United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-02-28 monographic deposited born digital 68 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-298 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298 P0b002ee180372f7c f:d01298 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298 GAO-01-298 Public assistance programs Surveys Statistical data Data collection State-administered programs Program evaluation Welfare recipients Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program Census Bureau Panel Study of Income Dynamics National Survey of America's Families Food Stamp Program HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation Census Bureau Current Population Survey National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program Medicaid Program Earned Income Tax Credit Letter Report GAO commented on the federal government's ability to assess Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program goals using national, state, and local data. These data address the goals to differing degrees. National data, which includes data collected in national surveys and information that all states report to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), include extensive information related to TANF's two goals of providing assistance to needy families and ending dependency on government benefits but have limited information about promoting family formation. The data pertain to such issues as changes in TANF workloads, recipients' participation in work activities, employment status and earnings, and family well-being. Although there are national data on the incidence of out-of-wedlock births and marriage among TANF recipients and other low-income families, these data include only very recently available information on states' strategies to prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies or promote family formation. Data from studies of welfare reform at the state and local levels contain the same kind of information as national data, but they also include information about areas very recently covered by national data. Much of these data come from waiver evaluations--evaluations conducted in states that experimented with their welfare program, under a waiver from HHS, prior to TANF. The usefulness of existing data for assessing TANF's progress varies. In general, the need for information about TANF's progress will have to be balanced against the challenges of rigorous data collection from the low- income population. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298.pdf GAO-01-298 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-298 Letter Report GAO-01-298; Welfare Reform: Data Available to Assess TANF's Progress; Public assistance programs Surveys Statistical data Data collection State-administered programs Program evaluation Welfare recipients Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program Census Bureau Panel Study of Income Dynamics National Survey of America's Families Food Stamp Program HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation Census Bureau Current Population Survey National Longitudinal Survey of Youth Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program Medicaid Program Earned Income Tax Credit Public Law 104-193