...children. Former president Bill Clinton and the Clinton administration put an end to the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replaced it with the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). Bill Clinton changed the AFDC with the” block grant” (which a grant from a central government that a local authority can allocate to a wide range of services.)...
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...Introduction TANF The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program was created under the 1996 welfare reform law known as the Personal Responsibility and work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Falk, 2014). TANF is funded by a $16.5 billion-per-year basic federal block grant. Each state is also required to contribute at least $10.4 billion under a maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement (Schott, 2012). TANF primary purpose is to fund a wide range of benefits and services for low-income families with children. These services include cash assistances, child care, and services for children who have been, or are at risk of being, abused and neglected Clientele The requirements to receive TANF benefits vary from state to state. Eligibility...
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...welfare recipients who receive cash under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The economical ramifications that pertain to this situation include the wants and needs of individuals versus the limited resources of the funds by taxpayers. Sources, data, and popular opinion will show that this requirement will be extremely beneficial for the American taxpayers by saving money and refusing to subsidize the drug habits of individuals who receive government assistance. Scarcity In 2011, over 4 million people received cash assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (“ACF”, 2011, para. 8). These numbers do not include Food Stamps, Medicaid, or other forms of government funds; this is simple cash assistance. Ideally, all hungry and unemployed individuals would have the resources to provide for themselves and their families. However, in this economic downturn, more and more individuals are reaching out for assistance and it has become taxing on our government resources. In 1997, the U.S. Government overhauled the welfare programs known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), and Emergency Assistance (EA) (“ACF”, 2011, para. 4). Under this reform, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was developed. TANF was designed to help families discover self-sufficiency. The primary goals were to assist families in providing for children in their own homes...
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...Bartley Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Research Paper Rough Draft Sinclair Community College Outline Introduction: My chosen social welfare policy is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. I chose this policy because it is a policy that I agree we should have and I feel helps the needy families out a lot. Everyone at some point in their life will need some sort of assistance. TANF is a great option for people who might not be very poor but are struggling temporarily. TANF also is for families who are below the poverty line and who are suffering greatly. TANF is a federally funded grant program that allows states to administer and create their own assistance programs for families in need. The policy I chose corresponds to the practicum placement I am at, which is Boys and Girls Club of Dayton. Boys and Girls Club is an after school program for kids in Dayton to have a safe place to grown and learn. They also have ongoing relationships with caring professionals, and also get to experience life-enhancing programs and character developing experiences. The children at boys and girls club are less fortunate than say kids in Centerville schools, so this is a great place for them to come and get homework done, and play with friends. I believe my policy corresponds with my practicum because, a lot of the children and families I see look as though they have some sort of assistance. For some of the parents of children from Boys and Girls Club, TANF is probably temporary, but...
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...TANF and the Importance of Welfare Reform The idea of welfare reform is not a new concept. The federal government is responsible for funding subsidy programs for low income Americans. One of these programs is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). According to the Office of Family Assistance (1999) the TANF program is intended to assist low income families to achieve self sufficiency. It goes on to explain that states receive block grants for which they are to plan and initiate programs that accomplish one of the purposes of the TANF program. The four purposes of the TANF program are to: * Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes. * Reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage. * Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies. * Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families (Office of Family Assistance, 1999). On the surface, these four purposes seem very competent in promoting the idea that being on welfare permanently is not the idea of the assistance program. However, federal involvement in welfare has only made things worse, complicating matters by the waste of taxpayers' money while doing very little to solve the problem of long-term poverty. The policy pathway being proposed in this memorandum is that the federal government should remove their role in TANF and all related welfare programs and leave these programs to state...
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...government allows drug testing as a precursor for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). In the past years, most states have proposed drug screenings or some other source of drug testing for applicants of TANF. In 2009, there were over 20 states with a legislation proposal requiring that drug tests become a part of the eligibility process for public assistance programs and 12 states had similar proposals in 2010. None of the proposals have become laws due to the idea that the legislations were based off suspicion or random drug testing. This idea is at odds with the 2003 Michigan Court of Appeals case. Marchwinski v. Howard which ruled the subjecting all welfare applicants to drug testing without out any reason to believe that they were currently using or have recently used was not in alignment with our constitution (Newell, 2011). Currently, Oklahoma has a policy that is in accordance with the testing of welfare applicants, but that abides by the Marchwinski v. Howard case because it does not violate the rights of applicants and is not deemed unconstitutional. Oklahoma’s Policy 340:10-4-1. Mandatory Drug Screening Issued 12-5-12 States: (a) Per Section 230.52 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statues, adult parents, or needy caretakers who apply for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance are required to be screened for illegal use of a controlled substance or substances. TANF child only cases and minor parent parents under the...
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...started out as a program to help families and individuals who had little or no income. Fearing that Americans were abusing the welfare system by not looking for jobs and having more children, to increase aid, in 1996, President Clinton signed a reform law giving control of welfare. Each state sets guidelines for determining eligibility for welfare benefits. For example, in Virginia, welfare recipients between the ages of five and 18 must attend school regularly. Georgia requires students ages six through 17 to attend school regularly. Common factors that determine benefits include gross income, family size, medical needs, unemployment, homelessness and pregnancy. Each individual or family that receives welfare has a caseworker. Each caseworker determines the benefits the family or individual receives (ehow.com (p1).” With a growing unemployment rate in America. American citizens are focused on survival by any means necessary. Even at the added cost to American tax payers fraud continues to rise across the country. Welfare regulations must constantly evolve to uncover different ways to discourage attempts of fraud on our welfare programs. These action of fraud are contributing to the financial rape and pelage of American assets that are there to help the needy. While the rush to address the welfare regulations is low. Low income individuals who are committing fraud are escaping jail time. Monthly monitoring of all fraudulent acts of public housing (HUD), (SNAP) and (TANF) are needing...
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...Summary: TANF stands for Temporary Assistance to needy families. TANF is a program designed to help needy families gain the support they need in order to get back on their feet. There are four parts to TANF. 1. To provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes. 2. Reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage. 3. To prevent and reduce the incidence of out of wedlock pregnancies. Encourage the formation and maintenance of two parent families. To qualify for TANF there are many requirements; you must be a U.S. citizen, you must have a social security number, you must have a child under the age of 18 living at home, and if you are pregnant you qualify the last month of your pregnancy. There is a maximum of 60 months of TANF assistance in one’s lifetime. Evaluation: I was glad to write a paper on TANF so that I could learn more exact details on it. I was not too familiar with TANF because of the recent changes. When I was younger my family was receiving benefits from TANF but a few things have changed since then. I think it is a good thing that there is a limit of 60 months. That makes the program more of an aid to help people to get on their feet rather than to just be dependent on TANF forever. I also think that it is cool that a mother who is in her last month of pregnancy can receive TANF benefits. TANF is a good resource for needy families all over...
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...2014 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is one of the federal assistance programs designed to help families with children providing cash and housing assistance. The cash benefit is often referred to as “welfare”. Welfare recipients are often portrayed as lazy, lacking in ambition, and unwilling to take responsibility for themselves (Brady, 2013). When the recipients of welfare receive the cash and housing benefits is it truly helping or hindering them? Doug Brady states, “the current welfare system provides such a high level of benefits that it acts as a disincentive for work.” This raises the question of should welfare regulations be changed or not? The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, was known as the “welfare reform”. TANF ended the much despised Depression-era federal entitlement to cash benefits for needy single mothers, replacing it with short term, work oriented programs designed and run by individual states (Hymowitz, 2006). Under TANF, the federal government provides a block grant to the states, which use these funds to operate their own programs. In order to receive federal funds, states must also spend some of their own dollars on programs for needy family. (Schott, 2012) Congress has provided states with $16.5 billion per year in fixed federal TANF funding to cover cash benefits primarily targeted to needy families (Brown, 2013). TANF is still one of the most expensive government programs, and participation...
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...poor, so, why is poverty rising? Are the anti-poverty programs that are now in place not working? The Center on Budget reports that our anti-poverty efforts were effective in keeping millions of Americans out of poverty in the current economic crisis. Existing policies and new initiatives kept people from falling into poverty; these programs reduced the severity of poverty. TANF was created by the 1996 welfare reform law to replace AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). Under the TANF structure, the federal government provides a block grant to the states, which use these funds to operate their own programs. States can use TANF dollars in ways designed to meet any of the four purposes set out in federal law, which are 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.” This paper will examine the TANF program from inception to determine how effective the program has performed. REVIEW OF LITERATURE TANF’s early years witnessed dramatic declines in the number of families receiving cash assistance, and a great increases in the share of single mothers...
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...Florida passed a law which required applicants seeking aid under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to take a drug test. If they pass the test they get benefits; if they fail – nothing! The law was developed to save the state taxpayers money. It was enacted on a biased foundation - without funds the poor can’t support their drug habits! It was mandated without any regard for the consequences of doing so. The problem isn’t taking the test; it’s what it stands for! It crosses the constitutional, social, moral, and ethical boundaries that society deems acceptable. The negative aspects outweighed the good! The testing has been placed on hold while the “real costs” are addressed. Welfare Drug Testing: What is the Real Cost? Being poor once meant you lacked funds or the means to support yourself. Today the meaning has been changed to define a person’s character. Florida law suggests the definition of poor is synonymous with drug user. Eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program now requires applicants to submit to drug testing to receive benefits. The problem isn’t with taking the test but the premise behind it. The law was enacted based on an assumption. People who need assistance have ulterior motives – they are using the money to support drug addictions! The goal of TANF is to provide assistance to the needy; not demoralize them. There are many flaws with the system; however...
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...created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program in an effort to move parents of welfare and into the workforce (Hildebrandt & Stevens 793). The intent of this legislation was to create an environment in which people would be able to provide for themselves without the assistance of the government. However, as of 2006 38.7 million people in the United States, including 13.28 million children, were still living below the poverty level of $22,050 for a family of four (Hildebrandt & Stevens 793). These numbers indicate that the problem did not improve and many people have become accustomed to the lifestyle that receiving welfare affords them. Further changes to the welfare system would go a long way towards resolving these issues. The United States government must reform the welfare program with pre-screenings and lifetime limits on benefits to prevent producing a society of dependent people. In 1996 Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which created the TANF program (Cook et al. 249). The legislation significantly altered the provisions for extending cash to low-income families (Cook et al. 249). The new provisions imposed a federal lifetime limit of up to five years on financial support and strengthened the requirements for employment and work-related activities (Cook et al. 249). The ability of immigrants, including those in the country legally, to obtain Medicaid and other federal welfare programs was also...
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...SSI and TANF For this assignment I will be explaining the similarities and differences of SSI and TANF. But first let’s discuss what these policies are and what they stand for. “SSI (Supplemental Security Income) is a government program that provides stipends to low-income people who are either aged (65 or older), blind, or disabled.” (Social Security, 2015) Though managed by the Social Security Administration, SSI is not financed by the SSA. The U.S. Treasury are the ones who fund the SSI. “TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) program provides temporary financial assistance for pregnant women and families with one or more dependent children”. (Trends in the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income Disability Programs, 2015) TANF delivers economic assistance to help wage for non-medical expenses such as food, shelter, and utilities....
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...people and has made a huge impact on society. Presently, we know it was welfare or TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It's helped with food, medical and cash assistance to low income families. Many people now a days take advantage of this program, some really need the assistance and some do not, when back years ago it was barely there. In 1905 the first social worker, Ida Cannon, was hired to provied services to patients in outpatient clinics with mental illnesses. At this point in time, social workers only helped the mentally ill. Previously, she worked as a visiting nurse, started to provide food and clothes to needy woman and children. By 1919 the social work program was better known as the Department of Mass General. At this time the main focus was people in outpatient clinics who needed medical assistance but did not have insurance. Before ten years ahd passed, the focus had boadened to include the community and environment. By May of 1939 the food stamp program was orignited by the federal government in result of the Great Depression. Food Stamp Program, is a federal assistance program that provides assistance to low- and no-income people and families living in the U.S Familes bought food stamp vouchers in allotments depending on their family income. By 1964 the food stamp program transformed into a program of relief as part as the welfare system. When the food stamp program was first introduced, it was given as paper coupons to buy prepackaged eligible foods...
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...Congratulations on your new position with HHSC. We are excited you have chosen us as your employer. At HHSC we work to meet the needs of Texans by providing outstanding customer service and access to assistance programs. At HHSC we provide eligible Texans with access to Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). We also provide a variety of Medical Assistance Programs for children, people with disabilities, adults caring for children, pregnant women and medical cost sharing. As a new member of our team you will review the applications for assistance and utilize your knowledge in policy to determine client eligibility for these assistance programs. Out team members may also answer client questions, schedule appointments, assist clients with their application and provide referrals to other services not provided by HHSC. We are pleased that you have accepted this opportunity to serve the state of Texas and its citizens in need. * Proofread, revise and submit Welcome to Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Congratulations on your new position with HHSC. We are excited you have chosen us as your employer. At HHSC we work to meet the needs of Texans by providing outstanding customer service and access to assistance programs. At HHSC we provide eligible Texas residents’...
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