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 2004-09-10 monographic deposited born digital 60 p. GA 1.13:GAO-04-921 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921 P0b002ee180387392 f:d04921 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921 GAO-04-921 Employment or training programs Public assistance programs Rural economic development Welfare benefits Welfare recipients Workfare Rural areas HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Other Written Product A12238 About 49 million people, or 17 percent of the country's total population, live in rural communities, and 18 states have at least a third of their population in rural areas. Rural areas often have less favorable employment conditions than urban areas and have fewer public transportation options to help people get to and from work. Given these conditions and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program's emphasis on moving recipients into jobs and on the path toward self-sufficiency, some have questioned how welfare reform is working in rural areas. To inform discussions of these concerns, GAO is reporting on (1) the size and distribution of the rural TANF caseload and how the caseload's size has changed over time, (2) the challenges and strengths that rural TANF programs have in implementing welfare reform, (3) the strategies being used to address these challenges, and (4) what the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doing to help rural areas address these challenges. To obtain this information, we used multiple methodologies, including analysis of county-level caseload data, as well as site visits, a review of studies on welfare reform in rural areas, and numerous interviews with caseworkers, government officials and other experts. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921.pdf GAO-04-921 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-04-921 Other Written Product GAO-04-921; Welfare Reform: Rural TANF Programs Have Developed Many Strategies to Address Rural Challenges; Employment or training programs Public assistance programs Rural economic development Welfare benefits Welfare recipients Workfare Rural areas HHS Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant