California Budget Project Tanf Reauthorization

At the same time, Congress must reauthorize the Child Care and Development Fund, the Food Stamp Program, the Social Services Block Grant, and funding for abstinence education in order for funding for these programs to continue. [...] Specifically, Congress can: • Assess the impact of welfare reform to date; • Revisit and possibly redefine the goals of TANF; • Define appropriate funding levels for state block grants and related funds; • Modify the requirements TANF imposes on states and recipients; and • Enhance the flexibility of states to provide services with TANF funds, while holding states accountable for their performance. [...] Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numeri- cal goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and 4. [...] California's caseload decline has lagged that of the nation as a whole, due in part to the state's delayed emergence from the reces- sion of the early 1990s, due process provisions for CalWORKs recipients who are at risk of financial penalties, and California's more generous grant levels and "earnings disregards." With higher grants and more generous earnings disregards, working families can work. [...] The federal welfare law imposes a five-year lifetime limit on the receipt of federal cash assistance and services, although states may exempt up to 20 percent of the caseload from the time limit.