This will summarize policy and provide guidance with respect to the current TANF program on the use of TANF funds to enable States and Tribes administering approved Tribal TANF programs to serve families in a State or area(s) in a State covered by a Federal or State disaster declaration.
We first provided this information in Program Instruction, TANF-ACF-PI-2005-06, dated October 11, 2005, Using Federal TANF and State MOE Funds for Families Affected By Hurricane Katrina. Since issuance of this PI, we have received questions about families affected by other Federal or State declared disasters occurring in a State or part of a State. We have informally advised that the information in TANF-ACF-PI-2005-06 could be applied to other declared disaster situations so a State could more expeditiously serve families affected by the disaster. This PI announces that the policy and guidance provided herein may apply in serving families affected by a Federal or State disaster declaration in a State or part of a State.
We want to encourage States and Tribes to take necessary action to address the immediate needs of the dislocated families affected by a Federal or State declared disaster. Our goal is to help them integrate as quickly as possible into local communities, preferably with family, relatives or friends. We want to assure you that we will take all steps within our authority to ensure that there are no negative consequences associated with a State or Tribe’s compassionate response to an unfortunate situation.