Four Main Reasons For The TANF Project

Although many citizens typically make enough to live and support a family, there are still cases where individuals lack the financial support needed to administer aid to their household. A few factors that hinder members of the workforce are job availability, child care necessities, transportation, and educational requirements. For example, there are people that want to work, but after expenses are paid for transportation, childcare, etc. there is very little left

Within a year of the economic downturn of 2008 roughly 1.1 million bankruptcy petitions were filed, a 32 percent over the corresponding year. Home foreclosures were up 81 percent and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent. The unemployment rate reached its highest level since the early 1980s (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The Census Bureau found that poverty increased in 2011 for the most populous areas in the country. Yet despite a general uptick in those in need of welfare, some states have been less successful in distributing welfare than others. In terms of access to healthcare, 46 states set the income eligibility limit for Medicaid/State CHIP at or above 200% of the federal poverty level for children up to 5. For mothers and children who do qualify, there are oftentimes a waitlist for up to five years. The aforementioned WIC program, developed to improve the nutrition of low-income infants and children, may not be properly publicized to families in need. In 2012, approximately seven million infants and toddlers and about two million pregnant women received WIC vouchers. This only represented about one in six of eligible infants and one in ten eligible women (NCCP, 2013).

First, if the government were to make welfare eligibility stricter it would impede on the attempts of those below the poverty line trying to find a job. TANF ?can free up additional dollars for work related expenses and other basic needs and thus aid families? efforts to move from welfare to work? (Sard and Daskal). It is needed to help pay for those ?necessities that often accompany employment, such as additional clothing and food costs, child care, and transportation to and from work? (Sard and Daskal). The program does not just hand out money, but provides the aid needed to ?achieve self-sufficiency? through employment (Cohn). Without the additional money for clothing, food costs, child care, and transportation, an individual would not be able to maintain employment and abide by the TANF requirements. It is evident that TANF is necessary for those individuals that live in poverty and are seeking employment. If the requirements were to become stricter, the number of the employed and those living below the poverty line would increase simultaneously.

For more than a decade the state of Nevada has struggled with the issue of poverty in general, furthermore it has majorly struggled with the issue of child poverty. Ever since the recession of 2008 we have seen increments in the number of poverty in general, in which more children continue to seem affected. Furthermore the poverty levels seem to continue to increase “The number of children living in poverty in Nevada is at 23 percent, up from 15 percent in 2008” (Rise in Poverty). The high levels of unemployment in parents seem to be the most influential issue that sets families under the poverty line. “Similarly the number of children whose parents lack stable jobs has risen 6 points to 32 percent” (Rise in Poverty).

It is usually available to families who have children that are eighteen years or younger and living at home with the parents. Over the years, the number of recipients has continued to rise tremendously. In 2012, 68 families for every 100 received TANF benefits (Kearney, 2014). However, this figure increased in 2013, with 76 families for every 100 receiving the benefits (Kearney, 2014). The largest part of this increase was indeed legal. However, of the total new membership cases, about 15 percent were fraudulent. The amount that that state used in meeting the needs of the fraudsters in 2013 is thought to have been $5 million (Esping-Andersen, 2013). The major reason for such a low incidence of welfare benefit fraud has been due to the stern law. Nevertheless, the cost foregone is still an economic wastage for Texas. Besides lowering the ability of Texas to achieve a higher economic potential, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefit fraud is critical as it denies the eligible or the legal recipients a better level of assistance. If fraud was eliminated completely, the needy would be availed with more meaningful level of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits and this would improve their social well-being

The effects of the 1996 welfare reform bill helped declined caseloads on the social and economic well-being of fragile families, single mothers, and children. Although, the welfare reform was documented for making several positive changes such as reducing poverty rates, lowering the out of-wedlock childbearing, and formulated a better family structure, it is undeniable that poverty remained high among single mothers and their children. The reality of the matter was that most welfare recipients experienced serious barriers to maintain a stable employment due to their lack of skills, not having anyone available to take care of their young children when they leave for work as well as not gaining long-time employment with decent pay to help foster the family. As a result, most poor women and children were faced with the instability of economic and social future as welfare eligibility exhausted their efforts of supporting their families.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act also shifted the spotlight of welfare from family maintenance through government-supported financial assistance to family economic self-sufficiency through paid employment. This federal welfare reform policy known as TANF encourages employment and personal responsibility by mandating states to provide financial benefits to families on a temporary basis, having recipients participate in a work requirement while receiving aid, and providing incentives for recipients to transition off welfare. The programs name indicated its purpose and the social message to the recipient.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a federally funded program that was created to assist needy families in becoming self-sufficient. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, TANF has four major purposes. (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2015) The first is to “provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes”. The second is to “reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage”. The third is to “prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies”. The final purpose is to “encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families”. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program allows the States flexibility in identifying criteria for the populations served. However, there are a few general and federally imposed restrictions that are as follows. States must

One of the factors that plays a role in this issue is poverty. Poverty can define all those who make less than the federal government 's threshold,“for a family of four, this threshold is $24,000”(Poverty

However, this system of measuring poverty is flawed because if a family makes a dollar more above the set limit, they do not qualify for financial help from the government (NCCP, 2008).The poverty threshold is an inadequate measure of whether people are considered poor or not. Current poverty measures are flawed because it assumes how much a family spends and does not accurately include family resources such as Earned Income Tax Credit (NCCP, 2008). The way that the government measures poverty is based on outdated information that was set in the 60s. Because it has not been sufficient to keep up with the standard of living, those who are living in “high cost cities like New York and those who live in rural areas of the country” (NCCP, 2008) are barely getting by.

For the most part, my values are compatible with the policy behind TANF. Through TANF, families are able to receive the aid they need. However, I find myself conflicted about the time piece. I am aware that people should not use TANF or any other social service on a long term basis but at the same time, all situations are different. It might not be fair to the individuals who need more assistance because their circumstances are just that more challenging. Despite these feelings, I know as a social worker I have to follow the government’s policies and take advantage of the time granted to provide a maximal level of service.

the unemployed mother who is receiving food stamps and monthly social security unemployment benefits as a serious problem to the welfare system. The program which

Companies closing or laying-off workers has left many un- and under-employed. Once a family begins operating at a deficit, recovery becomes more difficult. Without significant savings or familial support, circumstances may conspire to render families homeless through foreclosure or eviction. Once a family has lost stable housing and employment, regaining it may prove to be an insurmountable hurdle that may only be scaled with the assistance of the community.

In 1996, the federal government came to the conclusion that the welfare system should be placed in the hands of the state governments. With this in mind, the Temporary Aid to Needy Families was established. The TANF is more governed towards getting people back into the workforce by requiring recipients to engage in job searches, and participate in community service. The previous phase of welfare was more for providing people with capital in the hopes that he/she would use it to get back on his/her feet. The TANF is still known as welfare to the public (“Government Spends”). In the new welfare program,

The United States federal government spent about $16.5 billion dollars each year to support the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (“Policy” 2). This program, established in 1996, provides a block grant to the states, which use these funds to operate their own programs.