Congress must reauthorize Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) by September 30, 2011.  Reauthorization offers a fresh opportunity for advocates to press Congress for measures to make.  The TANF block grant program was scheduled for reauthorization in 2010. However, Congress did not work on legislation to reauthorize the program. Congress extended the TANF block grant through September 30, 2011 as part of the Claims Resolution Act (P.L. 111-291).  This extension did not include the TANF Emergency Fund, created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In anticipation of months of negotiations and discussions prior to TANF reauthorization now slated for the 111 Congress, the National Association of State TANF Administrators have published recommendations in December 2010.  The overarching priorities for TANF reauthorization are:

• Adjust the TANF block grant to reflect current purchasing power and index funding going forward.  The failure to adjust the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the original passage of TANF in 1996 has created significant lags in the buying power of the funds over time. 
• Maintain a focus on work as the expected avenue for most program participants to attain economic security, while providing the necessary ability to tailor work participation in activities in a manner that is often necessary to help stabilize families and most appropriately prepare parents to enter and maintain employment.
• Restore and enhance areas of state flexibility that were greatly undermined by the Deficit Reduction Act.
• Provide a state option to develop additional performance measures over and above the work participations rate (WPR).

The National Association of State TANF Administrators (NASTA) believes that to meet the rising caseloads experienced by most states as a result of the recession, increased cash assistance payments could jeopardize TANF investments for working poor households through workforce stabilization efforts of child care, transportation, expanded employment services, earning disregards and state tax credits if funding is not increased.  Without additional funding states will be unable to ensure that funds are available for cash assistance and supports for the working poor household.  The TANF Administrators recommend the following changes should be included in reauthorization:

• Maintain the base TANF funding and formula allocation, and fold current supplemental funds into each eligible state’s base.
• Increase the current level of overall funding for the basic TANF block grant using the CPI increases since 1996 and employ reasonable allocation methodologies for new funds.
• Ensure that emergency funding, similar to the Emergency Contingency Fund, remains available through FY 2011.
• Replenish the base Contingency Fund and create reasonable access during emergency periods.

About Kay Casey

Kay Casey has over 20 years of experience in federal and state child welfare policy and programs, having worked for the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Florida Department of Children and Families prior to joining PCG. She is responsible for the review and assessment of fiscal processing systems that impact a state’s ability to identify, document, and report expenditures for federal reporting purposes accompanied with the programmatic impact on the state’s system of care.

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