States have broad flexibility over the use of state and federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds. Many have used that flexibility to divert funds away from income support for families and toward other state budget areas often…

In 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) launched the Youth Employment Works strategy to set a clear vision for young people in the workforce system and its public and private sector partners. This work is urgent and necessary to promote high…

There are estimates that between 20 and 50 percent of people eligible for social safety net programs do not access them. While there may be many factors contributing to that gap, recent research has focused on the role that stigma plays. Stigma…

Experiments conducted in the mid-1990s show that a combination of work requirements and work supports substantially increased the employment of cash assistance recipients in Aid to Families with Dependent Children, while having little effect on…

Recent state, tribal, and territorial use of pandemic emergency assistance funding (PEAF) demonstrated the utility of providing customized approaches to meet the needs of low-income families. Program evolution, whether driven by a pandemic,…

The Office of Family Assistance has released tables that provide demographic data on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of adults and children in TANF and Separate State Program-Maintenance-of-Effort active families and closed cases, as well as…

Children rely on the adults in their lives to provide safety and security; unfortunately, this is often difficult for adults living in poverty to provide. As a result, some children living in poverty face developmental challenges that may affect…

Many child support policies disproportionately harm families with low incomes in which nonresident parents have limited ability to pay support. This blogpost outlines six recommendations on how child support systems can equitably serve families…

When people struggle to make ends meet, public benefit programs have the potential to help them meet their basic needs for food, housing, health care, and cash. Yet many families and individuals do not participate in the programs that could help…

During the continued recovery from and ongoing response to the COVID-19 epidemic, every member of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families has experienced a growing set of challenges to their mental well-being. Amplified…