[20180517]IF10889_为贫困家庭提供临时援助：现金援助案件数量的下降.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov May 17, 2018Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The Decline in the Cash Assistance CaseloadIntroduction The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant helps fund public assistance programs for needy families with children, families often headed by a single mother. It was created in the 1996 welfare reform law, P.L. 104-193, which ended the prior federal grant to states for public assistance, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). TANF has an explicit statutory goal to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits and the decline in the cash assistance caseload is the most visible indicator of progress toward meeting that goal. In 1995 an estimated 17.6 million people (adults and children) received assistance during the year compared to 4.9 million in 2015. However, most of the TANF cash assistance caseload decline comes from fewer eligible people receiving assistance, rather than from there being fewer eligible people. This In Focus examines the TANF caseload decline in the context of those eligible for its assistance as well as child poverty. It summarizes and updates information in CRS Report R44724, Tempo