This is the page where OFA posts all TANF-related Program Instructions.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that discusses issues and potential options for: 1) TANF's role in providing cash assistance to low-income families, 2) measuring TANF work participation, and 3) information on States' use of TANF funds. The report also reviews relevant Federal laws, regulations, and agency documents, along with transcripts from relevant congressional hearings from 2009 through 2012, which provide information on issues and options identified by members of Congress.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) updated their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Policy Brief, addressing the new TANF block grants that have been authorized under a series of short-term extensions. This brief discusses the goals of the reauthorization and provides a summary of recommendations along with brief descriptions of each of the nine recommendations made.

A new question and answer has been posted to the Office of Family Assistance Web site (see Question two of the Q & A: Drug Convictions). This item responds to the question as to whether or not an individual with a felony drug conviction can receive TANF non-assistance services.

Child-only cases have become a substantial presence in the United States' TANF caseload, representing a large portion of TANF cases. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago released a report with the purpose of aiding policy makers as they contemplate modifications to TANF. This report has three goals: to describe child-only policies and explore how these policies create and shape child-only cases; to provide information about the needs of children and adults in households that receive child-only aid; and to situate child-only TANF policy in the context of other relevant policies.

This Urban Institute report details how state policy decisions affect TANF program administration in five states: California, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and Washington. The authors examined both cash assistance and other aspects of the block grant, plus how states responded to the Deficit Reduction Act and the recession.