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The Databook
Content of the Databook
The descriptions of the policies in this Databook should be considered from the point of view of the individuals and families to whom the policies apply. The book describes the rules that affect individuals and families in each state, but generally does not specifically identify whether those policies are imposed due to federal or state requirements. Thus, this book does not provide an exhaustive description of federal requirements or prohibitions. Unless a specific policy could not be fully discussed without identifying that the policy stemmed from a federal regulation, the federal versus state distinction is not mentioned. For example, in the case of time limits, it is difficult to fully explain TANF time limit policies without discussing the federal government’s 60-month limit. However, in most instances we simply state the policies and do not discuss which level of government (federal versus state) institutes the specific requirements.
The tables included in this book are designed to provide readers with easy access to key TANF policies across states as of July 2004. The first four chapters of the Databook provide information as of July 2004 across four broad policy areas: initial eligibility, benefits, requirements, and ongoing eligibility. For selected policies, longitudinal tables include data from 1996 through 2004.
The data for the tables are extracted from the WRD and represent only a portion of the overall information in the database. Even for the policy areas addressed in this book, further details are available online in the WRD. In general, the Databook tables focus on the “majority rule” (the policy that affects the majority of the state’s caseload for the majority of the year) for a particular aspect of policy, while the online database allows exploration of policy variations across months of the year and different subsets of the caseload.
For more information about which WRD variables are required for each table, see the WRD web site. The web site includes a link to the “Creation of Databook Variables” document. This document lists the WRD variables used for each Databook table and provides information on how to construct the Databook variables.
Structure of the Tables
Each table follows the same general structure and was created using the same set of rules. Typically, the body of each table includes one row per state, which represents the policies that affect the majority of the caseload as of July 2004. Units comprising the majority of the caseload tend to be nonexempt, single-parent units with children.
Some tables include more information than just the rules for the majority of the caseload. In some cases, the information is represented as an additional row for the state, whereas other types of information are included as footnotes.
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Additional data as a second row: A second row is added to the body of the table if a state divides its entire caseload into mutually exclusive groups that are treated differently across more than one policy. These groups—termed “components” in the WRD—are usually defined by more than one characteristic, such as “units containing a child under 13 years old whose unit head is job ready.” Descriptions of states’ components are located in appendix 1.
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Additional data as a footnote: Several types of variations may appear as footnotes in the tables. These include variation by type of assistance unit (two-parent units versus one-parent units or applicants versus recipients) or geographic areas (demonstration projects in a few counties versus the rest of the state). In some, but not all, tables these types of policies are footnoted. The tables do not capture all the variation in policies across regions and types of units, but the WRD contains this information. In addition, states that allow counties to vary policy are footnoted. The footnote indicates the name of the county (the largest in the state) to which the policy applies.
Each 2004 table is numbered by chapter and section. For example, table III.A.1 refers to the first table in chapter III, section A. The longitudinal tables are numbered L1 through L10. The numbering of the tables in this book corresponds to the numbering of the tables in the 1999 through 2003 books.
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