month limit
New Hampshire   26 weeks         Immediate job search/job    60. Extensions allowed by reason of hardship or    10/01           550     575  No
                                  readiness activities for    if family includes a battered person or one who
                                  26 weeks maximum, then      has suffered extreme cruelty. State plans to
                                  workfare for additional     define other ``hardship'' criteria (apparently
                                  26 weeks maximum            within 20 percent of caseload cap)
New Jersey      24               Register for WorkFirst;     60. Up to 12-month State-funded extension if in    02/02           424     424  Yes
                                  engage in job search        full-time work but still eligible for benefits;
                                                              if no job/work activity available; or if
                                                              terminated from job through no fault of own.
                                                              Specified extensions within 20 percent of
                                                              caseload cap (for Federal funding)
New Mexico      2                Assessment and completion   60. Extensions for persons at least age 60 and     07/02           389     439  No
                                  of individual               for disabled persons or caretakers of a disabled
                                  responsibility plan. (By    family member
                                  end of third month must
                                  be fully participating in
                                  work activity.)
New York        24               Assessment                  No State limit. State-funded safety net continues  No State     \8\ 70  \8\ 70  No
                                                              basic aid for whole family (but it is in noncash   limit            3       3
                                                              form unless the parent is exempt from work                     \9\ 57  \9\ 57
                                                              requirements) after Federal limit is reached                        7       7
North Carolina  12 weeks         Register with employment    24 then ineligible for 36; 60 lifetime.            08/98           272     272  Yes
                                  program (condition of       Exemptions stop State clock. County Board of
                                  eligibility)                Social Service may grant extension for program
                                                              compliant families at end of 24-month limit or
                                                              during 36 months of ineligibility.
North Dakota    24               Required to engage in work  60. Extensions (20 percent of caseload limit)      07/02           431     457  Yes
                                  activities once             allowed for persons physically or mentally
                                  determined work ready       unable to work; needed to care for severely
                                                              disabled child; aged caretaker relatives; and
                                                              victims of domestic violence
Ohio            24               Immediate assignment to     36. (24 months after reaching time limit, family   10/00           341     373  No
                                  Federal or State work       may receive an extra 24 months for good cause.)
                                  activity                    County may provide hardship extensions from
                                                              State time limit for up to 20 percent of average
                                                              monthly caseload
Oklahoma        24               Job search. Development of  60. No exemptions. No extensions specified         10/01           307     292  Yes
                                  employment plan and
                                  assignment to work or
                                  work activity as soon as
                                  possible
Oregon          Not specified    Assessment. Engage in       24 out of 84. Exemptions stop State clock.         07/98           460     460  No
                                  required activities         (Months in compliance with work program do not
                                                              count and months when earned income equals or
                                                              exceed 173 percent of State minimum wage count
                                                              only as 40 percent of a month.) Aid continues
                                                              for cases where caretaker was not TANF recipient
                                                              (child-only cases). Up to 1 percent of caseload
                                                              (or 400 families, if greater) may receive
                                                              extensions for good faith effort to find work
Pennsylvania    24               Immediate job search        60. No exemptions. No categorical extensions (but  03/02           421     421  No
                                                              State may provide hardship extensions to 20
                                                              percent of caseload)
Puerto Rico     2 (if not work   Develop individual          60.                                                07/02           180     180  No
                 exempt)          responsibility plan.
                                  Perform community service
                                  if no job after 2 months
Rhode Island    24               Develop employability plan  60. State-funded aid continues for children.       05/02           554     554  No
                                                              Exemptions stop State clock (includes stopping
                                                              of State clock for any recipient working 30 or
                                                              more hours per week). No extensions specified
South Carolina  24               Applicants must document    24 out of 120; 60 lifetime. Exemptions stop State  10/98           200     204  Yes
                                  at least 10 employer        clock. Up to 6-month extension for persons in
                                  contacts during             approved training programs; up to 12-month
                                  application process         extension if program compliant but no job.
                                  (recommended 2 weeks). If   Thereafter, county director may grant month-to-
                                  fail to do so without       month extensions
                                  good cause, application
                                  is denied
South Dakota    2                Sign personal               60. Extension policy not specified                 12/01           430     430  No
                                  responsibility plan.
                                  Perform community service
                                  if no job after 2 months
Tennessee       Immediate        Agree to personal           18 at a time (then 3 months off); 60 lifetime.     04/98           185     185  Yes
                                  responsibility plan that    Exemptions stop State clock. Parent/caretaker
                                  requires immediate work     functioning below grade level 9 not subject to
                                  preparation or work         Federal or State time limit (most must attend
                                  activities                  school). Up to 6-month extensions if in high
                                                              unemployment area. Extensions if working and
                                                              family income is below payment standard plus $90
Texas           Not specified    Work force orientation      12 for some high school graduates; 24 for those    05/97           188     201  No
                                  (condition of               with 3 years of high school or specified recent
                                  eligibility)                work; 36 for those with less than high school
                                                              diploma and with less than 6 months work
                                                              experience. Aid continues for children.
                                                              Exemptions stop State clock. Extensions on case-
                                                              by-case basis
Utah            Immediate        Complete individual         36. Up to 24-month extension if employed 80 hours  01/00           426     451  No
                                  employment plan             in 6 of 24 previous months. Extension if
                                                              circumstances have prevented earnings sufficient
                                                              to close the case
Vermont         One-parent: 30   Create family development   No State limit (Also, Vermont maintains that the   No State        633     708  No
                Two-parent: 15    plan and participate in     60-month limit on use of Federal TANF funds is     limit
                New resident: 5   work readiness.             inconsistent with its waiver program.)
                                  (Community service
                                  required if no job after
                                  times in left column.)
Virginia        90 days          Referred to work program    24 out of 60; 60 lifetime. Exemptions stop State   07/97           354     354  Yes
                                  within a month of case      clock. Extensions (3-12 months) if program
                                  approval                    compliant but no job, in continuing education
                                                              and training directly related to employability,
                                                              or living in area of State with unemployment
                                                              above 10 percent
Virgin Islands  24               Sign an individual          60. Unspecified hardship extensions (up to 20      07/02           240     240  No
                                  responsibility plan         percent of caseload)
Washington      Immediate        Job search as part of       60. Exemptions will not stop the State clock       01/02           546     546  No
                                  employability assessment    until family has received 52 months of aid.
                                                              Extensions allowed (20 percent of caseload
                                                              limit) for hardship or victims of domestic
                                                              violence. State plans to establish specific
                                                              hardship criteria
West Virginia   24               Attend work program         60. Extensions on case-by-case basis               01/02           253     328  No
                                  orientation; sign
                                  personal responsibility
                                  contract
Wisconsin       Immediate        Work or training activity   60. Limited exemption (no job, high unemployment   10/01           517  \10\ 6  Yes (flat
                                  immediate; community        area) stops State clock. Extensions on case-by-                            73   benefit)
                                  service required by         case basis                                                             \11\ 6
                                  employables if no job                                                                                  28
                                  after 2 months
Wyoming         Immediate        Job search                  60. If received AFDC for 36 or more months before  01/02 (2/99     360     340  Yes
                                                              1/97, then eligible for 24 months assistance       for
                                                              after 1/31/97. Extensions for adult student        previous
                                                              within 1 year of degree or completing vocational   AFDC
                                                              training                                           families)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Region 1 of California.
\2\ Region 2 of California.
\3\ Work exempt.
\4\ Nonwork exempt.
\5\ Washtenaw County, Michigan.
\6\ Wayne County, Michigan.
\7\ Montana's State time limit clock is different from its Federal one, which first families are to reach February 2002 (sooner for certain interstate
  migrants).
\8\ Suffolk County, New York.
\9\ New York City.
\10\ Community service jobs.
\11\ W-2 transitions (work preparation activities).

Source: Table prepared by the Congressional Research Service on the basis of information in TANF State plans, State laws, and State regulations and the
  TANF 1999 annual report prepared by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


    When the Federal clock is reached, any State may extend 
federally funded aid to up to 20 percent of the caseload on 
grounds of hardship or presence of a battered family 
member.\12\ For cases in which the State has chosen 60 months 
as its own benefit cutoff limit, the table shows the kinds of 
extensions that the State says it will allow; i.e., the table 
lists the categories of persons who will continue to be aided 
even if they require State funding because they do not fit into 
the Federal 20 percent hardship/battered person allowance. Some 
States do not list any extensions, and some States indicate 
that they plan to restrict any extensions to 20 percent of the 
caseload. Three States have no State benefit cutoff time limit 
(Michigan, New York, and Vermont).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ TANF regulations provide that if a State exceeds the 20 
percent allowance for hardship or domestic violence extensions, the 
State may be eligible for a ``reasonable cause'' exemption from the 
penalty for violating the time limit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    (For a more extensive legislative history of AFDC, see 
previous editions of the Green Book.)
    Public Law 104-193, the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act established the program of 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and appropriated 
funds for annual block grants through fiscal year 2002. August 
22, 1996.
    Public Law 105-333, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, 
established the Welfare-to-Work (WTW) Grant Program and 
appropriated $3 billion for the 2-year period, fiscal years 
1998 and 1999. This act also made technical corrections to 
TANF. August 5, 1997.
    Public Law 106-113, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 
broadened eligibility for WTW grants and added limited 
vocational educational or job training to allowable activities. 
November 29, 1999.

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