Welfare Reform: TANF Trends and Data

The size and character of the nation’s family cash welfare rolls and the composition of welfare spending have changed markedly since August, 1996, when Congress created the time-limited and work-conditioned block grant program of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Enrollment has plunged more than 50%. The share of recipients who combine welfare and work has risen sharply (26% in FY2000). The share of “child-only”cases, which are free of work and time limit rules, has climbed above one-third nationally and in nine states exceeds one-half of allTANF cases. The smaller caseload holds a rising proportion of black and Hispanic families