Temporary Assistance For Needy Families: Sanctioning and Child Support Compliance Among Black Families In Illinois

This article describes a community-engaged, mixed-methods research project to identify barriers to TANF among families with young children in Illinois which examined TANF sanctions related to child support enforcement. The study, which used TANF administrative data analysis and included semi-structured interviews with TANF customers, explored demographic differences in sanctioning and sanction types; it found that Black families were more likely than families of other races to be sanctioned. Mothers who were survivors of intimate partner violence voiced particular challenges with child support compliance. The article proposes policy recommendations that include shifting to alternative cash assistance models and removing pass-through funding so that families receive the full child support benefit.