After 20 Years, TANF Provides a Weaker Safety Net for Poor Families

Maximum cash benefits as % of federal poverty line (for a family of three),

Inflation-adjusted decline in benefits (for a family of three), 1996 —

Number of families receiving cash benefits for every 100 families with children in poverty, -

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State Fact Sheets: TANF Spending

State Fact Sheets: Caseload and TANF to Poverty Ratio

Note: TANF = Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Source: Calculated from Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines and Congressional Research Service (for 1996, 2000 2005) and CBPP-compiled (for 2010 and 2015) benefit information.

Note: TANF = Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.

Source: Congressional Research Service (for 1996, 2000, 2005) and CBPP-compiled (for 2010 and 2015) benefit information adjusted for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Note: TANF = Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. 2013-14 are the most recent years for which we have data. Two-year averages of the TANF-to-Poverty ratios are used to improve the reliability of the poverty data at the state level.

Source: CBPP analysis of poverty data from the Census' Current Population Survey and AFDC/TANF caseload data from the Department of Health and Human Services and (since September 2006) caseload data collected by CBPP from state agencies.