TANF Failure

The TANF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, did have its initial intended impact. TANK was implemented as a new program under President Clinton to lower the dependency of families on welfare which is one of the sole reasons the government made the decision to switch from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to TANF. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priority [CBPP], “The national TANF caseload has declined by over 60 percent over the last 18 years, even as poverty and deep poverty (i.e., income below half the poverty line) have worsened” (2015). TANF received results that the federal government was looking forward to at the time.
There are four goals that TANF is required to meet to contribute to the better life for families and children that fall below the poverty line:
“(1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy parents on

Policy makers believe TANF is a “weakened safety net that does far less than AFDC did to alleviate poverty and hardship” (Center on Budget and Policy Priority, 2015). There can be a coincidence of a booming economy which is why TANF performed well, accrediting a positive correlation with the success of TANF. All of the declines in numbers policymakers originally witness have been steadily increasing, “…TANF reaches so many fewer families than AFDC did, it provides substantially less protection against poverty and deep poverty” (CBPP, 2015). Populations that TANF was created to protect by increasing independence. However, statistics show single mothers and needy parents in the same tragic situation they were in prior to the implementation of TANF. People generally are worse off when they leave TANF. Child care or transportation is not a requirement under TANF, it is a state’s choice to provide this