Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) Article

$7.5 billion annually. This is an enormous waste of scarce federal dollars that should be used to target

Homelessness is one of the oldest problems that exist, fast forward almost 40 years since it’s been recognized as one and still there has been no avail to finding a real solution. The definition of homelessness under the McKinney-Vento Homelessness Assistance Act is defined as an individual: “who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and a person who has a nighttime residence that is supervised publicly or privately operated shelter, and c) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized, or a private or public place not designed for, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.”

It is easy to see that the politics that led to the adoption of AFDC as a social program and policy and the way in which AFDC expanded was quite radically different from the political trends that led to the welfare reform of 1996. And in discussing welfare state "retrenchment" Paul Pierson makes what seems to be an argument based on semantics as much as substance. It takes him several pages in some cases to point out evidence to be used in his strongest positions. This is not to say he is totally spinning wheels in his narrative, but as Pierson goes into great detail about the dynamics of retrenchment (which also refers to cutbacks, economizing and re-thinking of policies), he shows his skills in descriptive scholarship more so than coming directly to the point of his thesis.

An estimate in 2011 concluded that 1.9 million families were the target population of the TANF program. The need that is targeted includes assisting families with cash benefits to provide for children in their home. Families below the federal poverty line are provided minimal cash assistance, child care, education, and training. For the TANF policy and program to be successful there needs to be changes that focus the increasing support for working families through TANF, eliminate education barriers, address employment barriers, provide child poverty reduction bonus, restore immigrant eligibility, enhance the capacity of the welfare system infrastructure, and expand other programs supporting low-income families (National Association of Social Workers, 2014). These changes are need to remove the focus from the deficit of individuals and families living in poverty while creating a policy that will address the needs of the

One reform argument is centered on the ?burden? for taxpayers to support people who are not trying to help themselves. Gilens reported, ?The economic self-interest explanation of welfare reform is widely assumed to be true, and debates over public policy often remain on the assumption that the middle class resent paying for programs that benefit only the poor? (Gilens, p. 2, 1996). Reform efforts often focus on general stereotypes of welfare recipients not wanting to work and preferring to take advantage of taxpayer money. Conservatives and liberals refer to ?welfare spending? as excessive and unnecessary. However, prior to the popularity of welfare reform, the U.S. Bureau of Census reported actual money spent on AFDC was only 7% of the $613 billion spend on social welfare which included health care, veterans? programs, education, housing, and pubic aid (tables 579, 583, 1993). With government statistics contradicting claims of excessive spending, there is

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento) covers many aspects of homelessness. The original Act contained 15 different programs for people who were homeless (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], 2007). I will be focusing on Title VII-B of this act. This section of McKinney-Vento speaks to homeless children and their right to equal access to an appropriate public school education. This Act has been in existence since 1987. Due to school performance standards put in place by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, this specific section of the McKinney-Vento Act has been reauthorized to include new mandates (United States Department of Education [DE], 2004).

Poverty has been a problem in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for years. The introduction of TANF seemed to be a hopeful new start for families in need, but what has TANF really instituted and accomplished? After years of a system of welfare “recipients” gaining cash assistance from the government, the new system was meant to inspire welfare “participants” to actively work in order to earn their cash assistance. While TANF has been implemented across the country, it’s effect on Milwaukee has yet to show any great significance. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families is simply a reformation of the welfare system with stringent work requirements, yet lacking the employment opportunities and resources necessary to accomplish its broad range of goals, ultimately to the disadvantage of those dependent on it.

For Science and Technology: $10 billion for new scientific facilities (increase) and $6 billion to improve internet access in rural areas (Increase). For the Infrastructure: it included $30 billion for highways (Increase), $31 billion to modernize federal buildings and infrastructure(Stimulate) , $19 billion for clean water (Stimulate), and other environmental investments, and $10 billion to improve public transit and rail infrastructure(Stimulate) . For Education: $41 billion for local school districts(Increase) , $79 billion to maintain schools (Stimulate) , $15.6 billion to broaden the federal Pell Grant program (need based grants to fund education)(Increase), and $6 billion to modernize higher education programs(Stimulate). For Health Care: $87 billion for Medicaid (Increase), $20 billion to improve technology in the medical field (Increase), and $4 billion to improve preventative care (increase). The plan also includes $140 billion directed towards tax cuts of $500 per worker or $1,000 per family over two years, expand tax credits for working poor with children, and a $2,500 college tuition credit. All of this is a part of the G in the C+I+G+Xn, GDP Formula. Gsavings= Taxes -Gov’t Spending-Xn (Exports – Imports). The Treasury’s $700 Billion in TARP funds, which were originally aimed at stabilizing the financial sector, should be used to provide relief to other industries and “for things that look more like stimulus and less like asset purchases.” Some of the things that this includes is: Automatic economic stabilizers like the extension of unemployment insurance, the expansion of health insurance, Mortgage relief for those American’s facing default, the federal reserve’s purchase of mortgage-backed securities and other types of securities in need in the future, and an

The main aim to select those articles is to know the author findings on this topic and their views on implications of federal spending. Data sources will be from secondary sources that is analyzing the articles and making assumptions on the data. Data will be obtained from google.com and UTRGV library will comprise on the decisions of law makers that help them to implement the programs. Data from articles will be selected on the basis of the data methods, ways to implement the problem and to solve the problem.

According to the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau report, more than 46 million Americans remain below the poverty line, despite the fact that U.S. taxpayers spend about $1 trillion a year for anti-poverty programs, including TANF, which provides assistance to families with little or no income. In 1996, Welfare Reform was passed by President Bill Clinton, this legislation was known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 which replaced President Franklin D. Roosevelt welfare program that was initiated in 1935. The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program provided benefits to poor families with children, before it became known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) a block grant

As mentioned by Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press, “Lawmakers bridged a $19 billion shortfall, more than 20 percent of the $87.5 billion general fund spending plan”. This shows that the state was heading towards a financial crisis and more deficit creation. Moreover, Thompson (2010), in the Associated Press also points out that “It includes no tax or fee increases but uses a combination of cuts, funding shifts, delayed corporate tax breaks and assumptions about money the state hopes to receive”. The budget gave rise to other dependent costs such as delayed tax refunds. It was uncertain that the State will receive the required funds from the federal government to ensure that the important programs will function the way it used to be until the funds are received.

I would go about identifying eligible families for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, benefits by using what the requirements are for Pennsylvania residents on the TANF website. According to the TANF Program (n.d.a), “you must be a United States citizen and a resident of Pennsylvania” (para. 8) to apply for TANF benefits. If you are a “non-citizen lawfully admitted for permanent residency, you may be eligible” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8) for TANF benefits. “You also must provide you and your family’s Social Security numbers” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8). Another requirement is that you are to be “looking for a job or participating in an employment training program” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8). Potential TANF beneficiaries “are required to help the caseworker complete an Agreement of Mutual Responsibility, which is a plan for what you will do so you no longer need cash assistance” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8). If you need cash assistance for children, your children must be under age 18 or be 18 and a fulltime student (TANF Program, n.d.a). To be a recipient of TANF benefits, you must have “your children living with you and you must care for the children” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8). You also must have “your resources have a value of $1,000 or less” (TANF Program, n.d.a, para. 8). You also “must report all income from employment or from other sources including, but not limited to, child support, unemployment compensation, interest, Social

I believe that people who are in need should get the proper assistance they deserve. In high school, I volunteered at a soup kitchen and saw how children struggled to obtain their basic needs and in some essence, loss a piece of their childhood. I support TANF especially since it helps families, which includes aiding children who do not have the ability to support themselves. It is hard for me to see the children suffer especially since it is no fault of their own.

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 funds from the bill were to be allocated to different projects that were designed to create jobs. Part of this was a distribution of the funds to states based on how effectively they would use the funds (Chenn). In an article quoted by Chenn, Daniel Wilson says that the bill is aimed at states that are in need of funds, therefore they will spend the money