This study sought to examine the effect of prenatal poverty on the birth weight of infants (as birth weight can be a predictor for a range of outcomes for children) and subsequently, the effect that work-based welfare assistance, such as the EITC and TANF, has on maternal and infant health. The study found that there is a causal link between prenatal poverty and low birth weights, finding that state EITCs relieve prenatal poverty and indicated increased birth weights in babies born to mothers who received an earned income tax credit. However, the study found mixed results for TANF receipt and its effect on birth weights.

This brief from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides a broad overview of research and evidence of the positive effect of public benefit programs on poverty rates in the U.S. Programs highlighted include SNAP, Medicaid, and refundable tax credits with a discussion of the current support for low income working families (versus historical policies which did not incentivize work). To conclude, the brief provides research citing improved long-term outcomes for children whose families are supported by public benefit programs. Two appendices provide charts with the number of people kept above the poverty in each state; an interesting and potentially helpful resource for policymakers and program administrators.

This data report from Child Trends provides updated information and recent data related to TANF and its outcomes for children. A summary of trends is provided as well as a series of graphs offering both longitudinal data and point in time data from fiscal year 2010. Various studies are cited which offer both mixed results when examining TANF’s effect on child poverty.

The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation released a publication that provides tables containing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies for each state as of July 2013. The Databook also includes longitudinal tables describing various state policies for selected years between 1996 and 2013.

The Brookings Institution released a report that examines how the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program responded to the increased unemployment rates during the Great Recession (December 2007 - June 2009). Authors of the report explored three conducted studies that looked at changes in TANF rolls in relation to two alternative measures of rising unemployment per state.

The Urban Partnerships Initiative was a project designed by the Office of Family Assistance to improve outcomes for low-income families by facilitating peer exchange among TANF stakeholders in urban centers. This project sought to identify the issues faced by urban communities in moving families from welfare to work, to establish community-level collaborative, and to match technical assistance to community needs. The key purposes of the project were to convene Academies with key stakeholders from urban areas with high TANF caseloads and provide intensive technical assistance to these urban communities to help them develop relationships between systems, to identify and remove barriers to collaboration between systems, and to develop strategic plans addressing the needs identified by the communities during the panel meeting.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposed to amend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) regulations to require states to maintain policies and practices that prevent TANF-funded assistance from being used in any electronic benefit transfer transaction in specified locations.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance publishes work participation rate data for State and Tribal TANF programs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance publishes financial data for TANF programs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance publishes caseload data for State and Tribal TANF programs.