Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Research Synthesis

2009-2012

The purpose of the TANF and CCDF Research Synthesis Project was to inform research planning and support evidence-based decision making related to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs. This project identified important areas and topics where research was needed to inform policy and practice, synthesized and summarized the existing knowledge base on these issues and produced a series of research briefs. The goal was to make the most recent, rigorous and relevant research related to TANF and CCDF available in a format useful for both researchers and policymakers.

Topics covered in the briefs include:

  • Improving employment and earnings for TANF recipients
  • TANF recipients with barriers to employment
  • Changes in the TANF caseload over time
  • Disconnected families and TANF
  • TANF child-only cases
  • TANF work requirements and state strategies to fulfill them
  • TANF and the broader safety net
  • Facilitating post-secondary education and training for TANF recipients
  • How CCDF policies affect providers
  • Research on children's health and safety in child care
  • Client-friendly strategies for CCDF

Related Resources

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Facilitating Postsecondary Education and Training for TANF Recipients

March 15, 2012
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Increasing education among low-income parents is a vital component of policies to improve families’ economic status…

How Has the TANF Caseload Changed over Time?

March 15, 2012
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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseloads have plummeted since the program was enacted in 1996…

TANF Work Requirements and State Strategies to Fulfill Them

March 15, 2012
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A central component of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is its emphasis on work. Adult TANF recipients, with some exceptions, must participate in work activities as a condition of receiving cash benefits. This brief discusses the federal work requirements and state strategies for meeting them. It especially focuses on state strategies since passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA), the recession that began in December 2007, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Improving Employment and Earnings for TANF Recipients

March 15, 2012
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Over the past two decades, federal and state policymakers have dramatically reshaped the nation’s system of cash…

A Summary of Research on How CCDF Policies Affect Providers

March 15, 2012
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The Federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) is a primary source of assistance helping low-income parents pay…

What Can CCDF Learn from the Research on Children's Health and Safety in Child Care?

March 15, 2012
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With large numbers of young children in non parental care, policy-makers and researchers share a strong interest…

TANF Child-Only Cases

January 15, 2012
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Almost half of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cases are “child-only cases,” which arise when…

TANF and the Broader Safety Net

January 15, 2012
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This research brief summarizes what we know about the connections between TANF and other large safety net programs…

Client-Friendly Strategies: What Can CCDF Learn from Research on Other Systems?

December 15, 2011
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The child care subsidy system funded through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) provides…

Disconnected Families and TANF

November 15, 2011
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After creation of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF) in 1996, millions of single mothers…

TANF Recipients with Barriers to Employment

August 15, 2011
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Many parents receiving assistance from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) face serious barriers…