CRS: The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant: A Primer on TANF Financing and Federal Requirements, Gene Falk, Specialist in Social Policy. October 10, 2012
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides federal grants to the 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Indian tribes, and the territories for a wide range of benefits, services, and activities. It is best known for helping states pay for cash welfare for needy families with children, but it funds a wide array of additional activities. TANF was created in the 1996 welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). Current law funds TANF through March 2013. TANF provides a basic block grant of $16.5 billion to the 50 states and District of Columbia, and $0.1 billion to U.S. territories. It also requires states to contribute in the aggregate from their own funds at least $10.4 billion for benefits and services to needy families with children—this is known as the maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement."
