Welfare Rules Databook: State Policies as of July 2020

Publication Date: March 8, 2022
cover image for the Welfare Rules Databook July 2020 report

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  • Pages: 336
  • Published: 2022

Introduction

Research Questions

  1. What are the eligibility requirements for families?
  2. How are TANF benefits calculated and administered?
  3. What activities are required to become and remain eligible for assistance?
  4. What ongoing eligibility tests are applied, and can families receive assistance when they transition off of TANF?
  5. How have state policies changed over time?

The primary program that provides cash aid to families in financial need is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. TANF is a block grant, meaning the federal government provides each state with a set amount of money that the state combines with its own funding to meet the program’s goals. Each state establishes its own policies for exactly who can get help, how much they can receive, and for how long. These policies can vary greatly across states.

This report describes the ways in which policies vary within the context of the federal program requirements and includes dozens of detailed tables showing each state’s policy choices.

Purpose

The Welfare Rules Database tracks state TANF policies over time, from 1996 to the present. The database includes hundreds of variables related to initial eligibility, benefit amounts, work and activity requirements, and ongoing eligibility and time limits. The database is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE)/ and the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and maintained by the Urban Institute. This report provides dozens of tables detailing selected state policies for 2020.

Key Findings and Highlights

Key findings for state TANF policies in July 2020 include:

  1. The maximum monthly earnings that a family of three could have and still be initially eligible for TANF ranged from $268 in Alabama to $2,359 in Minnesota.
  2. Seventeen states required that unemployed applicants search for a job as a condition of application.
  3. The maximum monthly benefit for a single-parent family with two children and no income living in the most populous area of the state ranged from $170 in Mississippi to $1,086 in New Hampshire.
  4. Twelve states have a family cap policy. For the states with family cap policies, seven states do not increase the cash benefit for an additional child born to the family. Three states do increase the benefit, but at less than the normal increment.
  5. Forty states generally require parents to work a minimum of 30 hours per week; rules sometimes vary when there are two parents.
  6. Twenty-five states provided cash assistance to families after they stop receiving regular monthly TANF benefits, with the transitional help lasting for periods ranging from 1 to 24 months.

Methods

The database tracks TANF policies for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data are collected primarily from the caseworker manuals and documents used to administer the TANF program in each state. Each year, the project produces a set of tables containing selected policies from the database. The tables are then reviewed by state administrators and verified for accuracy. The final tables are included in an annual report, with the current report showing the policies in effect on July 1, 2020. The full database containing all of the variables and longitudinal details is also made available for public use at https://wrd.urban.org .

Citation

Dehry, Ilham, Sarah Knowles, Katie Shantz, Sarah Minton, and Linda Giannarelli (2022). Welfare Rules Databook: State TANF Policies as of July 2020, OPRE Report 2021-147, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Glossary

TANF:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families