Are you one of the many people dealing with financial difficulties lately? If so, you might feel a sense of relief to know that there are multiple assistance options available. The federal government offers a variety of supportive programs to help people get through hard times. These support programs take many different forms. Housing, education, healthcare, and other needs can be covered under government assistance programs for Americans and qualifying immigrants.
Once you begin researching which programs you should apply for and which you actually qualify for, it can become quite tricky. To solve this problem, the government built a website to help people better understand the different assistance options available. This website is Benefits.gov. The website’s goal is to provide visitors with information on the majority of government benefit programs. Additionally, it has a tool called Benefit Finder, which asks you a few questions to assist you in focusing on the programs you may be eligible for. While it cannot provide a guarantee on whether or not you would be eligible, it can point you in the right direction!
What You Need to Know About TANF
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF for short, was developed by the federal government but is the states’ responsibility to run it. The program “provides approximately $16.5 billion to states, the District of Columbia, and US territories (Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico),” according to the federal website. Through the tribal TANF program, American Indian tribes and Alaska Native organizations may provide TANF.
Since state governments operate this program, each state government makes its own decisions regarding the program’s eligibility requirements and how much recipients can benefit from TANF. The purpose of creating TANF is to help low-income families with kids become self-sufficient. To put it another way, the goal of TANF is to help families regain stability and not be reliant on outside assistance.
How Does the Program Work?
Just to be clear, low-income families with children will not receive financial assistance directly from the federal government. Instead, state governments will use their TANF grants to provide those families with financial aid. The following four points provide an overview of TANF’s major goals:
- Allow children to grow up in their own homes or their relatives’ houses by providing support to their families.
- Encourage parents to get a job and get married to reduce their need for government assistance.
- Reduce the number of pregnancies among unmarried couples.
- Promote the growth and stability of two-parent households.
TANF Application Process
Now that you have a clear idea about the program along with its goals, let’s look at the application process. You should get in touch with the TANF or Social Services office in your area to start the process. To avoid any confusion or delays, we encourage you to read up on the program before applying. Fortunately, the program’s application is free, so there is no harm in giving it a shot.
Who is Eligible for TANF?
The federal government established TANF, as you may have read above, but state governments are in charge of managing it. In other words, all decisions relating to TANF benefits and eligibility are up to your local state government. As a result, different states may have different requirements for TANF. One thing is for sure, though – the main target audience for this program is low-income families with children. So, generally speaking, you must meet the following two requirements to receive TANF benefits:
- The program will exclusively assist families with low incomes.
- The family will often need to have one or more dependents under the age of 18.
The government must make sure that the right people get the payments because there is only a certain amount of funds available to each state under TANF. The federal government must also ensure that financial aid promotes the growth of family households. For this reason, there are also requirements that can make applicants ineligible for TANF assistance. However, it differs by state.
TANF Work Restrictions
TANF is a program that focuses mostly on work. This means that the program assists its participants in finding well-paying employment while also focusing on skill development. With this in mind, applicants who are capable of working but choose not to may not be eligible for TANF support.
There are a few exceptions to the general rule that receiving TANF assistance requires you to have a job or actively seek employment. Some states have created conditions under which TANF beneficiaries can continue to receive benefits even if they are unemployed. For instance, a person in Pennsylvania may be excluded from the employment requirement in the following situations:
- If the applicant is responsible for a child that is under one year old
- Those under 18 who are still students in school (with exceptions)
- Applicants who are responsible for dependents with disabilities
What are the TANF Work Conditions?
State governments determine which families to assist and how. However, the federal government also established TANF to accomplish specific objectives. Maintaining families with children and working parents seems to be the focus of most goals. Because of this, state governments can be subject to penalties if they fail to achieve their Work Participation Rates (WPR) goals.
Simply put, WPR calculates the number of TANF beneficiaries who are work-eligible. There are two WPR measures: a rate for two-parent families and a rate for all families. A state must have at least 50% of TANF-receiving families working at least 30 hours per week. On the other hand, single parents with children under six years old must put in at least 20 hours a week of work.
The two-parent families rate is the second WPR metric. Families with two parents must put in a minimum of 35 hours per week of work. To keep receiving TANF assistance, each state must reach a two-parent family work rate of 90%.
When we start to think about what defines “working hours,” things might get a bit hard to understand. A law passed in 1996 specifies that there are 12 different categories of employment. There is a maximum number of hours that can be allocated to each category. For instance, only a specific number of hours can be considered as “activity hours” when looking for work. On top of that, taking part in educational and training programs is frequently not considered a full-time activity.
TANF Penalties
By this point, it should be very obvious that a TANF beneficiary must work to get assistance unless they are an exception. In some circumstances, the federal government may obligate a state to stop paying benefits to recipients who refuse to work, at least without a valid excuse. The issue is that the majority of state governments use “full family sanctions” which means that the entire family will lose their TANF payments if a parent refuses to work.
Bottom Line
You’re not alone if you feel that money is tight and that prices are rising. Recently, the economy has been having trouble. The federal government is aware of the daily battle with money that many Americans face. To help families and people get back on their feet, the federal government established a number of assistance programs including TANF. Benefits.gov is an excellent resource to learn more about those programs.
After reading this article, you should have a better understanding of everything about TANF, including who is eligible and how the application process goes. Once you decide to apply, you will need to contact your local social services office. They will help you with every single step in this journey.