What is TANF? Part I

What is TANF?

              Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a government program that gives cash assistance to needy families with dependent children, and to pregnant women, to help them meet the basic needs of their children. This cash assistance can be used to help families with housing, utilities, and clothing costs. It is sometimes called "welfare." In New Mexico the TANF program is often referred to as NMWorks (NMW). TANF is a time-limited program. Most people are allowed to get TANF benefits for no more than 60 months during their lifetime. Some people, such as people with permanent disabilities, can get a hardship extension of benefits (http://www.newmexicoresources.org/pages.cfm?ContentID=17&pageID=4&Subpages='yes'&DynamicID=348).

Who Runs the TANF Program?

              The TANF program is a federal program, managed by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in the U.S. government. This federal department gives money to each state in the form of a block grant each year to provide TANF for its residents. In New Mexico, the Income Support Division (ISD) of the Human Services Department (HSD) is in charge of the state TANF program. Indian tribes may choose to operate their own Tribal TANF programs (http://www.newmexicoresources.org/pages.cfm?ContentID=17&pageID=4&Subpages='yes'&DynamicID=348).

Political Worldviews

             Throughout the history of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) there was been a competition waged by two vying social and political worldviews. This difference was most readily seen in the administrations of Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Former President Kennedy came from and promoted a liberal political worldview. When speaking of poverty liberal ideology takes the position that we live in a “national” community. This mindset caters to national legislation and the creation of services solely devoted to solving social ills such as poverty. One possible outcome from this worldview put into practice is that the legislative body passing such laws and creating these services are removing the responsibility of the local community and in essence over-reaching its ordained power.
            This leads us to the conservative political worldview best represented in the administration of former President Reagan. When speaking of poverty, the conservative ideology views poverty as a “local” community issue, placing the burden of responsibility on the state, county, city, town, church and family. In terms of legislation the goal is to reduce national assistance and services, thus encouraging local entities and persons to action on behalf of their local community’s needs. One possible outcome of this worldview is that people don’t take responsibility for the needy in their community and so these people go un-helped. With this background information in mind it is much easier to understand the actions taken by both Presidents, Kennedy bolstering the ADC and Reagan scaling back the CETA.
Breaking Down TANF Information
            Here's a few charts that display information in regards to TANF. The chart below shows how many people on TANF get a job after leaving TANF:

The chart below shows the expenditures and budget for TANF recipients: