To Strengthen Economic Security and Advance Equity, States Should Invest More TANF Dollars in Basic Assistance

A compilation of research from Chapin Hall shows that state policies that ease Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) restrictions and increase family access to TANF play a role in reducing child welfare involvement. Providing cash to families can help reduce the risk of economic hardship by promoting stability. Despite the clear benefits of providing direct cash assistance, states have repeatedly made policy choices to spend TANF dollars elsewhere, significantly weakening TANF in performing this core task. Fewer families in need have access to the program (in 2020, for every 100 families living in poverty, only 21 received TANF cash assistance, down from 68 families when TANF was created) and as this Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report explains, states are spending a shrinking portion of their TANF funds on basic assistance.