Final Report of the Subcommittee on Domestic Trafficking

Department <strong>of</strong> Health and Human ServicesAdministration for Children and FamiliesTemporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)Service: Office <strong>of</strong> Family Assistance (OFA)Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)The Federal TANF program, which is time limited, assists families with children when<strong>the</strong> parents or o<strong>the</strong>r responsible relatives cannot provide for <strong>the</strong> family's basic needs. TheFederal Government provides grants to States to run <strong>the</strong> TANF program. These StateTANF programs are designed to accomplish four goals:(1) to provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in <strong>the</strong>ir ownhomes or in <strong>the</strong> homes <strong>of</strong> relatives;(2) to end <strong>the</strong> dependency <strong>of</strong> needy parents on government benefits by promoting jobpreparation, work, and marriage;(3) to prevent and reduce <strong>the</strong> incidence <strong>of</strong> out-<strong>of</strong>-wedlock pregnancies and establishannual numerical goals for preventing and reducing <strong>the</strong> incidence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se pregnancies;and(4) to encourage <strong>the</strong> formation and maintenance <strong>of</strong> two-parent families.Families with an adult head-<strong>of</strong>-household, minor parent or pregnant minor head-<strong>of</strong>household,or spouse <strong>of</strong> such head-<strong>of</strong>-household, who has received Federally fundedassistance for a total <strong>of</strong> five years (or less at State option), are not eligible for cash aidunder <strong>the</strong> TANF program. States may extend assistance beyond 60 months to not morethan 20 percent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir caseload. They may also elect to provide assistance to familiesbeyond 60 months using State-only funds.Qualified aliens are <strong>the</strong> only non-citizens who may receive a Federal TANF publicbenefit. Qualified aliens are legal permanent residents, asylees, refugees, aliens paroledinto <strong>the</strong> United States for at least one year, aliens whose deportations are being withheld,aliens granted conditional entry, Cuban/Haitian entrants, and certain battered aliens. Inaddition, victims <strong>of</strong> severe forms <strong>of</strong> trafficking are eligible for benefits and services underany federally-funded or administered program to <strong>the</strong> same extent as refugees. However,qualified aliens who entered <strong>the</strong> U.S. on or after August 22, 1996 are statutorily barredfor five years from receiving a Federal means-tested TANF benefit. Some qualifiedaliens are exempt from this five year bar. They include: refugees (and trafficking victimswho have been issued certification or eligibility letters), asylees, aliens whose deportationis being withheld, Amerasians, Cuban/Haitian entrants, as well as veterans, members <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> military on active duty, and <strong>the</strong>ir spouses and unmarried dependent children.While <strong>the</strong> Federal government provides funds to States to have a TANF program, eachState designs and operates its own TANF program. Therefore States, not <strong>the</strong> Federalgovernment, establish <strong>the</strong>ir own eligibility rules for receiving ongoing assistance, and any23