TY  - JOUR
AU  - Ziliak, James P
TI  - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 21038
PY  - 2015
Y2  - March 2015
DO  - 10.3386/w21038
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w21038
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w21038.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
James P. Ziliak
Center for Poverty Research
and Department of Economics
University of Kentucky
550 South Limestone St.
Lexington, KY 40506-0047
E-Mail: jziliak@uky.edu
M1  - published as James P. Ziliak. "Temporary Assistance for Needy Families," in Robert A. Moffitt, editor, "Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, Volume 1" University of Chicago Press (2016)

M3  - presented at "Means-Tested Transfer Programs", December 5-6, 2014
AB  - In this chapter I provide a brief history of the TANF program, including changes made as part of the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act. I then present a variety of program statistics, including trends in aggregate and state-level caseloads and spending, along with changes in the demographic composition of the program, especially the shift from adult with child cases to child-only cases. I also highlight the changing composition of spending on the program from cash assistance to in-kind assistance, and the challenges faced in documenting total (cash + in-kind) caseloads and spending. I follow this with a discussion of the behavioral issues surrounding TANF, including the four program goals and possible modifications as part of the 2014 reauthorization legislation, and then I provide a systematic review of the research evidence on whether those goals have been met.
ER  -