ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AUTHORIZATION:

Social Security Act, Title IV, Part A, as amended; Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193; Balanced Budget Act of 1997, Public Law 105-33.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide assistance to needy families with children so that children can be cared for in their own homes; to reduce dependency by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; to reduce and prevent out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Formula Grants.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Cash grants, work opportunities and other services are made directly to needy families with children. States, Territories, or Tribes have broad flexibility to use the grant funds in any manner that meets the purposes of the program (including providing low-income households with assistance in meeting home heating and cooling costs) and in ways that the State, Territory and Tribe was authorized to use funds received under the predecessor Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance (EA) programs. States and Territories may also transfer a limited portion of their assistance grant funds to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Programs. Not more than 15 percent of any grant may be spent on administrative costs, exclusive of certain computerization and information technology expenses. ACF will negotiate a limitation on administrative costs for the first year of the program's operation not to exceed 35 percent, for the second year of the program's operation not to exceed 30 percent, and the for the third and subsequent years of the program's operation not to exceed 25 percent.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   In general, all States, Territories, the District of Columbia, and all Tribes in the lower 48 States and 13 specified entities in Alaska are eligible. State and local agencies and Tribes that operate TANF programs must do so under plans determined to be complete or approved by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). For contingency funds, all States and the District of Columbia are eligible if they are determined to be a "needy State" by satisfying either an unemployment trigger or a food stamp trigger. Territories and Tribes are not eligible for Supplemental funds. Eligibility for the High Performance Bonus is based on performance in certain criteria as determined by the Secretary. Eligibility for the Decrease in Illegitimacy Bonus is based on available statistical data.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Needy families with children, as determined eligible by the State, Territory or Tribe in accordance with the State or Tribal plan submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Credentials/Documentation:   Federal funds go to the State, Territory or Tribal agency certified by the Chief Executive Officer. Needy families must meet State or Tribal eligibility requirements.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:   Each State and Territory must develop a State plan. Applicants must consult with local governments and private organizations and provide them 45 days to comment on the plan. Tribes may apply to the Secretary to receive funds and to administer the TANF block grant. Tribes would submit a 3-year family assistance plan. The Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, would set program requirements and time-limits for receipt of welfare-related services, consistent with the purposes of the program and economic conditions/resources of each tribe. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.

Application Procedure:   Each State plan, including the certifications signed by the Executive Officer (Governor), must be submitted to the Secretary of HHS. Tribes should contact the ACF Regional Administrators for Tribal plan submittal procedures. For Contingency Funds, each State must request contingency funds monthly for each month they meet either the unemployment or food stamp triggers.

Award Procedure:   Once a plan is determined complete, or in the case of a Tribe the plan is approved, by the DHHS, Family Assistance Grants are awarded in quarterly payments. Contingency awards will be made monthly.

Deadlines:   A State must have implemented a TANF program by July 1, 1997. Tribal programs do not face a specific application deadline. For contingency funds, requests must be submitted 15 days after eligibility has been determined.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   States, Territories and Tribes implement their assistance programs according to their State and Tribal plans. The Secretary does not have authority to approve or disapprove a State plan, only to determine its completeness. Tribal plans are subject to approval by the Secretary. For Contingency funds, approval/disapproval will be from 30 to 60 days after receipt of request for funds.

Appeals:   States, Territories and Tribes facing an adverse action by the Secretary may appeal under both administrative and judicial procedures. States and Tribes must provide opportunities for recipients who have been adversely affected to be heard in a State and Tribal administrative or appeal process.

Renewals:   States, Territories and Tribes must submit a plan (after the necessary consultation and comment period) at least every two years (States and Territories) and three years (Tribes). For Contingency funds, requests for additional funding must be made monthly.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   The TANF program has Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) requirements. To receive their full allocation, States must demonstrate they are spending on activities related to TANF 80 percent of the amount of nonfederal funds they spent in FY 94 on AFDC and related programs. If they meet minimum work participation requirements, their mandatory State effort is reduced to 75 percent. There are no matching or maintenance-of-effort requirements for Tribes. For contingency funds, States must maintain maintenance of effort and provide a State match at the fiscal year 1995 Federal Medical Assistance Percentage rate (FMAP). The assistance grant may be reduced for failure to meet any of 15 different program and fiscal requirements. Penalties may be waived for reasonable cause or upon implementation of an approved corrective action plan.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   States, Territories and Tribes are awarded their assistance grants in quarterly payments. They may reserve grant moneys, without fiscal year limitation, for providing assistance. With certain exceptions, most families are limited to no more than 5 years of assistance under the Federal grant. Tribes have the flexibility to establish time limits on receipt of assistance. For contingency funds, grant awards are issued monthly to eligible States and families no longer receiving assistance.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   States, Territories and Tribes are required to collect and report to the Secretary on a quarterly basis case record information on the families receiving assistance. States, Territories and Tribes are also required to report administrative costs and overhead expenditures on programs for needy families, participation by noncustodial parents in work activities, and transitional services provided to former recipients. States, Territories and Tribes must report child poverty information annually in accordance with a methodology established by the Secretary.

Audits:   Audits shall be conducted by the Inspector General under Chapter 75 of Title 31, United States Code. If a State or Territory is found to have used funds from the State Family Assistance Grant in violation of the Statute, the Secretary shall reduce the grant payable to the State for the immediately succeeding fiscal year by that same amount. For Tribes, The Secretary will have the ability to maintain program funding accountability consistent with generally accepted accounting principles and the requirements of the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).

Records:   States, Territories and Tribes must maintain records containing information the Secretary may require by regulation.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   75-1552-0-1-609.

Obligations:   (State and Tribal Family Assistance Grants): FY 99 $16,488,121,000; FY 00 est $16,488,667,000; and FY 01 est $16,488,667,000. (Territory Assistance Grants and Matching Grants): FY 99 $81,260,000; FY 00 est $92,875,000; and FY 01 est $92,875,000. (Supplemental Grants for Population Increases): FY 99 $159,720,000; FY 00 est $238,599,000; and FY 01 est $319,450,000. (Contingency Funds): FY 99 $1,957,898,000; FY 00 est $1,957,898,000; and FY 01 est $1,957,898,000. (High Performance Bonus): FY 99 $0; FY 00 est $200,000,000; and FY 01 est $200,000,000. (Decrease in Illegitimacy Bonus): FY 99 $100,000,000; FY 00 est $100,000,000; and FY 01 est $100,000,000.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   State Family Assistance Grants are from $21,781,446 to $3,733,817,784. Tribal Family Assistance Grants range from $77,195 to $5,420,841.

PROGAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Grants were made to 50 States, the District of Columbia, three territories, and 20 tribes in fiscal year 1999. It is estimated that grants will be made to made to 50 States, the District of Columbia, three territories, and 24 tribes in fiscal year 2000. It is estimated that grants will be made to 50 States, the District of Columbia, three territories, and 46 tribes in fiscal year 2001.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Proposed Rule was published in the Federal Register on November 20, 1997 (Vol. 62. No. 224). The Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Proposed Rule was published in the Federal Register July 22, 1998 (Vol. 63 No. 140), 45 CFR 200 et seq. Publication of the Final The Tribal TANF Final Rule was published in the Federal Register on February 18, 2000 (Vol. 65, No. 34)

INFORMATION CONTACTS: