Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress, 2005

Appendix A.
Program Data

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Contents

Endnotes

The Welfare Indicators Act of 1994 specifies that the annual welfare indicators reports shall include analyses of families and individuals receiving assistance under three means-tested benefit programs: the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program authorized under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (replaced with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996), the Food Stamp Program under the Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended, and the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under title XVI of the Social Security Act. This chapter includes information on these three programs, derived primarily from administrative data reported by state and federal agencies instead of the national survey data presented in previous chapters. National caseloads and expenditure trend information on each of the three programs is included, as well as state-by-state trend tables and information on the characteristics of program participants.

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

The Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program — originally named the Aid to Dependent Children program — was established by the Social Security Act of 1935 as a grant program to enable states to provide cash welfare payments for needy children who had been deprived of parental support or care because their father or mother was absent from the home, incapacitated, deceased, or unemployed. All 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands operated an AFDC program. States defined "need," set their own benefit levels, established (within federal limitations) income and resource limits, and administered the program or supervised its administration. States were entitled to unlimited federal funds for reimbursement of benefit payments, at "matching" rates that were inversely related to state per capita income. States were required to provide aid to all persons who were in classes eligible under federal law and whose income and resources were within state-set limits.

During the 1990s, the federal government increasingly used its authority under section 1115 of the Social Security Act to waive portions of the federal requirements under AFDC. This allowed states to test such changes as expanded earned income disregards, increased work requirements and stronger sanctions for failure to comply with them, time limits on benefits, and expanded access to transitional benefits such as child care and medical assistance. As a condition of receiving waivers, states were required to conduct rigorous evaluations of the impacts of these changes on the welfare receipt, employment, and earnings of participants.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) replaced AFDC, AFDC administration, the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program and the Emergency Assistance (EA) program with a block grant called the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Key elements of TANF include a lifetime limit of five years (60 months) on the amount of time a family with an adult can receive assistance funded with federal funds, increasing work participation rate requirements that states must meet, and broad state flexibility on program design. Spending through the TANF block grant is capped and funded at $16.5 billion per year, slightly above fiscal year 1995 federal expenditures for the four component programs. States also must meet a "maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement" by spending on needy families at least 75 percent of the amount of state funds used in FY 1994 on these programs (80 percent if they fail work participation rate requirements).

TANF gives states wide latitude in spending both federal TANF funds and state MOE funds. Subject to a few restrictions, TANF funds may be used in any way that supports one of the four statutory purposes of TANF: to provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for at home; to end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage; to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Recent Legislative Action

Legislative authority for the TANF block grant program expired September 2002. Since then, the program has been operated under a series of short-term extensions.

In February 2002, President Bush proposed a plan, Working Toward Independence, to strengthen welfare reform, in order to help families remaining on welfare and other low-income families move toward self-sufficiency. The House of Representatives passed bills incorporating the key elements of the President’s plan in both the 107th Congress (H.R. 4737) and the 108th Congress (H.R. 4), with work progressing on a similar bill (H.R. 240) in the 109th Congress. Senate versions of TANF reauthorization have been reported out of committee (S. 667 in the 109th Congress). Final enactment of TANF reauthorization is expected in 2005.

Data Issues Relating to the AFDC-TANF Transition

States had the option of beginning their TANF programs as soon as PRWORA was enacted in August 1996, and a few states began TANF programs as early as September 1996. All states were required to implement TANF by July 1, 1997. Because states implemented TANF at different times, the FY 1997 data reflect a combination of the AFDC and TANF programs. In some states, limited data are available for FY 1997 because states were given a transition period of six months after they implemented TANF before they were required to report data on the characteristics and work activities of TANF participants.

Because of the greatly expanded range of activities allowed under TANF, a substantial portion of TANF funds are being spent on activities other than cash payments to families. Table TANF 4 in this Appendix which tracks overall expenditure trends includes only those TANF funds spent on "cash and work-based assistance" and "administrative costs," not on work activities, supportive services, or other allowable uses of funds. Spending on these other activities is detailed in Table TANF 5. Note that TANF administrative costs include funds spent administering all activities, not just cash and work-based assistance. (Administrative costs under AFDC had included a small amount of funds for administering AFDC child care programs; such programs, and the costs of administering them, were transferred to the Child Care and Development Fund as part of PRWORA.)

There also is potential for discontinuity between the AFDC and the TANF caseload figures. For example, under TANF there is no longer a separate "Unemployed Parent" (UP) program, as there was under AFDC. While a separate work participation rate is calculated for two-parent families, this population is not identical to the UP caseload under AFDC. It is also possible that a limited number of families will be considered recipients of TANF assistance, even if they do not receive a monthly cash benefit. At present, the vast majority of families receiving "assistance"[1] are, in fact, receiving cash payments; however, this may change over time.

One source of discontinuity was removed in the 2004 edition of the Indicators report. Under TANF some states provide cash and other forms of assistance to specific categories of families (e.g., two-parent families) under Separate State Programs (SSPs), funded out of MOE dollars rather than federal TANF funds. This allows the states additional flexibility with regard to the time limits and work requirements. The official TANF caseload figures do not include these families. Starting with the 2004 edition, we have added recipients in SSPs into the caseload totals (the split between TANF and SSP caseloads is shown in Table TANF 3, nationally, and in Table TANF 15, by state) but Tribal TANF families are not included in any of the caseload counts. Expenditures for Separate State Programs are shown in Table TANF 5.

AFDC/TANF Program Data

The following tables and figures present data on caseloads, expenditures, and recipient characteristics of the AFDC and TANF programs. Trends in national caseloads and expenditures are shown in Figure TANF 1 and the first set of tables (Tables TANF 1 through 6). These are followed by information on characteristics of AFDC/TANF families (Table TANF 7)[2] and a series of tables presenting state-by-state data on trends in the AFDC/TANF program (Tables TANF 8 through 17). These data complement the data on trends in AFDC/TANF recipiency and participation rates shown in Tables IND 3a and IND 4a in Chapter II.

AFDC/TANF Caseload Trends (Tables TANF 1 through TANF 3 and Figure TANF 1). Welfare caseloads have stabilized over the past few years after declining dramatically during the 1990s. In fiscal year 2003, the average monthly number of TANF recipients was 5.5 million persons, down 2.4 percent from FY 2002. Moreover, this was 56 percent lower than the average monthly AFDC caseload in fiscal year 1996 and the smallest number of people on welfare since 1968. From the peak of 14.4 million in March 1994, the number of AFDC/TANF recipients dropped by nearly 63 percent to 5.3 million in March 2004.[3] Over three-fourths of the reduction in the caseload since March 1994 has occurred following the implementation of TANF (data not shown). These are the largest welfare caseload declines in the history of U.S. welfare programs.

Several studies have attempted to explain the unprecedented decline in caseloads and, specifically, to disentangle the effects of PRWORA and welfare reform from the simultaneous growth in the U.S. economy. Separating these effects is difficult, however, because PRWORA was enacted at a time when the economy was expanding dramatically, offering a uniquely conducive environment within which to move many recipients off the welfare rolls and into the labor market. Other policy changes, most notably expansions in the Earned Income Tax Credit, add further complexity.

In general, studies have found that both economic conditions and welfare reform policies have played important roles in the recent caseload decline. A review of a dozen studies concluded that roughly 15 to 30 percent of the caseload decline prior to 1996 was attributed by most studies to welfare policies under waivers to the AFDC rules with approximately 30 to 45 percent of the decline explained by economic conditions (Schoeni and Blank, 2000). A study by the Council of Economic Advisers (1999) of the post-PRWORA period finds that just over one-third of the caseload decline can be explained by welfare reform policy, while 8 to 10 percent is due to the economy. A more recent study estimates that over half the decline in caseloads after enactment of PRWORA was attributable to welfare reform (O’Neill and Hill, 2001). The relative stability of the caseload during the recent recession further supports the argument that the economy was only one of several factors driving caseloads down.

AFDC/TANF Expenditures (Tables TANF 4through TANF 6 and Figure TANF 2). Tables TANF 4 and 5 show trends in expenditures on AFDC and TANF. Table TANF 4 tracks both programs, breaking out the costs of benefits and administrative expenses. It also shows the division between federal and state spending. Table TANF 5shows the variety of activities funded under the TANF program.

Figure TANF 2 and Table TANF 6 show that inflation has had a significant effect in eroding the value of the average monthly AFDC/TANF benefit. In real dollars, by 2003 the average monthly benefit per recipient had declined to 61 percent of what it was at its peak in the late 1970s.

AFDC/TANF Recipient Characteristics (Table TANF 7). With the dramatic declines in the welfare rolls since the implementation of TANF, there has been a great deal of speculation regarding how the composition of the caseload has changed. Two striking trends are the increases in the proportion of families with no adult in the assistance unit and in employment among adult recipients.

One of the most dramatic trends is the increase in the proportion of adult recipients who are working. In FY 2003, 23 percent of TANF adult recipients were employed, up from 11 percent in FY 1996 and 7 percent in FY 1993, as shown in Table TANF 7. Adding in those in work experience and community service positions, the percentage working was 28 percent in FY 2003 (data not shown). Similar upward trends are shown in data on income from earnings. These trends likely reflect positive effects of welfare-to-work programs, the strong economy, and the fact that, with larger earnings disregards, families with earnings do not exit welfare as rapidly. In addition, the increased employment of welfare recipients is consistent with broader trends in labor force participation. (For example, see Table WORK 2 in Chapter III for trends in employment rates for women with no more than a high school education.)

Another dramatic change in the caseload is the increasing fraction of cases without an adult recipient. Such cases occur when the adults are ineligible (because they are a caretaker relative, SSI parent, immigrant parent, or sanctioned parent). Families with no adults in the assistance unit have climbed from 14.8 percent of the caseload in FY 1992 to 40.9 percent in FY 2003. Not counting cases with a sanctioned parent, 38.0 percent of the caseload was child-only in 2003. This dramatic growth has been due to an increase in the number of child-only cases during the early 1990s, followed by a decline in the number of adult-present cases. Even though child-only cases are generally not subject to the work requirements or time limits under TANF, the number of cases without an adult in the assistance unit has fallen by about 150,000 since 1996 — between 1996 and 1998 the child-only caseload decreased by 250,000 but subsequently increased by 100,000.

In other areas, the administrative data show fewer changes in composition than might have been expected. There has been widespread anecdotal evidence that the most job ready recipients B those with the fewest barriers to employment B have already exited the welfare caseload and have stopped coming onto the welfare rolls, leaving a more disadvantaged population remaining. However, as the expectations for welfare recipients have increased, and fewer recipients are totally exempted from work requirements, others have speculated that the most disadvantaged recipients may also have been sanctioned off the rolls or terminated for failure to comply with administrative requirements. In fact, analyses of program data have not found much evidence of an increase or decline in readily observed barriers to employment in the current caseload.

The question of whether the caseload has become more disadvantaged cannot be answered simply through administrative data provided by the states, which do not contain detailed information on such barriers to employment as lack of basic skills, alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, and disabilities. A few recent studies have found very high levels of these barriers among the TANF population. These studies also have found that the effects of these barriers are interactive; while any one barrier to employment can often be overcome, the more barriers a recipient faces, the less likely she is to find a job and maintain consistent employment over a period of time.

AFDC/TANF State-by-State Trends (Tables TANF 8 through TANF 17). There is a great deal of state-to-state variation in the trends discussed above. For example, as shown in Table TANF 10, while every state has experienced a caseload decline since 1993, the percentage change between the state’s caseload peak and March 2004 ranges from 95 percent (Wyoming) to 28 percent (Indiana). Five states have experienced caseload declines of 75 percent or more. Table TANF 10 also shows that states reached their peak caseloads as early as May 1990 (Louisiana) and as late as June 1997 (Hawaii).

Table TANF 15 shows TANF and Separate State Program (SSP) families and recipients, by state. Tables TANF 16 and 17 use a data source available beginning in 2003, the High Performance Bonus data, which links TANF administrative records with quarterly earnings records, and allows examination of patterns of TANF receipt and employment. For example, Table TANF 16 shows the range across states in employment rates among TANF recipients (where employment is measured by presence of quarterly earnings in the same calendar quarter as one or more months of TANF recipient or in the immediately subsequent quarter). Table 17 complements the data on program spell duration provided in Table IND 8 in Chapter II, by examining state-by-state variation in the percentage of TANF recipients that receive benefits over the course of one year (four quarters) after a selected calendar quarter.

Figure TANF 1.
AFDC/TANF Families Receiving Income Assistance

Figure TANF 1. AFDC/TANF Families Receiving Income Assistance

Note: "Basic Families" are single-parent families and "UP Families" are those two-parent cases whose eligibility was due to unemployment and who received benefits under AFDC Unemployed Parent programs that operated in certain states before FY 1991 and in all states after October 1, 1990. The AFDC Basic and UP programs were replaced by TANF in the period from September 1996 to July 1, 1997 under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Shaded areas indicate NBER designated periods of recession from peak to trough. The decrease in number of families receiving assistance during the 1981-82 recession stems from changes in eligibility requirements and other policy changes mandated by OBRA 1981. Beginning in 2000, "Total Families" includes TANF and SSP families. Last data point plotted is March 2004.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.

Figure TANF 2.
Average Monthly AFDC/TANF Benefit per Recipient in Constant 2003 Dollars

Figure TANF 2. Average Monthly AFDC/TANF Benefit per Recipient in Constant 2003 Dollars.

Note:  See Table TANF 6 for underlying data. Comparison of trends in the average monthly AFDC/TANF benefit per recipient in current and constant 2003 dollars with the weighted average maximum benefit in current and constant 2003 dollars since 1988 indicates that the primary cause of the decline in the average monthly benefit has been due to the erosion in the real value of the maximum benefit due to inflation as the current value of maximum benefits was not increased in most states during most of the 1990s.

Source:  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Quarterly Public Assistance Statistics, 1992 & 1993 plus unpublished data and Seventh TANF Annual Report to Congress, 2005.

Table TANF 1.
Trends in AFDC/TANF Caseloads: 1962–2003
Fiscal Year Average Monthly Number (thousands) Children as a Percent of Total Recipients Average1 Number of Children per Family
Total Families1 AFDC UP2 Two-Parent Families TANF Two-Parent Families Total Recipients Child Recipients
1962 924 48 NA 3,593 2,778 77.3 3.0
1963 950 54 NA 3,834 2,896 75.5 3.0
1964 984 60 NA 4,059 3,043 75.0 3.1
1965 1,037 69 NA 4,323 3,242 75.0 3.1
1966 1,074 62 NA 4,472 3,369 75.3 3.1
1967 1,141 58 NA 4,718 3,560 75.5 3.1
1968 1,310 67 NA 5,349 4,013 75.0 3.1
1969 1,539 66 NA 6,146 4,591 74.7 3.0
1970 1,906 78 NA 7,415 5,484 74.0 2.9
1971 2,531 143 NA 9,557 6,963 72.9 2.8
1972 2,918 134 NA 10,632 7,698 72.4 2.6
1973 3,123 120 NA 11,038 7,967 72.2 2.6
1974 3,170 93 NA 10,845 7,825 72.2 2.5
1975 3,357 100 NA 11,067 7,952 71.9 2.4
1976 3,575 135 NA 11,386 8,054 70.7 2.3
1977 3,593 149 NA 11,130 7,846 70.5 2.2
1978 3,539 128 NA 10,672 7,492 70.2 2.1
1979 3,496 114 NA 10,318 7,197 69.8 2.1
1980 3,642 141 NA 10,597 7,320 69.1 2.0
1981 3,871 209 NA 11,160 7,615 68.2 2.0
1982 3,569 232 NA 10,431 6,975 66.9 2.0
1983 3,651 272 NA 10,659 7,051 66.1 1.9
1984 3,725 287 NA 10,866 7,153 65.8 1.9
1985 3,692 261 NA 10,813 7,165 66.3 1.9
1986 3,748 254 NA 10,997 7,300 66.4 1.9
1987 3,784 236 NA 11,065 7,381 66.7 2.0
1988 3,748 210 NA 10,920 7,325 67.1 2.0
1989 3,771 193 NA 10,934 7,370 67.4 2.0
1990 3,974 204 NA 11,460 7,755 67.7 2.0
1991 4,374 268 NA 12,592 8,513 67.6 1.9
1992 4,768 322 NA 13,625 9,226 67.7 1.9
1993 4,981 359 NA 14,143 9,560 67.6 1.9
1994 5,046 363 NA 14,226 9,611 67.6 1.9
1995 4,871 335 NA 13,660 9,280 67.9 1.9
1996 4,543 301 NA 12,645 8,672 68.6 1.9
19972 3,937 256 NA 10,935 7,781 3 71.2 3 2.0 3
1998 3,200 NA 162 8,790 6,273 71.4 2.0
1999 2,674 NA 125 7,188 5,319 74.0 2.0
2000 2,356 NA 132 6,324 4,598 72.7 2.0
2001 2,200 NA 119 5,761 4,225 73.3 1.9
2002 2,194 NA 118 5,654 4,149 73.0 1.9
2003 2,181 NA 116 5,517 4,073 73.8 1.9
Note: Beginning in 2000, all caseload numbers include SSP families.
1 Includes unemployed parent families and child-only cases.
2 The AFDC Unemployed Parent program was replaced when the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed AFDC and set up the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which was implemented during the period from September 1996 to July 1, 1997.
3 Based on data from the old AFDC reporting system that were available only for the first 9 months of the fiscal year.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, (Available online at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/).

Table TANF 2.
Number of AFDC/TANF Recipients, and Recipients as a Percentage of Various Population Groups: 1970–2003
Calendar Year 1 Total Recipients in the States & DC (thousands) Child Recipients in the States & DC (thousands) Recipients as a Percent of Total Population 2 Recipients as a Percent of Poverty Population 3 Recipients as a Percent of Pretransfer Poverty Population 4 Child Recipients as a Percent of Total Child Population 2 Child Recipients as a Percent of Children in Poverty 3
1970 8,303 6,104 4.1 32.7 NA 8.8 58.5
1971 10,043 7,303 4.9 39.3 NA 10.5 69.2
1972 10,736 7,766 5.1 43.9 NA 11.2 75.5
1973 10,738 7,763 5.1 46.7 NA 11.3 80.5
1974 10,621 7,637 5.0 45.4 NA 11.3 75.2
1975 11,131 7,928 5.2 43.0 NA 11.8 71.4
1976 11,098 7,850 5.1 44.4 NA 11.8 76.4
1977 10,856 7,632 4.9 43.9 NA 11.7 74.2
1978 10,387 7,270 4.7 42.4 NA 11.2 73.2
1979 10,140 7,057 4.5 38.9 53.1 11.0 68.0
1980 10,599 7,295 4.7 36.2 49.2 11.4 63.2
1981 10,893 7,397 4.7 34.2 47.1 11.7 59.2
1982 10,161 6,767 4.4 29.5 40.6 10.8 49.6
1983 10,569 6,967 4.5 29.9 41.9 11.1 50.1
1984 10,643 7,017 4.5 31.6 43.6 11.2 52.3
1985 10,672 7,073 4.5 32.3 45.0 11.3 54.4
1986 10,850 7,206 4.5 33.5 46.6 11.5 56.0
1987 10,841 7,240 4.5 33.6 46.7 11.5 55.9
1988 10,728 7,201 4.4 33.8 47.7 11.4 57.8
1989 10,798 7,286 4.4 34.3 47.6 11.5 57.9
1990 11,497 7,781 4.6 34.2 47.1 12.1 57.9
1991 12,728 8,601 5.0 35.6 49.1 13.2 60.0
1992 13,571 9,189 5.3 35.7 50.8 13.8 60.1
1993 14,007 9,460 5.4 35.7 48.5 14.0 60.2
1994 13,970 9,448 5.3 36.7 50.0 13.8 61.8
1995 13,242 9,013 5.0 36.4 50.1 13.0 61.5
1996 12,156 8,355 4.5 33.3 46.4 11.9 57.8
1997 10,224 7,077 5 3.7 28.7 40.7 10.0 50.1
1998 8,215 5,781 3.0 23.8 34.7 8.1 42.9
1999 6,709 4,836 2.4 20.5 30.9 6.7 39.4
2000 6,043 4,399 2.1 19.1 29.7 6.1 38.0
2001 5,633 4,132 2.0 17.1 26.8 5.7 35.3
2002 5,529 4,050 1.9 16.0 25.4 5.6 33.4
2003 5,432 4,004 1.9 15.1 NA 5.5 31.1
1 Total recipients are calculated here as the monthly average for the calendar year in order to compare with the calendar year counts of the poverty populations used to compute the recipiency rates. From 2000 onward, total recipients includes SSP recipients as well as TANF recipients. See Table IND 3a for fiscal year recipiency rates.
2 Population numbers used as denominators are resident population. See Current Population Reports, Series P25-1106.
3 For poverty population data see Current Population Reports, Series P60-226 (Available online at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html).
4 The pretransfer poverty population used as the denominator is the number of all persons in families with related children under 18 years of age whose income (cash income plus social insurance plus Social Security but before taxes and means-tested transfers) falls below the appropriate poverty threshold. See Appendix J, Table 20, 1992 Green Book; data for subsequent years are unpublished Congressional Budget Office tabulations.
5 Estimated based on the ratio of children recipients to total recipients for January through June of 1997.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance and U.S. Bureau of the Census, "Income, Poverty,and Health Insurance in the United States: 2003", Current Population Reports, Series P60-226, (Available online at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html).

Table TANF 3.
TANF and Separate State Program (SSP) Families and Recipients: 2000–2003 (thousands)
Fiscal Year TANF SSP Total
Families
2000 2,265 91 2,356
2001 2,117 82 2,200
2002 2,065 128 2,194
2003 2,032 149 2,181
All Recipients
2000 5,943 380 6,324
2001 5,423 338 5,761
2002 5,149 505 5,654
2003 4,965 551 5,517
Child Recipients
2000 4,370 228 4,598
2001 4,023 202 4,225
2002 3,841 308 4,149
2003 3,730 344 4,073
Note: Some states provide cash and other forms of assistance to specific categories of families (e.g., two-parent families) under Separate State Programs (SSPs) which are funded out of Maintenance of Effort (MOE) dollars rather than federal TANF funds. See Table TANF 15 for SSPs by state.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, (available online at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/)

Table TANF 4.
Total AFDC/TANF Expenditures on Cash Benefits and Administration: 1970–2003 (millions)
Fiscal Year Federal Funds
(current dollars)		 State Funds
(current dollars)		 Total
(current dollars)		 Total
(constant 2003 dollars 1)
Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative
1970 $2,187 $572 2 $1,895 $309 $4,082 $881 2 $18,500 $3,993
1971 3,008 271 2,469 254 5,477 525 23,764 2,278
1972 3,612 240 3 2,942 241 6,554 481 27,461 2,015
1973 3,865 313 3,138 296 7,003 610 28,181 2,455
1974 4,071 379 3,300 362 7,371 740 27,320 2,743
1975 4,625 552 3,787 529 8,412 1,082 28,418 3,655
1976 5,258 541 4,418 527 9,676 1,069 30,599 3,381
1977 5,626 595 4,762 583 10,388 1,177 30,579 3,465
1978 5,724 631 4,898 617 10,621 1,248 29,332 3,447
1979 5,825 683 4,954 668 10,779 1,350 27,374 3,428
1980 6,448 750 5,508 729 11,956 1,479 27,296 3,377
1981 6,928 835 5,917 814 12,845 1,648 26,666 3,421
1982 6,922 878 5,934 878 12,857 1,756 24,938 3,406
1983 7,332 915 6,275 915 13,607 1,830 25,243 3,395
1984 7,707 876 6,664 822 14,371 1,698 25,572 3,021
1985 7,817 890 6,763 889 14,580 1,779 25,043 3,056
1986 8,239 993 6,996 967 15,235 1,960 25,522 3,283
1987 8,914 1,081 7,409 1,052 16,323 2,133 26,590 3,475
1988 9,125 1,194 7,538 1,159 16,663 2,353 26,077 3,682
1989 9,433 1,211 7,807 1,206 17,240 2,417 25,748 3,610
1990 10,149 1,358 8,390 1,303 18,539 2,661 26,375 3,786
1991 11,165 1,373 9,191 1,300 20,356 2,673 27,568 3,620
1992 12,258 1,459 9,993 1,378 22,250 2,837 29,246 3,729
1993 12,270 1,518 10,016 1,438 22,286 2,956 28,436 3,772
1994 12,512 1,680 10,285 1,621 22,797 3,301 28,337 4,103
1995 12,019 1,770 10,014 1,751 22,032 3,521 26,645 4,259
1996 11,065 1,633 9,346 1,633 20,411 3,266 24,018 3,843
1997 4 9,748 1,273 7,799 1,098 17,547 2,371 20,105 2,716
1998 7,518 1,231 7,096 1,028 14,614 2,259 16,476 2,547
1999 6,475 1,407 6,975 884 13,449 2,291 14,880 2,534
2000 5,444 1,570 5,736 1,032 11,180 2,302 11,986 2,789
2001 4,772 1,598 5,390 1,042 10,163 2,639 10,555 2,741
2002 3 4,554 1,633 4,854 983 9,408 2,617 9,629 2,678
2003 3 5,820 1,592 4,398 859 10,219 2,451 10,219 2,451
Note: Benefits do not include emergency assistance payments and have not been reduced by child support collections. Foster care payments are included from 1971 to 1980. State funds for benefits include benefits under Separate State Programs. Beginning in fiscal year 1984, the cost of certifying AFDC households for food stamps is shown in the Food Stamp Program’s appropriation under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Administrative and systems costs include: Work Program, ADP, FAMIS, Fraud Control, Child Care administration (through 1996), SAVE and other State and local administrative expenditures.
1 Constant dollar adjustments to 2003 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal year price index.
2 Includes expenditures for services.
3 These year-to-year changes likely reflect the fact that States now report corrections from prior years in the current year.
4 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed the AFDC program and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under PRWORA, spending categories are not entirely equivalent to those under AFDC: for example administrative expenses under TANF do not include IV-A child care administration (which accounted for 4 percent of 1996 administrative expense).

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Financial Services.

Table TANF 5.
Federal and State TANF Program and Other Related Spending Fiscal Years 1997–2003 (millions)
  Cash & Work-Based Assistance Work Activities Child Care Transportation Administration Systems Transitional Services Other 1 Expenditures Total Expenditures
  Federal TANF Grants
1997 $7,708 $467 $14 – $872 $109 $0 $862 $10,032
1998 7,168 763 252 – 938 224 6 1,136 10,487
1999 6,475 1,225 604 – 1,070 337 17 1,595 11,323
2000 5,444 1,606 1,553 496 1,328 242 – 2,715 13,384
2001 4,772 1,983 1,583 522 1,375 223 – 4,325 14,782
2002 4,554 2,121 1,572 339 1,339 294 – 4,368 14,588
2003 5,520 1,937 1,698 434 1,307 285 – 4,772 16,254
  State Maintenance of Effort Expenditures in the TANF Program
1997 5,955 311 752 – 704 101 9 926 8,758
1998 6,879 520 890 – 883 138 11 1,301 10,623
1999 6,541 503 1,135 – 743 118 23 1,334 10,397
2000 5,432 884 1,893 150 921 92 – 1,170 10,541
2001 4,887 685 1,730 113 920 83 – 1,195 9,613
2002 3,994 582 1,860 221 877 66 – 1,554 9,154
2003 3,597 596 1,993 73 766 60 – 1,441 8,526
  State Maintenance of Effort Expenditures in Separate State Programs
1997 69 12 111 – 0 0 – 18 210
1998 216 3 137 – 6 1 – 28 391
1999 434 26 257 – 22 0 0 126 865
2000 305 11 73 17 19 0 – 431 856
2001 503 28 34 20 38 1 – 499 1,125
2002 860 24 72 24 41 -.5 – 652 1,673
2003 801 66 -223 36 33 -.3 – 848 1,560
  Total Expenditures
1997 13,731 790 877 – 1,577 211 9 1,805 19,000
1998 14,264 1,286 1,280 – 1,828 362 17 2,465 21,502
1999 13,449 1,754 1,995 – 1,835 456 40 3,055 22,585
2000 11,180 2,501 3,519 663 2,267 335 – 4,316 24,781
2001 10,163 2,696 3,347 655 2,333 306 – 6,019 25,520
2002 9,408 2,727 3,504 584 2,258 359 – 6,574 25,414
2003 10,219 2,599 3,468 543 2,106 345 – 7,060 26,340
1Other includes accounts for: Assistance under Prior Law, Individual Development Accounts, Refundable EITC, Other Refundable Tax Credits, Non-Recurring Short-Term Benefits, Non-Assistance under Prior Law, Pregnancy Prevention, 2-Parent Formation, and Miscellaneous.

Note: Administration and Systems, shown separately here in Table TANF 5, can be combined to show total administrative costs, as in Table TANF 4. Negative numbers are possible since under TANF States now report corrections from prior years in the current year.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Financial Services.

Table TANF 6.
Trends in AFDC/TANF Average Monthly Payments: 1962–2003
Fiscal Year Monthly Benefit per Recipient Average Number of Persons per Family Monthly Benefit per Family (not reduced by child support) Weighted Average 1 Maximum Benefit (per 3-person family)
Current Dollars 2003 Dollars Current Dollars 2003 Dollars Current Dollars 2003 Dollars
1962 $31 $175 3.9 $121 $680 NA NA
1963 31 173 4.0 126 696 NA NA
1964 32 174 4.1 131 718 NA NA
1965 34 181 4.2 140 755 NA NA
1966 35 184 4.2 146 768 NA NA
1967 36 186 4.1 150 768 NA NA
1968 40 196 4.1 162 800 NA NA
1969 43 206 4.0 173 821 $186 2 $887
1970 46 208 3.9 178 808 194 2 881
1971 48 207 3.8 180 782 201 2 872
1972 51 215 3.6 187 784 205 2 860
1973 53 213 3.5 187 752 213 2 856
1974 57 210 3.4 194 718 229 2 848
1975 63 213 3.3 209 705 243 821
1976 71 224 3.2 226 713 257 812
1977 78 229 3.1 241 709 271 798
1978 83 229 3.0 250 691 284 785
1979 87 221 3.0 257 653 301 764
1980 94 215 2.9 274 625 320 731
1981 96 199 2.9 277 574 326 676
1982 103 199 2.9 300 582 331 641
1983 106 197 2.9 311 576 336 624
1984 110 196 2.9 322 572 352 626
1985 112 193 2.9 329 565 369 634
1986 115 193 2.9 339 568 383 642
1987 123 200 2.9 359 586 393 641
1988 127 199 2.9 370 580 403 631
1989 131 196 2.9 381 569 413 617
1990 135 192 2.9 389 553 420 597
1991 135 182 2.9 388 525 424 575
1992 136 179 2.9 389 511 419 550
1993 131 168 2.8 373 476 414 529
1994 134 166 2.8 376 468 416 516
1995 134 163 2.8 376 455 418 506
1996 135 158 2.8 374 441 419 493
1997 3 130 149 2.8 362 415 418 479
1998 130 147 2.7 358 404 429 484
1999 133 147 2.7 357 395 450 498
2000 133 143 2.6 349 374 446 478
2001 137 142 2.6 351 365 448 465
2002 146 149 2.5 364 372 452 463
2003 140 140 2.5 354 354 449 449
Note: AFDC benefit amounts have not been reduced by child support collections. Constant dollar adjustments to 2003 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal-year price index. See the note to Figure TANF 2 for explanation of the decline in real benefits.

1 The maximum benefit for a 3-person family in each state is weighted by that state’s share of total AFDC families.
2 Estimated based on the weighted average benefit for a 4-person family.
3 The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 repealed the AFDC program as of July 1, 1997 and replaced it with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Beginning in 1997, average monthly benefits are calculated from case-level data rather than by dividing aggregate expenditures on cash assistance by aggregate caseloads, as in the past. This change was necessary due to uncertainty about the extent to which states may be reporting non-cash basic assistance as well as cash assistance in the expenditure data formerly used to calculate average cash benefits.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Quarterly Public Assistance Statistics, 1992 & 1993 and earlier years along with unpublished data.

Table TANF 7.
Characteristics of AFDC/TANF Families: Selected Years 1969–2003
  May 1969 May 1975 March 1979 Fiscal Year 1
1983 1988 1992 1996 2000 2002 2003
Avg. Family Size (persons) 4.0 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.5
Number of Child Recipients
One 26.6 37.9 42.3 43.4 42.5 42.5 43.9 44.2 47.0 47.9
Two 23.0 26.0 28.1 29.8 30.2 30.2 29.9 28.4 28.0 27.8
Three 17.7 16.1 15.6 15.2 15.8 15.5 15.0 15.3 14.2 13.8
Four or More 32.5 20.0 13.9 10.1 9.9 10.1 9.2 10.1 8.9 8.6
Unknown NA NA NA 1.5 1.7 0.7 1.3 2.0 1.9 1.9
Families with No Adult in Asst. Unit 10.1 12.5 14.6 8.3 9.6 14.8 21.5 34.5 39.0 40.9
Child-Only Families 2 – – – – – – – 32.7 36.6 38.0
Families with Non-Recipients 33.1 34.8 NA 36.9 36.8 38.9 49.9 – – –
Median Months on AFDC/TANF
Since Most Recent Opening 23.0 31.0 29.0 26.0 26.3 22.5 23.6 – – –
Presence of Assistance
Living in Public Housing 12.8 14.6 NA 10.0 9.6 9.2 8.8 17.7 19.2 19.1
Participating in Food Stamp or Donated Food Program 52.9 75.1 75.1 83.0 84.6 87.3 89.3 79.9 80.1 80.9
Presence of Income3
With Earnings NA 14.6 12.8 5.7 8.4 7.4 11.1 23.6 21.8 19.5
No Non-AFDC/TANF Income 56.0 71.1 80.6 86.8 79.6 78.9 76.0 71.6 72.8 74.4
Adult Employment Status (percent of adults)
Employed – – 14.0 5.5 6.8 6.6 11.3 26.4 25.3 22.9
Unemployed – – – – – – – 49.2 47.2 49.0
Not in Labor Force – – – – – – – 24.3 27.5 28.1
Adult Women's Employment Status (percent of adult female recipients)4
Full-Time Job 8.2 10.4 8.7 1.5 2.2 2.2 4.7 – – –
Part-Time Job 6.3 5.7 5.4 3.4 4.2 4.2 5.4 – – –
Marital Status (percent of adults)
Single – – – – – – – 65.3 66.6 67.3
Married – – – – – – – 12.4 11.5 10.7
Separated – – – – – – – 13.1 13.0 12.8
Widowed – – – – – – – 0.7 0.7 0.5
Divorced – – – – – – – 8.5 8.2 8.7
Basis for Child's Eligibility (percent of children)
Incapacitated 11.7 5 7.7 5.3 3.4 3.7 4.1 4.3 – – –
Unemployed 4.6 5 3.7 4.1 8.7 6.5 8.2 8.3 – – –
Death 5.5 5 3.7 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.6 – – –
Divorce or Separation 43.3 5 48.3 44.7 38.5 34.6 30.0 24.3 – – –
Absent, No Marriage Tie 27.9 5 31.0 37.8 44.3 51.9 53.1 58.6 – – –
Absent, Other Reason 3.5 5 4.0 5.9 1.4 1.6 2.0 2.4 – – –
Unknown – – – 1.7 – 0.9 0.6 – – –
Note: Figures are percentages of families/cases unless noted otherwise.

1 Percentages are based on the average monthly caseload during the year. Hawaii and the territories are not included in 1983. Data after 1986 include the territories and Hawaii.
2 In this table, child-only families are those families with no adult in the assistance unit excluding those where there is no adult in the assistance unit as a result of the parent being sanctioned for non-compliance.
3 Percentages on presence of income are measured as a percentage of families through 1997 and for adult recipients in 1998 and subsequent years.
4 For years prior to 1983, data are for mothers only.
5 Calculated on the basis of total number of families.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Characteristics and Financial Circumstances of TANF Recipients: 2003 TANF Annual Report to Congress and earlier years.

Table TANF 8.
AFDC/TANF Benefits, by State: Selected Fiscal Years 1978–2003
  1978 1984 1986 1988 1990 1994 1998 2000 2002 2003
Alabama $78 $74 $68 $62 $62 $92 $44 $36 $33 $46
Alaska 17 37 46 54 60 113 77 55 55 50
Arizona 30 67 79 103 138 266 145 107 130 175
Arkansas 51 39 48 53 57 57 26 34 26 22
California 1,813 3,207 3,574 4,091 4,955 6,088 4,128 3,643 2,608 3,119
Colorado 74 107 107 125 137 158 80 48 53 51
Connecticut 168 226 223 218 295 397 305 166 128 133
Delaware 28 28 25 24 29 40 24 20 19 20
Dist. of Columbia 91 75 77 76 84 126 97 72 67 68
Florida 145 251 261 318 418 806 357 234 256 251
Georgia 103 149 223 266 321 428 313 180 109 169
Guam 3 5 4 3 5 12 NA NA NA NA
Hawaii 83 83 73 77 99 163 153 141 85 91
Idaho 21 21 19 19 20 30 6 3 5 6
Illinois 699 845 886 815 839 914 771 269 146 115
Indiana 118 153 148 167 170 228 104 87 146 139
Iowa 107 159 170 155 152 169 104 79 76 81
Kansas 73 87 91 97 105 123 41 43 50 55
Kentucky 122 135 104 143 179 198 147 104 101 102
Louisiana 97 145 162 182 188 168 103 58 67 67
Maine 51 69 84 80 101 108 80 73 66 66
Maryland 166 229 250 250 296 314 192 196 227 32
Massachusetts 476 406 471 558 630 730 442 336 279 339
Michigan 780 1,214 1,248 1,231 1,211 1,132 589 386 326 390
Minnesota 164 287 322 338 355 379 276 193 184 193
Mississippi 33 58 74 85 86 82 60 18 37 36
Missouri 152 196 209 215 228 287 180 139 148 130
Montana 15 27 37 41 40 49 30 21 31 31
Nebraska 38 56 62 56 59 62 41 41 52 59
Nevada 8 10 16 20 27 48 39 28 48 48
New Hampshire 21 16 20 21 32 62 39 32 29 39
New Jersey 489 485 509 459 451 531 372 222 194 222
New Mexico 32 49 51 56 61 144 104 113 82 78
New York 1,689 1,916 2,099 2,140 2,259 2,913 2,149 1,554 1,465 1,605
North Carolina 138 149 138 206 247 353 211 140 139 133
North Dakota 14 16 20 22 24 26 22 12 10 18
Ohio 441 725 804 805 877 1,016 546 368 336 304
Oklahoma 74 85 100 119 132 165 72 78 45 58
Oregon 148 101 120 128 145 197 141 34 69 82
Pennsylvania 726 724 389 747 798 935 523 573 338 324
Puerto Rico 25 38 33 67 72 74 NA NA NA NA
Rhode Island 59 71 79 82 99 136 117 105 89 83
South Carolina 52 75 103 91 96 115 52 91 35 49
South Dakota 18 17 15 21 22 25 14 10 11 11
Tennessee 77 83 100 125 168 215 108 146 132 138
Texas 122 229 281 344 416 544 315 248 203 323
Utah 41 52 55 61 64 77 50 40 41 44
Vermont 21 40 40 40 48 65 47 39 38 34
Virgin Islands 2 2 2 2 3 4 NA NA NA NA
Virginia 136 165 179 169 177 253 123 186 101 129
Washington 175 294 375 401 438 610 450 312 295 269
West Virginia 53 75 109 107 110 126 52 49 71 68
Wisconsin 260 519 444 506 440 425 145 7 126 109
Wyoming 6 13 16 19 19 21 7 9 2 15
United States $10,621 $14,371 $15,236 $16,663 $18,543 $22,798 $14,614 $11,180 $9,408 $10,219
Note: Benefits refers to total cash benefits paid, (see Table TANF 4) but does not include emergency assistance payments. NA denotes data not available. See footnote 3 of Table TANF 4 for an explanation of the recent changes in benefit expenditures.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Program Support, Office of Management Services, data from the ACF-196 TANF Report and ACF-231 AFDC Line by Line Report.

Table TANF 9.
Comparison of Federal Funding for AFDC and Related Programs and 2003 Family Assistance Grants Awarded under PRWORA (millions)
State FY 1996 Grants for AFDC, EA & JOBS 1 FY 2003 Family Assistance Grants & Supplemental 2 FY 2003 Bonus Awards 3 FY 2003 Total Awards Increase of FY 2003 over FY 1996 Level Percent Increase from FY 1996 Level
Alabama $79.0 $104.4 0.5 $104.9 $25.9 33
Alaska 60.7 60.3 6.3 66.6 6.0 10
Arizona 200.6 226.1 1.2 227.3 26.7 13
Arkansas 54.3 63.0 5.7 68.6 14.3 26
California 3,545.6 3,687.7 21.0 3,708.7 163.1 5
Colorado 138.9 149.6 19.8 169.4 30.5 22
Connecticut 221.1 266.8 11.7 278.5 57.5 26
Delaware 30.2 32.3 1.2 33.5 3.3 11
Dist. of Columbia 77.1 92.6 24.6 117.2 40.1 52
Florida 504.7 622.7 38.1 660.8 156.1 31
Georgia 301.2 368.0 4.4 372.4 71.2 24
Hawaii 98.4 98.9 0.9 99.8 1.4 1
Idaho 31.3 33.9 2.1 36.0 4.7 15
Illinois 593.8 585.1 0.0 585.1 -8.8 -1
Indiana 121.4 206.8 19.4 226.2 104.9 86
Iowa 129.3 131.5 7.2 138.7 9.4 7
Kansas 86.9 101.9 10.2 112.1 25.2 29
Kentucky 171.6 181.3 14.5 195.8 24.1 14
Louisiana 122.4 181.0 3.8 184.8 62.4 51
Maine 73.2 78.1 4.3 82.4 9.2 13
Maryland 207.6 229.1 21.4 250.5 42.9 21
Massachusetts 372.0 459.4 2.2 461.6 89.5 24
Michigan 581.5 775.4 22.0 797.3 215.8 37
Minnesota 239.3 267.2 13.4 280.6 41.2 17
Mississippi 68.6 95.8 0.8 96.6 28.0 41
Missouri 207.9 217.1 21.7 238.8 30.9 15
Montana 39.2 43.7 4.4 48.0 8.9 23
Nebraska 56.2 57.7 5.8 63.6 7.4 13
Nevada 41.2 47.7 2.0 49.7 8.5 21
New Hampshire 36.0 38.5 2.7 41.2 5.2 14
New Jersey 353.4 404.0 4.3 408.3 54.9 16
New Mexico 129.9 117.2 5.4 122.5 -7.4 -6
New York 2,332.7 2,442.9 23.1 2,466.0 133.3 6
North Carolina 311.9 338.3 3.5 341.8 29.9 10
North Dakota 24.5 26.4 1.3 27.7 3.2 13
Ohio 564.5 728.0 21.4 749.4 184.9 33
Oklahoma 125.1 147.6 6.5 154.1 29.0 23
Oregon 146.4 166.8 6.0 172.9 26.4 18
Pennsylvania 780.1 719.5 31.7 751.2 -29.0 -4
Rhode Island 82.9 95.0 2.9 97.9 15.0 18
South Carolina 99.4 100.0 1.6 101.5 2.1 2
South Dakota 19.7 21.3 1.6 22.9 3.1 16
Tennessee 178.9 213.1 11.2 224.3 45.3 25
Texas 437.1 539.0 27.6 566.5 129.4 30
Utah 68.0 84.3 6.0 90.3 22.3 33
Vermont 42.4 47.4 1.3 48.6 6.3 15
Virginia 134.6 158.3 15.8 174.1 39.5 29
Washington 393.2 388.7 12.6 401.3 8.1 2
West Virginia 95.1 110.2 2.8 113.0 17.9 19
Wisconsin 241.6 315.1 11.5 326.5 85.0 35
Wyoming 14.4 18.5 20.2 38.7 24.3 169
United States $15,067 $16,685 $511 $17,196 $2,129 14
1 Includes Administration and FAMIS but excludes IV-A child care. AFDC benefits include the Federal share of child support collections to be comparable to the Family Assistance Grant. The 1996 figures have been revised since earlier versions of this report, to reflect upward revisions in states' reports of expenditures on the JOBS program.
2 The FY 2003 Family Assistance Grants and Supplemental is net of the Tribal Grants amounts.
3 The FY 2003 Bonus Awards include Out of Wedlock Bonus and High Performance Bonus.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Financial Services

Table TANF 10.
Peak AFDC/TANF Caseload, by State: October 1989 to March 2004 (thousands)
State Peak Caseload Oct ‘89 to Mar ’04 Peak Occurred Oct ’89 to Mar ’04 Sept ’96 AFDC Caseload Mar ’04 TANF & SSP Caseload Percent Decline 1 Sept ’96 to Mar ’04 Decline Peak to Mar ’04
Alabama 52.3 Mar-93 40.7 19.2 53 63
Alaska 13.4 Apr-94 12.3 5.2 57 61
Arizona 72.8 Dec-93 61.8 50.0 19 31
Arkansas 27.1 Mar-92 22.1 10.1 54 63
California 933.1 Mar-95 870.3 503.8 42 46
Colorado 43.7 Dec-93 33.6 14.8 56 66
Connecticut 61.9 Mar-95 57.1 25.1 56 60
Delaware 11.8 Apr-94 10.5 5.7 46 52
Dist. of Columbia 27.5 Apr-94 25.1 17.5 30 36
Florida 259.9 Nov-92 200.3 57.5 71 78
Georgia 142.8 Nov-93 120.9 54.2 55 62
Hawaii 23.4 Jun-97 21.9 12.2 44 48
Idaho 9.5 Mar-95 8.4 2.0 77 79
Illinois 243.1 Aug-94 217.8 36.2 83 85
Indiana 76.1 Sep-93 49.7 54.5 -10 28
Iowa 40.7 Apr-94 31.1 23.0 26 43
Kansas 30.8 Aug-93 23.4 16.7 28 46
Kentucky 84.0 Mar-93 70.4 35.8 49 57
Louisiana 94.7 May-90 66.5 18.1 73 81
Maine 24.4 Aug-93 19.7 11.1 44 54
Maryland 81.8 May-95 68.9 28.3 59 65
Massachusetts 115.7 Aug-93 84.3 49.1 42 58
Michigan 233.6 Apr-91 167.5 80.3 52 66
Minnesota 66.2 Jun-92 57.2 39.5 31 40
Mississippi 61.8 Nov-91 45.2 18.6 59 70
Missouri 93.7 Mar-94 79.1 41.5 48 56
Montana 12.3 Mar-94 9.8 5.4 45 56
Nebraska 17.2 Mar-93 14.4 11.4 21 34
Nevada 16.3 Mar-95 13.2 9.6 28 41
New Hampshire 11.8 Apr-94 8.9 6.3 29 46
New Jersey 132.6 Nov-92 100.8 46.4 54 65
New Mexico 34.9 Nov-94 33.0 17.6 47 49
New York 463.7 Dec-94 412.7 200.1 52 57
North Carolina 134.1 Mar-94 107.5 37.3 65 72
North Dakota 6.6 Apr-93 4.7 3.1 35 54
Ohio 269.8 Mar-92 201.9 84.9 58 69
Oklahoma 51.3 Mar-93 35.3 13.9 61 73
Oregon 43.8 Apr-93 28.5 18.4 36 58
Pennsylvania 212.5 Sep-94 180.1 87.1 52 59
Puerto Rico 61.7 Jan-92 49.5 17.6 64 71
Rhode Island 22.9 Apr-94 20.5 14.5 29 37
South Carolina 54.6 Jan-93 42.9 17.3 60 68
South Dakota 7.4 Apr-93 5.7 2.7 52 63
Tennessee 112.6 Nov-93 96.2 73.6 24 35
Texas 287.5 Dec-93 238.8 107.4 55 63
Utah 18.7 Mar-93 14.0 9.2 34 51
Vermont 10.3 Apr-92 8.7 5.3 39 48
Virgin Islands 1.4 Dec-95 1.3 0.6 59 61
Virginia 76.0 Apr-94 60.5 35.3 42 54
Washington 104.8 Feb-95 96.8 59.0 39 44
West Virginia 41.9 Apr-93 37.6 16.6 56 60
Wisconsin 82.9 Jan-92 49.9 23.1 54 72
Wyoming 7.1 Aug-92 4.3 0.4 92 95
United States 5,098 Mar-94 4,346 2,157 50 58
1 Negative values denote percent increase.

Note: these data do not include Tribal TANF families (about 8,000 in number). This makes little difference nationally, but in States like Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona, their exclusion under TANF overstates the real decline from AFDC years.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Division of Data Collection and Analysis.

Table TANF 11.
Average Monthly AFDC/TANF Recipients, by State: Selected Fiscal Years (thousands)
  1965 1970 1980 1990 1994 1996 2000 2003 Percent Change
1990-96 1996-03
Alabama 78 123 180 130 132 105 46 46 -19 -57
Alaska 5 8 15 20 38 36 22 15 79 -58
Arizona 40 51 51 124 201 172 87 113 38 -34
Arkansas 30 45 85 71 69 58 29 25 -19 -56
California 528 1,148 1,387 1,902 2,639 2,626 1,574 1,303 38 -50
Colorado 42 66 77 102 119 99 29 35 -4 -64
Connecticut 59 83 139 120 166 162 73 56 35 -65
Delaware 12 20 32 21 27 23 13 13 10 -43
Dist. of Columbia 20 40 85 49 74 70 47 43 44 -38
Florida 106 204 256 370 669 561 158 128 52 -77
Georgia 71 198 221 293 393 353 129 136 20 -61
Guam 1 2 5 4 7 8 10 11 91 37
Hawaii 14 25 60 44 62 67 75 41 52 -38
Idaho 10 16 21 17 23 23 2 3 38 -86
Illinois 262 368 672 636 712 655 256 99 3 -85
Indiana 48 73 157 154 216 148 103 155 -4 5
Iowa 44 64 104 98 110 89 54 54 -9 -39
Kansas 36 53 68 77 87 68 32 40 -11 -42
Kentucky 81 129 167 175 208 175 89 77 -0 -56
Louisiana 104 202 213 282 248 236 75 58 -16 -75
Maine 19 36 60 56 64 56 32 32 -0 -42
Maryland 80 131 212 186 222 204 77 71 10 -65
Massachusetts 94 208 350 263 307 237 102 109 -10 -54
Michigan 162 253 685 655 666 527 207 201 -20 -62
Minnesota 51 76 135 171 187 171 116 117 0 -32
Mississippi 83 115 173 179 159 129 34 46 -28 -65
Missouri 107 140 199 211 263 232 131 121 10 -48
Montana 7 13 19 29 35 31 13 17 8 -45
Nebraska 16 30 35 43 45 40 28 31 -7 -21
Nevada 5 12 12 23 38 38 16 28 66 -25
New Hampshire 4 9 22 16 30 24 14 15 48 -39
New Jersey 104 286 459 309 335 288 138 110 -7 -62
New Mexico 30 51 53 57 102 101 72 44 77 -56
New York 517 1,052 1,100 981 1,255 1,184 724 501 21 -58
North Carolina 111 124 198 223 333 278 100 84 24 -70
North Dakota 8 11 13 16 16 13 8 9 -14 -35
Ohio 183 266 513 632 685 546 245 188 -14 -66
Oklahoma 73 95 89 112 131 105 36 37 -6 -65
Oregon 31 75 102 89 114 87 39 43 -2 -51
Pennsylvania 303 426 629 521 620 544 250 210 4 -61
Puerto Rico 202 223 168 190 183 155 92 54 -18 -65
Rhode Island 24 38 52 46 63 58 50 41 27 -30
South Carolina 30 52 153 111 140 119 41 51 7 -58
South Dakota 11 16 20 19 19 16 7 6 -14 -61
Tennessee 76 129 162 211 300 260 147 186 23 -29
Texas 91 214 308 611 788 684 342 363 12 -47
Utah 22 33 37 45 50 40 23 22 -11 -46
Vermont 5 12 23 22 28 25 16 14 15 -46
Virgin Islands 1 2 3 3 4 5 3 1 55 -71
Virginia 46 87 166 151 195 162 75 75 7 -54
Washington 71 109 154 228 292 274 168 149 20 -46
West Virginia 116 93 77 111 114 95 32 41 -14 -57
Wisconsin 45 79 213 237 226 170 40 50 -28 -70
Wyoming 4 5 7 14 16 13 1 1 -9 -94
United States 4,323 7,415 10,597 11,460 14,226 12,645 6,324 5,517 10 -56
Note: Recipients in 2000 and beyond include both TANF and SSP recipients but do not include Tribal TANF recipients.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, 2003 TANF Report to Congress.

Table TANF 12.
AFDC/TANF Recipiency Rates for Total Population, by State: Selected Fiscal Years (percent)
  1965 1970 1980 1990 1994 1996 2000 2003 Percent Change
1990-96 1996-03
Alabama 2.2 3.6 4.6 3.2 3.1 2.4 1.0 1.0 -24 -58
Alaska 1.8 2.6 3.7 3.7 6.3 5.9 3.6 2.3 63 -61
Arizona 2.6 2.9 1.9 3.4 4.7 3.7 1.7 2.0 11 -46
Arkansas 1.5 2.3 3.7 3.0 2.8 2.3 1.1 0.9 -25 -59
California 2.9 5.7 5.8 6.3 8.4 8.2 4.6 3.7 29 -55
Colorado 2.2 3.0 2.6 3.1 3.2 2.5 0.7 0.8 -19 -69
Connecticut 2.1 2.7 4.5 3.6 5.0 4.8 2.1 1.6 33 -67
Delaware 2.4 3.6 5.4 3.2 3.8 3.2 1.7 1.6 -0 -48
Dist. of Columbia 2.5 5.3 13.3 8.1 12.6 12.3 8.2 7.7 52 -37
Florida 1.8 3.0 2.6 2.8 4.7 3.8 1.0 0.8 33 -80
Georgia 1.6 4.3 4.0 4.5 5.5 4.7 1.6 1.6 4 -67
Hawaii 1.9 3.2 6.2 3.9 5.2 5.5 6.1 3.3 40 -41
Idaho 1.4 2.2 2.2 1.6 2.0 1.9 0.2 0.2 16 -88
Illinois 2.5 3.3 5.9 5.6 6.0 5.4 2.1 0.8 -2 -86
Indiana 1.0 1.4 2.9 2.8 3.7 2.5 1.7 2.5 -9 -0
Iowa 1.6 2.3 3.6 3.5 3.9 3.1 1.9 1.8 -12 -40
Kansas 1.6 2.4 2.9 3.1 3.4 2.6 1.2 1.5 -16 -44
Kentucky 2.5 4.0 4.6 4.7 5.4 4.5 2.2 1.9 -6 -58
Louisiana 2.9 5.6 5.0 6.7 5.7 5.4 1.7 1.3 -20 -76
Maine 1.9 3.6 5.4 4.5 5.2 4.5 2.5 2.5 -2 -45
Maryland 2.2 3.3 5.0 3.9 4.4 4.0 1.5 1.3 3 -68
Massachusetts 1.8 3.7 6.1 4.4 5.0 3.8 1.6 1.7 -12 -56
Michigan 2.0 2.9 7.4 7.0 6.9 5.4 2.1 2.0 -23 -63
Minnesota 1.4 2.0 3.3 3.9 4.1 3.6 2.3 2.3 -7 -36
Mississippi 3.6 5.2 6.9 6.9 5.9 4.7 1.2 1.6 -32 -66
Missouri 2.4 3.0 4.0 4.1 4.9 4.3 2.3 2.1 4 -50
Montana 1.0 1.9 2.4 3.6 4.0 3.5 1.4 1.9 -3 -46
Nebraska 1.1 2.0 2.2 2.7 2.8 2.4 1.6 1.8 -12 -24
Nevada 1.2 2.4 1.5 1.9 2.5 2.3 0.8 1.3 22 -44
New Hampshire 0.7 1.2 2.4 1.5 2.7 2.1 1.1 1.2 40 -44
New Jersey 1.5 4.0 6.2 4.0 4.2 3.5 1.6 1.3 -11 -64
New Mexico 3.0 5.0 4.1 3.8 6.1 5.8 4.0 2.4 53 -59
New York 2.9 5.8 6.3 5.4 6.8 6.4 3.8 2.6 17 -59
North Carolina 2.2 2.4 3.4 3.4 4.6 3.7 1.2 1.0 10 -73
North Dakota 1.2 1.7 2.0 2.4 2.6 2.1 1.2 1.4 -15 -34
Ohio 1.8 2.5 4.8 5.8 6.1 4.9 2.2 1.6 -17 -66
Oklahoma 3.0 3.7 2.9 3.6 4.0 3.1 1.0 1.0 -12 -67
Oregon 1.6 3.6 3.9 3.1 3.7 2.7 1.1 1.2 -14 -55
Pennsylvania 2.6 3.6 5.3 4.4 5.1 4.4 2.0 1.7 2 -62
Rhode Island 2.7 4.0 5.5 4.6 6.2 5.7 4.7 3.8 25 -34
South Carolina 1.2 2.0 4.9 3.2 3.8 3.1 1.0 1.2 -1 -61
South Dakota 1.6 2.4 2.9 2.7 2.6 2.2 0.9 0.8 -19 -63
Tennessee 2.0 3.3 3.5 4.3 5.7 4.8 2.6 3.2 11 -34
Texas 0.9 1.9 2.1 3.6 4.2 3.5 1.6 1.6 -1 -54
Utah 2.2 3.1 2.5 2.6 2.5 2.0 1.0 0.9 -25 -52
Vermont 1.4 2.6 4.4 3.9 4.8 4.3 2.7 2.2 10 -48
Virginia 1.0 1.9 3.1 2.4 3.0 2.4 1.1 1.0 -1 -58
Washington 2.4 3.2 3.7 4.7 5.4 4.9 2.8 2.4 6 -51
West Virginia 6.4 5.3 4.0 6.2 6.3 5.2 1.8 2.2 -16 -57
Wisconsin 1.1 1.8 4.5 4.8 4.4 3.3 0.8 0.9 -33 -72
Wyoming 1.1 1.5 1.4 3.1 3.4 2.6 0.2 0.1 -16 -94
United States 2.1 3.5 4.6 4.5 5.3 4.6 2.2 1.9 3 -60
Note: Recipiency rate refers to the average monthly number of AFDC recipients in each state during the given fiscal year expressed as a percent of the total resident population as of July 1 of that year. The numerators are from Table TANF 11.

Sources: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Bureau of the Census, (Resident population by state available on line at http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/).

Table TANF 13.
Average Number of AFDC/TANF Child Recipients, by State: Selected Fiscal Years (thousands)
  1965 1970 1980 1990 1994 1996 2000 2003 Percent Change
1990-96 1996-03
Alabama 62 96 129 93 96 79 37 36 -14 -55
Alaska 4 6 10 13 24 23 15 10 76 -56
Arizona 31 39 38 87 136 118 66 83 36 -30
Arkansas 23 34 62 51 49 42 22 19 -18 -55
California 391 816 932 1,294 1,804 1,805 1,163 1,010 39 -44
Colorado 33 50 53 69 80 68 22 26 -2 -62
Connecticut 43 62 97 81 111 108 50 39 33 -64
Delaware 9 15 22 14 19 16 9 10 9 -37
Dist. of Columbia 16 31 59 34 51 48 34 32 40 -33
Florida 85 160 184 264 463 395 124 101 49 -74
Georgia 54 150 161 206 274 251 101 104 22 -58
Guam 1 1 4 3 5 6 0 0 87 -100
Hawaii 10 18 40 29 41 44 50 27 51 -39
Idaho 7 11 14 11 16 16 2 2 41 -84
Illinois 202 283 473 436 486 456 193 81 5 -82
Indiana 36 55 111 105 145 104 74 114 -1 10
Iowa 32 46 69 64 72 59 36 35 -7 -41
Kansas 28 41 49 52 59 48 23 28 -8 -42
Kentucky 58 93 118 117 137 120 64 57 3 -53
Louisiana 79 157 156 199 180 162 59 46 -19 -71
Maine 14 26 40 35 40 35 22 21 0 -42
Maryland 61 100 145 124 151 140 56 52 13 -63
Massachusetts 71 153 228 168 197 153 73 77 -9 -50
Michigan 119 190 460 427 439 354 153 148 -17 -58
Minnesota 39 58 91 110 124 116 81 80 5 -31
Mississippi 66 93 128 129 116 96 27 34 -25 -65
Missouri 82 106 135 139 176 162 94 85 16 -48
Montana 6 10 13 19 23 21 9 11 10 -44
Nebraska 12 23 25 29 31 28 20 22 -5 -21
Nevada 4 9 8 16 27 27 12 21 71 -24
New Hampshire 3 7 15 11 19 16 10 10 48 -36
New Jersey 79 209 318 213 228 195 102 81 -8 -59
New Mexico 23 39 35 37 66 65 51 31 75 -52
New York 380 759 759 658 813 771 491 353 17 -54
North Carolina 83 94 141 152 223 191 76 65 26 -66
North Dakota 6 8 9 10 11 9 5 6 -12 -33
Ohio 136 198 348 414 455 382 180 139 -8 -64
Oklahoma 55 71 65 77 90 74 28 28 -4 -62
Oregon 23 52 65 60 76 60 29 32 0 -47
Pennsylvania 217 307 432 345 417 368 184 154 7 -58
Puerto Rico 161 166 118 130 124 105 64 37 -19 -65
Rhode Island 18 27 36 30 41 39 34 28 29 -28
South Carolina 24 40 109 80 102 89 32 37 12 -59
South Dakota 8 12 15 13 14 12 5 5 -11 -57
Tennessee 58 99 115 144 203 181 107 132 26 -27
Texas 68 162 225 428 549 484 252 275 13 -43
Utah 16 23 24 31 33 27 16 16 -11 -42
Vermont 4 8 14 14 17 16 10 9 15 -44
Virgin Islands 1 2 2 2 3 4 2 1 52 -71
Virginia 35 66 116 104 134 114 55 53 10 -53
Washington 50 76 97 148 187 177 115 103 20 -42
West Virginia 80 65 58 68 72 62 22 28 -10 -55
Wisconsin 34 60 142 158 153 123 34 40 -22 -67
Wyoming 3 4 5 9 11 9 1 1 -4 -93
United States 3,242 5,483 7,320 7,755 9,611 8,672 4,598 4,073 12 -53
Note: From FY 2000 onward, TANF child recipients include TANF and SSP child recipients but not Tribal TANF recipients.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, 2003 TANF Report to Congress.

Table TANF 14.
FDC/TANF Recipiency Rates for Children, by State: Selected Fiscal Years 1965–2003(percent)
  1965 1970 1980 1990 1994 1996 2000 2003 Percent Change
1990-96 1996-03
Alabama 4.6 7.7 11.1 8.8 8.9 7.3 3.3 3.2 -17 -56
Alaska 3.1 5.0 8.0 7.4 12.8 12.4 7.9 5.3 67 -57
Arizona 4.8 6.0 4.8 8.6 12.1 9.7 4.7 5.5 12 -44
Arkansas 3.1 5.2 9.3 8.2 7.7 6.4 3.2 2.8 -23 -56
California 6.0 12.3 14.6 16.2 20.8 20.3 12.5 10.7 25 -47
Colorado 4.4 6.4 6.5 7.8 8.3 6.8 1.9 2.2 -13 -67
Connecticut 4.4 6.1 11.8 10.8 14.2 13.7 5.9 4.6 27 -66
Delaware 4.7 7.5 13.4 8.7 10.5 8.9 4.9 5.0 2 -44
Dist. of Columbia 6.0 13.8 40.9 30.7 44.5 44.1 31.4 29.9 44 -32
Florida 4.3 7.6 7.8 8.8 14.1 11.6 3.3 2.6 31 -78
Georgia 3.2 9.1 9.8 11.8 14.6 12.8 4.6 4.5 9 -64
Hawaii 3.6 6.5 14.5 10.5 13.6 14.5 17.2 9.0 39 -38
Idaho 2.7 4.2 4.7 3.6 4.6 4.6 0.5 0.7 27 -85
Illinois 5.3 7.5 14.6 14.8 15.7 14.4 6.0 2.5 -3 -83
Indiana 2.0 3.0 6.9 7.3 9.8 7.0 4.7 7.1 -5 2
Iowa 3.2 4.7 8.4 8.8 9.9 8.2 5.0 5.0 -8 -38
Kansas 3.5 5.4 7.5 7.9 8.5 7.0 3.2 4.0 -12 -43
Kentucky 4.9 8.3 10.9 12.4 14.1 12.4 6.7 5.7 -0 -54
Louisiana 5.5 11.3 11.8 16.5 14.6 13.3 4.9 3.9 -20 -70
Maine 3.9 7.7 12.5 11.5 13.1 11.8 7.5 7.2 3 -39
Maryland 4.6 7.3 12.4 10.6 12.0 11.1 4.1 3.7 5 -66
Massachusetts 3.8 8.1 15.3 12.4 13.9 10.6 4.9 5.2 -15 -51
Michigan 3.7 5.8 16.7 17.4 17.4 13.9 5.9 5.8 -20 -58
Minnesota 2.9 4.2 7.7 9.4 10.1 9.3 6.4 6.4 -0 -31
Mississippi 7.0 11.1 15.7 17.6 15.3 12.7 3.5 4.4 -28 -65
Missouri 5.2 6.9 9.9 10.6 12.9 11.6 6.6 6.1 10 -48
Montana 2.0 4.0 5.7 8.4 9.7 8.9 3.8 5.3 6 -41
Nebraska 2.3 4.4 5.5 6.8 7.0 6.1 4.4 4.9 -10 -19
Nevada 2.5 5.2 3.8 5.0 7.1 6.5 2.2 3.6 29 -45
New Hampshire 1.4 2.6 5.8 3.9 6.6 5.4 3.1 3.3 40 -39
New Jersey 3.4 8.8 16.0 11.7 11.7 9.9 4.9 3.8 -16 -61
New Mexico 5.2 9.5 8.5 8.3 13.5 13.1 10.1 6.2 59 -53
New York 6.3 13.0 16.2 15.4 18.0 17.0 10.6 7.8 11 -54
North Carolina 4.4 5.3 8.5 9.3 12.6 10.4 3.8 3.1 12 -70
North Dakota 2.3 3.6 4.7 6.0 6.3 5.4 3.6 4.1 -10 -24
Ohio 3.6 5.3 11.2 14.9 16.0 13.4 6.3 4.9 -10 -63
Oklahoma 6.4 8.5 7.6 9.1 10.4 8.5 3.1 3.2 -7 -62
Oregon 3.3 7.4 9.0 8.1 9.7 7.4 3.4 3.7 -8 -50
Pennsylvania 5.5 8.0 13.8 12.3 14.4 12.8 6.3 5.4 4 -58
Rhode Island 5.9 9.1 14.7 13.4 17.5 16.5 13.8 11.5 23 -30
South Carolina 2.3 4.2 11.6 8.7 10.8 9.4 3.2 3.6 8 -62
South Dakota 3.1 5.0 7.1 6.7 6.6 5.9 2.7 2.6 -12 -55
Tennessee 4.2 7.5 8.9 11.8 15.7 13.7 7.7 9.5 16 -31
Texas 1.7 4.1 5.2 8.7 10.4 8.8 4.2 4.4 1 -50
Utah 3.7 5.4 4.4 4.9 4.9 4.0 2.3 2.1 -19 -47
Vermont 2.7 5.4 9.9 9.5 11.7 10.8 7.2 6.3 13 -41
Virginia 2.2 4.1 7.9 6.8 8.4 7.0 3.1 3.0 3 -58
Washington 4.7 6.5 8.5 11.3 13.3 12.4 7.6 6.9 9 -44
West Virginia 12.2 11.2 10.4 15.7 16.8 14.6 5.5 7.1 -7 -52
Wisconsin 2.2 3.8 10.5 12.1 11.4 9.1 2.5 3.0 -25 -67
Wyoming 2.1 3.2 3.4 7.0 8.1 6.8 0.8 0.5 -2 -92
United States 4.4 7.6 11.3 11.9 14.0 12.4 6.3 5.5 4 -55
Note: Recipiency rate refers to the average monthly number of AFDC child recipients in each State during the given fiscal year as a percent of the resident population under 18 years of age as of July 1 of that year. The numerators are from Table TANF 13.

Sources: U. S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Bureau of the Census, (Resident population by state available on line at http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/).

Table TANF 15.
TANF and Separate State Program (SSP) Families and Recipients: 2003 (thousands)
  Families All Recipients Child Recipients
TANF SSP Total TANF SSP Total TANF SSP Total
Alabama 18.8 0.3 19.1 44.7 1.0 45.7 35.2 0.5 35.8
Alaska 5.3 – 5.3 15.2 – 15.2 10.1 – 10.1
Arizona 47.8 – 47.8 113.0 – 113.0 82.8 – 82.8
Arkansas 11.2 – 11.2 25.4 – 25.4 18.9 – 18.9
California 449.7 45.7 495.4 1,111.6 191.1 1,302.7 891.3 119.1 1,010.5
Colorado 13.5 – 13.5 35.4 – 35.4 25.8 – 25.8
Connecticut 21.0 3.5 24.5 45.0 11.0 56.0 32.1 6.6 38.7
Delaware 5.6 0.1 5.7 12.7 0.6 13.3 9.7 0.3 10.0
District of Columbia 16.6 0.4 17.0 42.3 1.0 43.4 31.8 0.7 32.5
Florida 58.1 1.9 60.0 120.0 7.7 127.7 96.9 3.9 100.8
Georgia 55.9 0.7 56.6 133.8 2.7 136.5 103.1 1.4 104.5
Guam 3.1 – 3.1 10.8 – 10.8 – – 0.0
Hawaii 9.8 3.9 13.6 25.7 15.2 40.9 18.0 8.8 26.8
Idaho 1.7 – 1.7 3.1 – 3.1 2.5 – 2.5
Illinois 37.9 0.5 38.4 98.0 0.9 98.9 80.3 0.3 80.6
Indiana 52.7 3.3 56.0 140.3 14.6 154.9 105.8 8.2 114.0
Iowa 20.0 2.1 22.1 52.2 2.1 54.3 34.9 0.0 34.9
Kansas 15.3 – 15.3 39.7 – 39.7 27.6 – 27.6
Kentucky 34.9 – 34.9 77.0 – 77.0 57.0 – 57.0
Louisiana 22.8 – 22.8 57.8 – 57.8 46.3 – 46.3
Maine 9.8 1.5 11.3 27.1 5.2 32.3 17.4 3.1 20.5
Maryland 26.1 2.8 29.0 61.8 8.9 70.7 46.0 5.6 51.6
Massachusetts 49.4 0.1 49.5 109.1 0.3 109.4 76.6 0.2 76.7
Michigan 75.1 – 75.1 200.6 – 200.6 147.8 – 147.8
Minnesota 36.5 5.1 41.6 94.6 22.5 117.2 67.9 12.4 80.3
Mississippi 19.8 – 19.8 45.7 – 45.7 33.6 – 33.6
Missouri 40.8 6.1 46.9 101.9 18.7 120.6 73.0 12.2 85.2
Montana 6.2 – 6.2 17.3 – 17.3 11.4 – 11.4
Nebraska 10.9 1.1 12.0 26.9 4.5 31.4 19.4 2.4 21.8
Nevada 10.6 0.8 11.4 25.3 2.9 28.2 19.2 1.6 20.8
New Hampshire 6.1 0.2 6.2 14.2 0.7 14.8 9.7 0.4 10.1
New Jersey 42.4 1.6 44.1 102.6 7.1 109.7 77.2 3.8 81.0
New Mexico 16.6 – 16.6 44.1 – 44.1 31.2 – 31.2
New York 148.8 47.3 196.1 338.7 162.4 501.1 243.4 109.2 352.6
North Carolina 40.4 – 40.4 84.2 – 84.2 65.4 – 65.4
North Dakota 3.4 – 3.4 8.7 – 8.7 6.1 – 6.1
Ohio 84.3 – 84.3 187.6 – 187.6 139.2 – 139.2
Oklahoma 15.0 – 15.0 36.8 – 36.8 28.1 – 28.1
Oregon 18.7 – 18.7 42.7 – 42.7 31.5 – 31.5
Pennsylvania 80.9 – 80.9 210.4 – 210.4 153.8 – 153.8
Puerto Rico 18.9 – 18.9 53.5 – 53.5 37.2 – 37.2
Rhode Island 13.3 1.5 14.9 35.5 5.3 40.8 24.8 3.2 28.0
South Carolina 20.7 – 20.7 50.6 – 50.6 36.7 – 36.7
South Dakota 2.8 – 2.8 6.3 – 6.3 5.2 – 5.2
Tennessee 68.7 1.3 69.9 180.9 4.6 185.6 129.7 2.8 132.5
Texas 133.2 6.6 139.8 334.4 28.3 362.7 259.4 15.3 274.7
Utah 8.5 0.0 8.6 21.8 0.2 22.0 15.6 0.1 15.7
Vermont 4.9 0.4 5.3 12.7 1.0 13.7 8.1 0.6 8.7
Virgin Islands 0.5 – 0.5 1.5 – 1.5 1.1 – 1.1
Virginia 25.2 7.0 32.2 58.2 16.6 74.8 41.7 11.6 53.2
Washington 54.7 3.0 57.7 135.9 12.9 148.8 94.9 8.2 103.1
West Virginia 15.8 – 15.8 40.7 – 40.7 27.6 – 27.6
Wisconsin 20.5 0.4 20.8 49.0 1.4 50.4 39.2 0.9 40.1
Wyoming 0.4 0.0 0.4 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.6 0.0 0.6
U.S. Total 2,032 149 2,181 4,965 551 5,517 3,730 344 4,073
Note: Some states provide cash and other forms of assistance to specific categories of families (e.g., two-parent families) under Separate State Programs (SSPs) funded out of Maintenance of Effort (MOE) dollars rather than federal TANF funds.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, (available online at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/).

Table TANF 16.
Recipients with Earnings in Current and Following Quarters: Fiscal Year 2002
State Adult TANF Recipients (thousands) Percentage with Earnings Percentage without Earnings
Total With Earnings in Following Quarter Total With Earnings in Following Quarter
Alabama 10.9 38 73 62 21
Alaska 6.8 45 80 55 20
Arizona 30.1 35 70 65 19
Arkansas 9.0 42 76 58 25
California 273.4 39 82 61 13
Colorado 10.3 37 71 63 22
Connecticut 18.0 41 78 59 19
Delaware 3.6 44 74 56 22
Dist. of Columbia 12.1 35 73 65 15
Florida 37.1 38 76 62 23
Georgia 35.0 34 72 66 16
Hawaii 10.7 39 86 61 13
Idaho 0.7 43 78 57 29
Illinois 32.0 39 81 61 17
Indiana 45.6 48 80 52 21
Iowa 21.7 47 77 53 23
Kansas 13.5 47 75 53 24
Kentucky 24.4 37 72 63 20
Louisiana 15.4 32 65 68 24
Maine 9.9 43 80 57 18
Maryland 19.8 34 72 66 19
Massachusetts 38.3 26 65 74 14
Michigan 64.9 36 70 64 18
Minnesota 31.7 42 72 58 21
Mississippi 12.6 32 69 68 19
Missouri 40.2 48 78 52 24
Montana 7.1 40 74 60 22
Nebraska 9.1 49 76 51 23
Nevada 8.6 43 77 57 22
New Hampshire 5.5 38 75 62 18
New Jersey 31.0 31 72 69 17
New Mexico 17.6 41 75 59 23
New York NA NA NA NA NA
North Carolina 27.3 39 73 61 23
North Dakota 3.0 46 77 54 20
Ohio 63.0 39 75 61 21
Oklahoma 11.1 44 71 56 23
Oregon 13.3 25 71 75 15
Pennsylvania 67.6 34 71 66 18
Rhode Island 13.3 37 77 63 15
South Carolina 18.4 43 79 57 20
South Dakota 1.6 30 73 70 20
Tennessee 52.6 45 77 55 20
Texas 94.5 40 77 60 20
Utah 7.0 38 72 62 21
Vermont 5.8 42 76 58 19
Virginia 21.8 45 77 55 23
Washington 52.3 39 74 61 19
West Virginia 16.6 36 75 64 17
Wisconsin 10.9 33 72 67 19
Wyoming 0.2 43 71 57 28
All Reporting States 1,387 39 76 61 18
Note: "TANF adult recipients" is unduplicated roster of adults who received TANF benefits at any time during a quarter, averaged over four quarters in fiscal year. Data are not available for New York, which did not participate in the High Performance Bonus. Note also that TANF receipt and the presence of earnings may occur at different months within the quarter.

Source: Unpublished ACF calculations of High Performance Bonus data.

Table TANF 17.
Patterns of TANF Receipt: Fiscal Year 2002
State Adult TANF Recipients in Qtr(t)
(thousands)		 Percentage of Adult TANF Recipients Also Receiving Benefits in Following Quarters
Qtr(t+1) Qtr(t+2) Qtr(t+3) Qtr(t+4)
Alabama 10.9 74 54 44 39
Alaska 6.8 77 60 50 43
Arizona 30.1 76 59 51 47
Arkansas 9.0 71 50 37 29
California 273.4 83 70 62 56
Colorado 10.3 73 54 43 37
Connecticut 18.0 79 62 49 40
Delaware 3.6 77 59 49 43
Dist. of Columbia 12.1 86 75 67 62
Florida 37.1 57 38 30 25
Georgia 35.0 78 60 49 42
Hawaii 10.7 80 66 56 49
Idaho 0.7 47 21 14 11
Illinois 32.0 78 60 47 38
Indiana 45.6 82 67 55 44
Iowa 21.7 75 57 48 42
Kansas 13.5 73 55 47 42
Kentucky 24.4 77 59 48 41
Louisiana 15.4 72 52 41 33
Maine 9.9 79 64 56 51
Maryland 19.8 78 62 51 45
Massachusetts 38.3 79 66 58 52
Michigan 64.9 75 59 50 46
Minnesota 31.7 82 68 59 53
Mississippi 12.6 76 59 50 43
Missouri 40.2 79 64 53 45
Montana 7.1 76 61 54 49
Nebraska 9.1 74 60 53 48
Nevada 8.6 76 54 39 29
New Hampshire 5.5 77 60 51 44
New Jersey 31.0 79 64 55 50
New Mexico 17.6 69 50 42 36
New York NA NA NA NA NA
North Carolina 27.3 69 48 37 30
North Dakota 3.0 76 61 53 48
Ohio 63.0 72 52 42 36
Oklahoma 11.1 72 52 42 35
Oregon 13.3 76 60 50 43
Pennsylvania 67.6 79 64 56 51
Rhode Island 13.3 86 76 68 62
South Carolina 18.4 73 52 41 33
South Dakota 1.6 67 47 39 34
Tennessee 52.6 85 74 67 63
Texas 94.5 78 60 48 41
Utah 7.0 72 52 42 35
Vermont 5.8 78 63 54 48
Virginia 21.8 79 62 52 39
Washington 52.3 74 57 49 44
West Virginia 16.6 74 56 47 41
Wisconsin 10.9 77 59 49 44
Wyoming 0.2 48 21 14 10
All Reporting States 1,387 78 62 52 46
Note: "Adult TANF Recipients in Qtr(t)" is unduplicated roster of adults who received TANF benefits at any time during a quarter, averaged over four quarters in fiscal year. Data are not available for New York, which did not participate in the High Performance Bonus. This table examines length of receipt for all recipients receiving TANF in the selected quarter, in contrast to Table IND 8 in Chapter II, which looked at new entrants to AFDC/TANF. Another difference is that in this table, a recipient is counted as a recipient each quarter in which there is at least one month of receipt, even if the recipient has a gap of non-receipt for several months.

Source: Unpublished ACF calculations of High Performance Bonus data.

[ Go to Contents ]

Food Stamp Program

The Food Stamp Program (FSP), administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, is the largest food assistance program in the country, reaching more poor individuals over the course of a year than any other public assistance program. Unlike many other public assistance programs, FSP has few categorical requirements for eligibility, such as the presence of children, elderly, or disabled individuals in a household. As a result, the program offers assistance to a large and diverse population of needy persons, many of whom are not eligible for other forms of assistance.

The Food Stamp Program was designed primarily to supplement the food purchasing power of eligible low-income households so they can buy a nutritionally adequate low-cost diet. Participating households are expected to be able to devote 30 percent of their counted monthly cash income (after adjusting for various deductions) to food purchases. Food stamp benefits then make up the difference between the household's expected contribution to its food costs and an amount judged to be sufficient to buy an adequate low-cost diet. This amount, the maximum food stamp benefit level, is derived from USDA's lowest-cost food plan, the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP).

The federal government is responsible for virtually all of the rules that govern the program, and, with limited variations, these rules are nationally uniform, as are the benefit levels. Nonetheless, states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, through their local welfare offices, have primary responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the program. They determine eligibility, calculate benefits, and issue food stamp allotments. The Food Stamp Act provides 100 percent federal funding of food stamp benefits. States and other jurisdictions have responsibility for about half the cost of state and local food stamp agency administration.

In addition to the regular Food Stamp Program, the Food Stamp Act authorizes alternative programs in Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. The largest of these, the Nutrition Assistance Program in Puerto Rico, was funded under a federal block grant of over $1.3 billion in 2002. Unless noted otherwise, the food stamp caseload and expenditure data in this Appendix exclude costs for the Nutrition Assistance Program (NAP) in Puerto Rico. (Prior editions of this Appendix included NAP, but caseload and expenditure data in this Appendix are now limited to the Food Stamp Program, to be consistent with FSP data published by the USDA.)

The Food Stamp Program is available to nearly all financially needy households. To be eligible for food stamps, a household must meet eligibility criteria for gross and net income, asset holdings, work requirements, and citizenship or immigration status. The FSP benefit unit is the household. Generally, individuals living together constitute a household if they customarily purchase and prepare meals together. The income, expenses and assets of the household members are combined to determine program eligibility and benefit allotment.

Monthly income is the most important determinant of household eligibility. Except for households composed entirely of TANF, SSI, General Assistance, elderly or disabled recipients, gross income cannot exceed 130 percent of poverty. After certain amounts are deducted for living expenses, working expenses, dependent care expenses, excess shelter expenses, child support payment, and - for elderly/disabled households - medical expenses, net income cannot exceed 100 percent of poverty. Households also must not have more than $2,000 in assets comprised of cash, savings, stocks and bonds, and certain vehicles (households with an elderly or disabled member can have up to $3,000 in countable assets).

All nonexempt adult applicants for food stamps must register for work. To maintain eligibility, they must accept a suitable job, if offered one, and fulfill any work, job search, or training requirements established by the FSP office. Nondisabled adults living in households without children can receive benefits for three months only, unless they work or participate in work-related activities. Participation is restricted for certain groups, including students, strikers, and people who are institutionalized. Legal immigrants who are disabled, under age 18, are refugees or asylees, or have at least five years of legal US residency are eligible; all other noncitizens are not.

Food stamp benefits are a function of a household's size, its net monthly income, its assets, and maximum monthly benefit levels. Allotments are not taxable and food stamp purchases may not be charged sales taxes. Receipt of food stamps does not affect eligibility for or benefits provided by other welfare programs, although some programs use food stamp participation as a “trigger” for eligibility and others take into account the general availability of food stamps in deciding what level of benefits to provide.

Recent Legislative and Regulatory Changes

Title IV and subtitle A of title VIII of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) made major changes to the Food Stamp Program, including strong work requirements on able-bodied adults without dependent children, restricted eligibility of legal immigrants, and a reduction in maximum benefits. These three provisions, and subsequent amendments, are discussed below; their impact on program participation and expenditures begins to appear in food stamp administrative data for 1997, with the fuller impact shown in data for 1998 and beyond.

First, a work requirement was added for able-bodied adult food stamp recipients without dependents (ABAWDs). Unless exempt, ABAWDs between the ages of 18 and 59 are not eligible for benefits for more than 3 months in every 36-month period unless they are (1) working at least 20 hours a week; (2) participating in and complying with a work program for at least 20 hours a week; or (3) participating in and complying with a workfare program. Under the original legislation, the Department of Agriculture was authorized to waive application of the work requirement to any group of individuals at the request of the state agency, if a determination was made that the area where they reside has an unemployment rate over 10 percent or does not have a sufficient number of jobs to provide them employment. The provision was further moderated under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33), which allowed states to exempt up to 15 percent of the ABAWD caseload (beyond those subject to waivers) and which increased funds for the food stamp employment and training program for the creation of job slots for able-bodied adults subject to time limits.

Separately, title IV of PRWORA made significant changes in the eligibility of noncitizens for food stamp benefits. As first enacted, most qualified aliens, including legal immigrants (illegal aliens were already ineligible) were barred from receiving food stamps until citizenship. Subsequently, the Agriculture Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-185) restored food stamp eligibility to certain groups of qualified aliens who were legally residing in the United States before passage of PRWORA on August 22, 1996 and were over 65 years of age on that date or were under age 18 or disabled.

Finally, the 1996 legislation restrained growth in future program expenditures by making changes in the benefit structure for eligible participants, including a reduction in the maximum food stamp allotment. Other provisions of the 1996 act disqualified from eligibility those convicted of drug-related felonies and gave states the option to disqualify individuals, both custodial and noncustodial parents, from food stamps when they do not cooperate with child support agencies or are in arrears in their child support.

Recent regulatory and legislative changes have been made to increase access to food stamps among working poor families. Regulatory changes announced in July 1999 and expanded in November 2000 allow states to reduce reporting requirements and make it easier for working families to report income changes on a semiannual basis. Under the November 2000 regulations, states also have the option of providing a three-month transitional food stamp benefit to most families leaving TANF. Regulations that went into effect in 2001 expanded categorical eligibility to those receiving noncash TANF benefits, excluded vehicles with little equity from the assets test, and eliminated the equity test for most vehicles. In addition, the Agriculture Appropriations Bill for 2001 (P.L. 106-387) provides states with the option of liberalizing the treatment of vehicle assets to align with the states' TANF rules on vehicle eligibility. These changes were intended to address concerns that some of the decline in food stamp caseloads may be leaving poor families without nutritional assistance as they make the transition from welfare dependence to full self-sufficiency.

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 — also known as the Farm Bill –reauthorized the Food Stamp Program through fiscal year 2007. This law brought a number of significant changes to the program, including some that supercede earlier changes made through PRWORA and subsequent FSP legislation and regulations. Specifically, the Farm Bill restores food stamp eligibility to legal immigrants who have lived in the country at least five years and to legal immigrants receiving disability benefits, regardless of entry date. Children of legal immigrants also are eligible for food stamps regardless of entry date. Effective in fiscal year 2004, the requirement that income and resources of an immigrant's sponsor be counted in determining the eligibility and benefit amounts for immigrant children was eliminated. Each provision became effective at a different time, but all restorations were in effect by October 1, 2003.

The Farm Bill also increased the asset limit from $2,000 to $3,000 for households with a disabled member, making it consistent with the limit for households with elderly, and replaced the fixed standard deduction with a deduction that varies according to household size and is indexed to cost-of-living increases, in recognition of the higher expenses larger households incur. For households in the 48 contiguous states and DC, Alaska, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands, the deduction is set at 8.31 percent of the applicable net income limit based on household size. (Households in Guam will receive a slightly higher deduction.) No household receives an amount less than the previous fixed standard deduction or more than the standard deduction for a household of six.

Other Farm Bill changes include the authorization of $5 million per year for education and outreach grants to help inform the low-income public of their eligibility for food stamps, and increased flexibility for states in spending Employment and Training program funds to promote work. States also are now allowed to extend from three months to up to five months the period of time households may receive transitional food stamp benefits when they lose TANF cash assistance. Benefits are equal to the amount the household received prior to termination of TANF with adjustments in income for the loss of TANF. This change helps individuals moving off cash assistance to make the transition from welfare to work.

The Farm Bill also implemented a number of administrative reforms and program simplifications, including:

Food Stamp Program Data

The following six tables and accompanying figure provide information about the Food Stamp Program:

Food Stamp Caseload Trends (Table FSP 1). Average monthly food stamp participation was 21.3 million persons in fiscal year 2003, excluding the participants in Puerto Rico's block grant. This represents a significant increase over the fiscal year 2000 record-low average of 17.2 million participants. It is, however, well below the peak of 27.5 million recipients in fiscal year 1994. Both in absolute numbers and as a percentage of the population, food stamp recipiency in 2000 was lower than at any point in the previous twenty years. See also Table IND 3b and Table IND 4b in Chapter II for further data trends in food stamp caseload, specifically, food stamp recipiency and participation rates.

Considerable research has demonstrated that the Food Stamp Program is responsive to economic changes, with participation increasing in times of economic downturns and decreasing in times of economic growth (see Figure FSP 1). Economic conditions alone did not explain the caseload growth in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however. Studies suggest that a variety of factors contributed to this caseload growth, including a weak economy and higher rates of unemployment, expansions in Medicaid eligibility, the legalization of 3 million undocumented immigrants, and longer participation spells (McConnell, 1991; Gleason, 1998).

The decline in participation from 1994 to 2000 was caused by several factors, according to studies of this period. Part of the decline is associated with the strong economy in the second half of the 1990s. However, participation fell more sharply than expected during this period of sustained economic growth. Some of the decline reflected restrictions on the eligibility of noncitizens and time limits for unemployed nondisabled childless adults. The three groups where participation fell most rapidly included noncitizens and their US-born children, unemployed nondisabled childless adults, and persons receiving cash welfare benefits. As people left the welfare rolls, many also stopped participating in food stamps, even while remaining eligible (Genser, 1999; Wilde et al., 2000; Gleason et al., 2001; Kornfeld, 2002).

The increase in FSP participation from 2000 to 2003 occurred during a period when unemployment increased from four percent to six percent, states took advantage of opportunities to expand categorical eligibility to those receiving noncash TANF benefits and services and to liberalize the treatment of vehicles, and the Food and Nutrition Service was encouraging states to conduct outreach efforts.

Food Stamp Expenditures. Total program costs, shown in Table FSP 2, were considerably higher in 2003 than 2002, reflecting the increase in participation during that period as well as an increase in average benefits. Total federal program costs were $23.9 billion in 2003; the comparable 2002 cost was $21.1 billion (after adjusting for inflation). Average monthly benefits per person, also shown in Table FSP 2, were $83.90 per person in fiscal year 2003, up from $81.60 in 2002. This constitutes a 3 percent increase in average monthly benefits over the last year adjusted to 2003 dollars.

Food Stamp Household Characteristics. As shown in Table FSP 3, the proportion of food stamp households with earnings has increased, from about 20 percent for most of the 1980s and early 1990s, to 28 percent in 2003. At the same time, the proportion of households with income from AFDC/TANF has declined, from 43 percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2003, following the dramatic decline in AFDC/TANF caseloads. Over half of all food stamp households have children, although the proportion has declined somewhat from over 60 percent in most of the 1980s and early 1990s to 55 percent in 2003. The vast majority (88 percent in 2003) of households have incomes below the federal poverty guidelines.

Figure FSP 1.
Persons Receiving Food Stamps: 1962-2003

Figure FSP 1. Persons Receiving Food Stamps: 1962-2003

Note: Shaded areas are periods of recession as determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, National Data Bank.

Table FSP 1.
Trends in Food Stamp Caseloads: Selected Years 1962-2003
Fiscal Year Food Stamp Participants Participants as a Percent of: Child Participants as a Percent of:
Including Territories 1 (thousands) Excluding Territories (thousands) Children Excld. Terr. (thousands) Total Population 2 Pretransfer Poverty Population 3 All Poor Persons 2 Total Child Population 2 Children in Poverty 2
1962 6,554 6,554 NA 3.5 17.0 NA NA NA
1965 5,167 5,167 NA 2.7 15.6 NA NA NA
1970 8,317 8,317 NA 4.1 32.7 NA NA NA
1971 13,010 13,010 NA 6.3 50.9 NA NA NA
1972 14,111 14,111 NA 6.7 57.7 NA NA NA
1973 14,607 14,607 NA 6.9 63.6 NA NA NA
1974 14,288 14,288 NA 6.7 61.1 NA NA NA
1975 4 17,152 16,320 NA 7.6 63.1 NA NA NA
1976 18,628 17,033 9,126 7.8 68.2 NA 13.8 88.8
1977 17,161 15,604 NA 7.1 63.1 NA NA NA
1978 16,077 14,405 NA 6.5 58.8 NA NA NA
1979 5 17,758 15,942 NA 7.1 61.1 57.1 NA NA
1980 21,173 19,253 9,876 8.5 65.8 60.7 15.5 85.6
1981 22,518 20,655 9,803 9.0 64.6 60.8 15.5 78.4
1982 21,808 20,392 9,591 8.8 59.3 56.3 15.3 70.3
1983 21,727 20,095 10,910 8.6 61.4 58.5 17.4 78.4
1984 20,854 20,796 10,492 8.8 61.7 58.5 16.8 78.2
1985 19,899 19,847 9,906 8.3 60.0 56.6 15.7 75.3
1986 19,429 19,381 9,844 8.1 59.9 56.2 15.7 76.5
1987 19,113 19,072 9,771 7.9 59.2 55.6 15.5 76.1
1988 18,645 18,613 9,351 7.6 58.6 55.2 14.8 75.1
1989 18,806 18,778 9,429 7.6 59.6 55.6 14.9 74.9
1990 20,049 20,020 10,127 8.0 59.6 55.7 15.8 75.4
1991 22,625 22,599 11,952 8.9 63.3 59.3 18.3 83.3
1992 25,406 25,370 13,349 9.9 66.7 64.0 20.1 87.3
1993 26,982 26,952 14,196 10.4 68.6 63.8 21.0 90.3
1994 27,468 27,433 14,391 10.4 72.1 66.8 21.0 94.1
1995 26,619 26,579 13,860 10.0 73.0 67.6 20.0 94.5
1996 25,543 25,495 13,189 9.5 69.8 64.6 18.8 91.2
1997 22,858 22,820 11,847 8.4 64.1 59.9 16.7 83.9
1998 19,791 19,748 10,524 7.2 57.3 53.8 14.7 78.1
1999 18,183 18,146 9,332 6.5 56.3 52.5 13.0 76.0
2000 17,194 17,156 8,743 6.1 55.1 51.8 12.1 75.5
2001 17,316 17,280 8,819 6.1 52.5 49.2 12.1 75.2
2002 19,095 19,058 9,688 6.6 55.1 52.1 13.3 79.8
2003 21,260 21,223 10,605 7.3 59.0 NA 14.5 82.4
1 Total participants includes all participating states, the District of Columbia, and the territories (including Puerto Rico from 1975 to 1982–a separate Nutrition Assistance Grant for Puerto Rico was begun in July 1982). From 1962 to 1983 the number of participants includes the Family Food Assistance Program (FFAP) that was largely replaced by the FSP in 1975. The FFAP participants (as of December) for the seven years shown during the period from 1962 to 1974 were respectively: 6,411; 4,742; 3,977; 3,642; 3,002; 2,441; and 1,406 (all in thousands). From 1975 to 1983 the number of FFAP participants averaged only 88 thousand.
2 Includes all participating states and the District of Columbia only--the territories are excluded from both numerator and denominator. Population numbers used as denominators are the resident population.
3 The pre-transfer poverty population used as denominator is the number of all persons in families or living alone whose income (cash income plus social insurance plus Social Security but before taxes and means-tested transfers) falls below the relevant poverty threshold. See Appendix J, Table 20, 1992 Green Book; data for subsequent years are unpublished Congressional Budget Office tabulations.
4 The first fiscal year in which food stamps were available nationwide.
5 The fiscal year in which the food stamp purchase requirement was eliminated, on a phased-in basis.

Sources: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, National Data Bank, the 1996 Green Book, and U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the United States: 2003," Current Population Reports, Series P60-226.

Table FSP 2.
Trends in Food Stamp Expenditures: Selected Years 1975-2003
Fiscal Year Total Federal Cost
(Benefits + Administration)		 Benefits (Federal) (millions) Administration1 Total Program Cost (millions) Average Monthly Benefit per Person
Current Dollars (millions) 2003 Dollars2 (millions) Federal (millions) State & Local (millions) Current Dollars 2003 Dollars2
1975 $4,619 $15,603 $4,386 $233 $175 $4,794 $21.30 $72.00
1976 5,685 17,980 5,326 359 270 5,955 23.90 75.60
1977 5,461 16,076 5,067 394 295 5,756 24.80 73.00
1978 5,520 15,244 5,139 381 285 5,805 26.60 73.50
19793 6,940 17,624 6,480 460 388 7,328 30.50 77.50
1980 9,206 21,019 8,721 486 375 9,581 34.50 78.80
1981 11,225 23,303 10,630 595 504 11,729 39.50 82.00
1982 10,837 21,019 10,208 628 557 11,394 39.20 74.90
1983 11,847 21,978 11,152 695 612 12,459 43.00 79.80
19844 11,579 20,603 10,696 8835 805 12,384 42.70 76.00
1985 11,703 20,102 10,744 960 871 12,574 45.00 77.30
1986 11,638 19,497 10,605 1,033 935 12,573 45.50 76.20
1987 11,604 18,903 10,500 1,104 996 12,600 45.80 74.60
1988 12,317 19,275 11,149 1,168 1,080 13,397 49.80 77.90
1989 12,932 19,314 11,701 1,232 1,101 14,033 51.80 77.40
1990 15,490 22,038 14,186 1,305 1,174 16,664 59.00 83.90
1991 18,771 25,421 17,339 1,432 1,247 20,018 63.90 86.50
1992 22,462 29,525 20,906 1,557 1,375 23,837 68.60 90.20
1993 23,653 30,180 22,006 1,647 1,572 25,225 68.00 86.80
1994 24,493 30,445 22,749 1,744 1,643 26,136 69.00 85.80
1995 24,620 29,774 22,764 1,856 1,748 26,368 71.30 86.20
1996 24,331 28,631 22,440 1,891 1,842 26,173 73.20 86.10
1997 21,485 24,618 19,549 1,937 1,904 23,389 71.30 81.70
1998 18,888 21,296 16,891 1,998 1,988 20,876 71.10 80.20
1999 17,710 19,594 15,769 1,941 1,874 19,584 72.30 80.00
2000 17,054 18,282 14,983 2,070 2,086 19,140 72.60 77.80
2001 17,790 18,476 15,547 2,242 2,233 20,023 74.80 77.70
2002 20,644 21,128 18,256 2,388 2,397 23,041 79.70 81.60
2003 23,872 23,872 21,404 2,468 2,480 26,352 83.90 83.90
1 Amounts include the federal share of state administrative and Employment and Training costs and certain direct federal administrative costs. They do not generally include approximately $60 million in food stamp-related federal administrative costs budgeted under a separate appropriation account (although estimates prior to 1989 do include estimates of food stamp related federal administrative expenses paid out of other Agriculture Department accounts). State and local costs are estimated based on the known federal shares and represent an estimate of all administrative expenses of participating states.
2 Constant dollar adjustments to 2002 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal year average price index.
3 The fiscal year in which the food stamp purchase requirement was eliminated, on a phased-in basis.
4 Beginning 1984 USDA took over from DHHS the administrative cost of certifying public assistance households for food stamps.

Note: Total federal cost includes food stamps in Puerto Rico (1975-1982). This table differs from versions published in earlier years in that it does not include the costs of the Family Food Assistance Program in the period from 1975 to 1983. The cost of benefits does include food stamps in Puerto Rico from 1975 to 1982 but (for consistency with the reporting of the Food and Nutrition Service) the total expenditures for benefits does not include the funding for the Puerto Rico nutrition assistance grant from the last quarter of FY 1982 when it replaced Puerto Rico's food stamp program to the present. (Puerto Rico's nutrition assistance grant was $778 million in 1983 and rose to over $1.3 billion in 2002.)

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service unpublished data from the National Data Bank; and the 2004 Green Book.

Table FSP 3.
Characteristics of Food Stamp Households: 1980-2003 (percents)
  Year1
1980 1984 1988 1990 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2003
With Gross Monthly Income:  
   Below the Federal Poverty Levels 87 93 92 92 90 91 90 89 88 88
   Between the Poverty Levels and 130  
   Percent of the Poverty Levels 10 6 8 8 9 8 9 10 11 10
   Above 130 Percent of Poverty 2 1 * * 1 1 1 1 1 2
With Earnings 19 19 20 19 21 23 26 27 28 28
With Public Assistance Income 65 71 72 73 69 67 65 63 56 52
   With AFDC/TANF Income NA 42 42 43 38 37 31 26 21 17
   With SSI Income 18 18 20 19 23 24 28 32 29 28
With Children 60 61 61 61 61 60 58 54 54 55
   And Female Heads of Household NA 47 50 51 51 50 47 44 44 44
      With No Spouse Present NA NA 39 37 43 43 41 38 37 37
With Elderly Members3 23 22 19 18 16 16 18 21 19 18
Average Household Size 2.8 2.8 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.3 2.3 2.3
1 Data were gathered in August in the years 1980-84 and during the summer in the years from 1986 to 1994. Reports from 1995 to the present are based on fiscal year averages.
2 Public assistance income includes AFDC/TANF, SSI, and general assistance.
3 Elderly members and heads of household include those of age 60 or older.
* Less than 0.5 percent.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Analysis, Nutrition, and Evaluation, Characteristics of Food Stamp Households, Fiscal Year 2003 and earlier years.

Table FSP 4.
Value of Food Stamps Issued, by State: Selected Fiscal Years 1975-2003 (millions)
  1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2002 2003
Alabama $103 $246 $318 $328 $441 $344 $417 $466
Alaska 6 27 25 25 50 46 59 66
Arizona 41 97 121 239 414 240 386 498
Arkansas 78 122 126 155 212 206 265 304
California 361 530 639 968 2,473 1,639 1,706 1,813
Colorado 44 71 94 156 217 127 165 203
Connecticut 36 59 62 72 169 138 146 165
Delaware 6 21 22 25 47 31 39 48
Dist. of Columbia 31 41 40 43 92 77 76 90
Florida 207 421 368 609 1,307 771 878 988
Georgia 129 264 290 382 700 489 621 782
Guam 2 15 18 15 24 36 52 53
Hawaii 23 60 93 81 177 166 152 156
Idaho 11 29 36 40 59 46 62 77
Illinois 238 394 713 835 1,056 777 923 1,053
Indiana 58 154 242 226 382 268 408 484
Iowa 28 54 107 109 142 100 129 149
Kansas 12 38 64 96 144 83 113 140
Kentucky 135 211 332 334 413 337 410 486
Louisiana 148 243 365 549 629 448 587 685
Maine 31 60 62 63 112 81 97 124
Maryland 76 140 171 203 365 199 215 257
Massachusetts 75 171 173 207 315 182 209 254
Michigan 124 263 541 663 806 457 645 783
Minnesota 40 62 105 165 240 165 201 227
Mississippi 110 199 264 352 383 226 298 335
Missouri 82 142 212 312 488 358 477 568
Montana 11 18 31 41 57 51 58 69
Nebraska 11 25 44 59 77 61 74 89
Nevada 10 15 22 41 91 57 96 113
New Hamphires 11 22 15 20 44 28 35 40
New Jersey 125 226 260 289 506 304 314 339
New Mexico 48 81 88 117 196 140 154 184
New York 209 726 938 1,086 2,065 1,361 1,479 1,677
North Carolina 122 234 237 282 495 403 536 645
North Dakota 5 9 16 25 32 25 31 37
Ohio 253 382 697 861 1,017 520 726 879
Oklahoma 38 73 134 186 315 208 288 362
Oregon 56 80 142 168 254 198 319 381
Pennsylvania 175 373 547 661 1,006 656 700 785
Rhode Island 18 31 35 42 82 59 64 69
South Carolina 121 181 194 240 297 249 352 443
South Dakota 8 18 26 35 40 37 45 51
Tennessee 115 282 280 372 554 415 552 722
Texas 314 514 701 1,429 2,246 1,215 1,522 1,881
Utah 12 22 40 71 90 68 80 102
Vermont 9 18 20 22 46 32 34 38
Virgin Islands 6 19 23 18 28 263 305 366
Virginia 63 158 189 247 450 21 17 18
Washington 70 90 140 229 417 241 318 394
West Virginia 56 87 159 192 253 185 198 216
Wisconsin 29 68 148 180 220 129 197 233
Wyoming 3 6 15 21 28 19 22 24
United States $4,386 $8,721 $10,744 $14,186 $22,764 $14,983 $18,256 $21,412
Note:The totals for 1975 and 1980 include amounts for Puerto Rico of $366 and $828 million respectively.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, unpublished data from the Food Stamp National Data Bank.

Table FSP 5.
Average Number of Food Stamp Recipients, by State: Selected Fiscal Years (thousands)
  Percent Change
  1975 1980 1985 1990 1996 2000 2002 2003 90-96 96-03
Alabama 365 583 588 454 509 396 444 472 12 -7
Alaska 15 29 22 25 46 38 46 51 84 10
Arizona 143 196 206 317 427 259 379 466 35 9
Arkansas 267 301 253 235 274 247 284 310 17 13
California 1,455 1,493 1,615 1,955 3,143 1,830 1,710 1,708 61 -46
Colorado 150 163 170 221 244 156 178 208 10 -15
Connecticut 155 170 145 133 223 165 169 181 67 -19
Delaware 26 52 40 33 58 32 40 46 74 -20
Dist. of Columbia 122 103 72 62 93 81 74 82 49 -12
Florida 647 912 630 781 1,371 882 985 1,041 75 -24
Georgia 498 627 567 536 793 559 646 750 48 -5
Guam 6 22 20 12 18 22 24 24 50 36
Hawaii 75 102 99 77 130 118 105 100 69 -23
Idaho 39 61 59 59 80 58 70 82 36 2
Illinois 926 903 1,110 1,013 1,105 817 886 954 9 -14
Indiana 392 353 406 311 390 300 411 470 25 21
Iowa 115 141 203 170 177 123 141 154 4 -13
Kansas 58 90 119 142 172 117 140 161 21 -6
Kentucky 472 468 560 458 486 403 450 503 6 4
Louisiana 510 569 644 727 670 500 588 655 -8 -2
Maine 126 139 114 94 131 102 111 133 39 1
Maryland 261 324 287 255 375 219 228 252 47 -33
Massachusetts 365 453 337 347 374 232 243 292 8 -22
Michigan 619 813 985 917 935 603 750 838 2 -10
Minnesota 167 171 228 263 295 196 217 235 12 -20
Mississippi 376 496 495 499 457 276 325 356 -8 -22
Missouri 300 335 362 431 554 423 515 592 28 7
Montana 38 43 58 57 71 59 63 71 25 1
Nebraska 49 66 94 95 102 82 88 99 7 -2
Nevada 32 32 32 50 97 61 97 111 94 15
New Hampshire 44 50 28 31 53 36 41 45 73 -15
New Jersey 490 605 464 382 540 345 320 339 42 -37
New Mexico 157 185 157 157 235 169 170 195 49 -17
New York 1,291 1,759 1,834 1,548 2,099 1,439 1,349 1,436 36 -32
North Carolina 466 582 474 419 631 488 574 649 51 3
North Dakota 19 25 33 39 40 32 37 40 2 -0
Ohio 854 865 1,133 1,089 1,045 610 735 855 -4 -18
Oklahoma 171 209 263 267 354 253 317 380 33 7
Oregon 201 197 228 216 288 234 359 398 33 39
Pennsylvania 848 980 1,032 952 1,124 777 767 823 18 -27
Rhode Island 86 87 69 64 91 74 72 74 42 -18
South Carolina 410 426 373 299 358 295 379 451 20 26
South Dakota 33 43 48 50 49 43 48 51 -3 5
Tennessee 397 624 518 527 638 496 598 728 21 14
Texas 1,133 1,167 1,263 1,880 2,372 1,333 1,554 1,872 26 -21
Utah 46 54 75 99 110 82 90 106 11 -4
Vermont 44 46 44 38 56 41 40 41 47 -27
Virgin Islands 16 34 32 18 31 336 352 394 75 1185
Virginia 257 384 360 346 538 16 12 13 55 -98
Washington 253 248 281 340 478 295 350 404 41 -16
West Virginia 242 209 278 262 300 227 236 247 14 -18
Wisconsin 148 215 363 286 283 193 262 297 -1 5
Wyoming 10 14 27 28 33 22 24 25 17 -23
United States 17,192 21,082 19,899 20,067 25,542 17,194 19,095 21,260 27 -17
Note: The totals for 1975 and 1980 include recipients in Puerto Rico of 810 thousand and 1.86 million respectively.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, unpublished data from the National Data Bank.

Table FSP 6.
Food Stamp Recipiency Rates, by State: Selected Fiscal Years (percent)
  Percent Change
  1975 1980 1985 1990 1996 2000 2002 2003 90-96 96-03
Alabama 9.9 14.9 14.8 11.2 11.8 8.9 9.9 10.5 5 -11
Alaska 4.0 7.1 4.1 4.5 7.6 6.0 7.2 7.8 67 3
Arizona 6.3 7.1 6.5 8.6 9.3 5.0 7.0 8.4 8 -10
Arkansas 12.4 13.1 10.9 10.0 10.6 9.2 10.5 11.4 7 7
California 6.8 6.3 6.1 6.5 9.8 5.4 4.9 4.8 50 -51
Colorado 5.8 5.6 5.3 6.7 6.2 3.6 4.0 4.6 -7 -26
Connecticut 5.0 5.5 4.5 4.0 6.7 4.8 4.9 5.2 65 -22
Delaware 4.5 8.7 6.5 5.0 7.8 4.1 4.9 5.6 57 -28
Dist. of Columbia 17.2 16.1 11.4 10.3 16.2 14.1 13.0 14.5 58 -10
Florida 7.6 9.3 6.0 9.2 5.5 5.9 6.1 54 -34
Georgia 9.8 11.4 9.5 8.2 10.6 6.8 7.6 8.6 28 -18
Hawaii 8.4 10.6 9.5 6.9 10.8 9.7 8.5 8.0 57 -26
Idaho 4.6 6.4 5.9 5.8 6.6 4.5 5.2 6.0 15 -10
Illinois 8.2 7.9 9.7 8.8 9.1 6.6 7.0 7.5 3 -17
Indiana 7.3 6.4 7.4 5.6 6.6 4.9 6.7 7.6 18 15
Iowa 4.0 4.8 7.2 6.1 6.2 4.2 4.8 5.2 0 -15
Kansas 2.5 3.8 4.9 5.7 6.6 4.3 5.2 5.9 15 -10
Kentucky 13.6 12.8 15.2 12.4 12.4 10.0 11.0 12.2 -0 -1
Louisiana 13.1 13.5 14.6 17.2 15.2 11.2 13.1 14.6 -12 -4
Maine 11.8 12.3 9.8 7.6 10.5 8.0 8.6 10.2 38 -3
Maryland 6.3 7.7 6.5 5.3 7.3 4.1 4.2 4.6 38 -37
Massachusetts 6.3 7.9 5.7 5.8 6.0 3.6 3.8 4.5 5 -25
Michigan 6.8 8.8 10.8 9.8 9.6 6.1 7.5 8.3 -3 -13
Minnesota 4.2 4.2 5.5 6.0 6.3 4.0 4.3 4.6 4 -26
Mississippi 15.7 19.6 19.1 19.4 16.6 9.7 11.3 12.3 -14 -26
Missouri 6.2 6.8 7.2 8.4 10.2 7.6 9.1 10.4 21 2
Montana 5.1 5.5 7.1 7.1 8.0 6.6 7.0 7.8 13 -3
Nebraska 3.2 4.2 5.9 6.0 6.1 4.8 5.1 5.7 2 -6
Nevada 5.2 4.0 3.4 4.1 5.8 3.0 4.5 5.0 42 -14
New Hampshire 5.3 5.4 2.8 2.7 4.5 2.9 3.2 3.5 64 -23
New Jersey 6.7 8.2 6.1 4.9 6.6 4.1 3.7 3.9 35 -41
New Mexico 13.5 14.1 10.9 10.3 13.4 9.3 9.2 10.4 30 -23
New York 7.2 10.0 10.3 8.6 11.3 7.6 7.0 7.5 31 -34
North Carolina 8.4 9.9 7.6 6.3 8.4 6.0 6.9 7.7 34 -8
North Dakota 2.9 3.9 4.9 6.1 6.1 5.0 5.8 6.3 -0 2
Ohio 7.9 8.0 10.6 10.0 9.3 5.4 6.4 7.5 -7 -20
Oklahoma 6.2 6.9 8.0 8.5 10.6 7.3 9.1 10.8 25 2
Oregon 8.6 7.5 8.5 7.6 8.9 6.8 10.2 11.2 17 26
Pennsylvania 7.1 8.3 8.8 8.0 9.2 6.3 6.2 6.7 15 -28
Rhode Island 9.2 9.1 7.2 6.4 8.9 7.1 6.7 6.9 40 -23
South Carolina 14.1 13.6 11.3 8.5 9.4 7.3 9.2 10.9 10 15
South Dakota 4.8 6.2 6.9 7.2 6.6 5.7 6.3 6.7 -9 2
Tennessee 9.3 13.6 11.0 10.8 11.8 8.7 10.3 12.5 9 6
Texas 9.0 8.1 7.8 11.0 12.3 6.4 7.2 8.5 11 -31
Utah 3.7 3.7 4.6 5.7 5.3 3.7 3.9 4.5 -7 -16
Vermont 9.1 8.9 8.2 6.8 9.5 6.7 6.5 6.7 40 -30
Virginia 5.1 7.2 6.3 5.6 8.0 4.7 4.8 5.3 43 -33
Washington 7.0 6.0 6.4 6.9 8.6 5.0 5.8 6.6 24 -23
West Virginia 13.1 10.7 14.6 14.6 16.4 12.6 13.1 13.6 13 -17
Wisconsin 3.2 4.6 7.6 5.8 5.4 3.6 4.8 5.4 -7 0
Wyoming 2.7 3.0 5.4 6.2 6.8 4.5 4.7 5.0 8 -25
United States 7.6 8.5 8.3 8.0 9.5 6.1 6.6 7.3 18 -23
Note: Recipiency rate refers to the average monthly number of food stamp recipients in each state during the particular fiscal year expressed as a percent of the total resident population as of July 1 of that year. The numerator is from Table FSP 5.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, unpublished data from the National Data Bank and U.S. Bureau of the Census (resident population by state available online at http://www.census.gov).

[ Go to Contents ]

Supplemental Security Income

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Program is a means-tested, federally administered income assistance program authorized by title XVI of the Social Security Act. Established in 1972 (Public Law 92-603) and begun in 1974, SSI provides monthly cash payments in accordance with uniform, nationwide eligibility requirements to needy aged, blind and disabled persons. To qualify for SSI payments, a person must satisfy the program criteria for age, blindness or disability. Children may qualify for SSI if they are under age 18 and meet the applicable SSI disability or blindness, income and resource requirements. Individuals and married couples are eligible for SSI if their countable incomes fall below the Federal maximum monthly SSI benefit levels of $564 for an individual and $846 for a married couple in fiscal year 2004. SSI eligibility is restricted to qualified persons who have countable resources/assets of not more than $2,000, or $3,000 for a couple.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers the SSI program. Since its inception, SSI has been viewed as the “program of last resort.” Therefore, SSA helps recipients obtain any other public assistance that they are eligible to receive before providing SSI benefits. After evaluating all other income, SSI pays what is necessary to bring an individual to the statutorily prescribed income “floor.” As of December 2001, 36 percent of all SSI recipients also received Social Security retirement or survivor benefits, which are the single greatest source of income for SSI recipients.

Prior to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), no individual could receive both SSI payments and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) benefits. If eligible for both, the individual had to choose which benefit to receive. Generally, the AFDC agency encouraged individuals to file for SSI and, once the SSI payments had started, the individual was removed from the AFDC filing unit. Since states have the authority to set TANF eligibility standards and benefit levels under PRWORA, individuals are not prohibited from receiving both TANF benefits and SSI.

With the exception of California, which converted food stamp benefits to cash payments that are included in the State supplementary payment, SSI recipients may be eligible to receive food stamps. If all household members receive SSI, the household is categorically eligible for food stamps and does not need to meet the Food Stamp Program's financial eligibility standards. If SSI beneficiaries live in households in which other household members do not receive SSI benefits, the household must meet the net income eligibility standard of the Food Stamp Program to be eligible for food stamp benefits.

Legislative Changes

Several legislative changes made in the 104th Congress affected SSI participation and expenditures. Public Law 104-121, the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996, prohibited SSI eligibility to individuals whose drug addiction and/or alcoholism (DAA) is a contributing factor material to the finding of disability. This provision applied to individuals who filed for benefits on or after the date of enactment (March 29, 1996) and to individuals whose claims were finally adjudicated on or after the date of enactment. It applied to current beneficiaries on January 1, 1997.

PRWORA made several changes designed to maintain the SSI program's goal of limiting benefits to severely disabled children. First, the act replaced the former “comparable severity” test with a new definition of disability specifically for children, based on a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that results in “marked and severe functional limitations.” Second, SSA discontinued use of the Individualized Functional Assessment (IFA) which it had implemented in 1991 following the Supreme Court's decision in Sullivan v Zebley, 493 U.S. 521 (1990).1 Third, references to “maladaptive behaviors” in certain sections of the Listing of Impairments (among medical criteria for evaluation of mental and emotional disorders in the domain of personal/behavioral function) were eliminated. The latter two provisions were effective for all new and pending applications upon enactment (August 22, 1996). Beneficiaries who were receiving benefits due to an IFA or under the Listings because of limitations resulting from maladaptive behaviors received notice no later than January 1, 1997, that their benefits might end when their case was redetermined. Additional provisions of the PRWORA with impact on enrollment are the requirement that eligibility be redetermined when beneficiaries reach age 18, using the adult disability standard; that "continuing disability reviews" be done for children; and that children who were eligible due to low birth weight have their eligibility redetermined at age one.

Title IV of PRWORA also made significant changes in the eligibility of noncitizens for SSI benefits. Some of the restrictions were subsequently moderated, most notably by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-33), which “grandfathered” immigrants who were receiving SSI at the time of enactment of the PRWORA. Those immigrants who entered the U.S. after August 22, 1996, may be eligible to receive SSI after having been “lawfully admitted for permanent residence.”

Several provisions aimed at reducing SSI fraud and improving recovery of overpayments were enacted in 1999 as part of the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (P. L. 106-169). Other legislation enacted in 1999 provides additional work incentives for disabled beneficiaries of SSI. Additionally, the Social Security Protection Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-203), enacted March 2, 2004, introduced program and beneficiary protections covering the use of representative payees and required documentation of changes in beneficiary status.

SSI Program Data

The following tables and figures provide SSI program data:

SSI Caseload Trends (Tables SSI 1 and SSI 2 and Figure SSI 1). From 1990 to 1995, the number of SSI beneficiaries increased from 4.8 million to 6.5 million, an average growth rate of over 6 percent per year. Between 1995 and 2000, the number of beneficiaries fluctuated between 6.5 and 6.6 million persons. In December 2003, there were 6.9 million beneficiaries. Table SSI 1 presents information on the total number of persons receiving SSI payments in December of each year from 1974 through 2003, and also presents recipients by eligibility category (aged, blind and disabled) and by type of recipient (child, adults ages 18-64, and adults ages 65 or older). See also Tables IND 3c and IND 4c in Chapter II for further data on trends in recipiency and participation rates.

The composition of the SSI caseload has been shifting over time, as shown in Table SSI 1. The number of beneficiaries eligible because of age has been declining steadily, from a high of 2.3 million persons in December 1975 to a low of 1.2 million persons in December 2003. At the same time, there has been strong growth in blind and disabled beneficiaries, from 1.7 million in December 1974 to 5.7 million in December 2003. Moreover, the number of disabled children has increased dramatically, particularly during the 1990s, when the number of disabled children receiving SSI increased from 309,000 in December 1990 to 955,000 in December 1996. The number of disabled children fell in the next three years, stabilized at 847,000 in 1999 and 2000, and began to rise again in 2001, reaching 959,000 in 2003.

Several factors have contributed to the growth of the Supplemental Security Income program. Expansions in disability eligibility (particularly for mentally impaired adults and for children), increased outreach, overall growth in immigration, and transfers from state programs were among the key factors identified in a 1995 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO concluded that three groups — adults with mental impairments, children, and non-citizens — accounted for nearly 90 percent of the SSI program's growth in the early 1990s. The growth in disabled children beneficiaries is generally believed to be due to outreach activities, the Supreme Court decision in the Zebley case, expansion of the medical impairment category, and reduction in reviews of continuing eligibility.2

SSI Expenditures (Tables SSI 3 through SSI 5). While administrative costs increased by about 1 percent, the total amount paid out in SSI benefits increased from $33.1 billion (inflation adjusted) in 2001 to $35.6 billion in 2003, as shown in Table SSI 3. Average monthly benefits per person were $421 in 2003, down slightly from 2002 inflation adjusted benefit level of $424. For more details see Table SSI 4.

SSI Recipient Characteristics (Table SSI 6). Over the last 20 years, the percentage of aged SSI recipients has dramatically decreased, while the percentage of disabled recipients has increased substantially. As shown in Table SSI 6, the proportion of SSI recipients aged 65 or older has decreased dramatically, from 54 percent in 1980 to 29 percent in 2003.2

Figure SSI 1.
SSI Recipients, by Age: 1974-2003

Figure SSI 1. SSI Recipients, by Age: 1974-2003

Source: Social Security Administration, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004 (Data available online at http://www.ssa.gov/statistics).

Table SSI 1.
Number of Persons Receiving Federally Administered SSI Payments: 1974-2003 (thousands)
Date Total Eligibility Category Type of Recipient
Aged Blind and Disabled Children Adults
Total Blind Disabled Ages 18-64 65 or older
Dec 1974 3,996 2,286 1,710 75 1,636 71 1 1,503 2,422
Dec 1975 4,314 2,307 2,007 74 1,933 107 1,699 2,508
Dec 1976 4,236 2,148 2,088 76 2,012 125 1,714 2,397
Dec 1977 4,238 2,051 2,187 77 2,109 147 1,738 2,353
Dec 1978 4,217 1,968 2,249 77 2,172 166 1,747 2,304
Dec 1979 4,150 1,872 2,278 77 2,201 177 1,727 2,246
Dec 1980 4,142 1,808 2,334 78 2,256 190 1,731 2,221
Dec 1981 4,019 1,678 2,341 79 2,262 195 1,703 2,121
Dec 1982 3,858 1,549 2,309 77 2,231 192 1,655 2,011
Dec 1983 3,901 1,515 2,386 79 2,307 198 1,700 2,003
Dec 1984 4,029 1,530 2,499 81 2,419 212 1,780 2,037
Dec 1985 4,138 1,504 2,634 82 2,551 227 1,879 2,031
Dec 1986 4,269 1,473 2,796 83 2,713 241 2,010 2,018
Dec 1987 4,385 1,455 2,930 83 2,846 251 2,119 2,015
Dec 1988 4,464 1,433 3,030 83 2,948 255 2,203 2,006
Dec 1989 4,593 1,439 3,154 83 3,071 265 2,302 2,026
Dec 1990 4,817 1,454 3,363 84 3,279 309 2,450 2,059
Dec 1991 5,118 1,465 3,654 85 3,569 397 2,642 2,080
Dec 1992 5,566 1,471 4,095 85 4,010 556 2,910 2,100
Dec 1993 5,984 1,475 4,509 85 4,424 723 3,148 2,113
Dec 1994 6,296 1,466 4,830 85 4,745 841 3,335 2,119
Dec 1995 6,514 1,446 5,068 84 4,984 917 3,482 2,115
Dec 1996 6,614 1,413 5,201 82 5,119 955 3,568 2,090
Dec 1997 6,495 1,362 5,133 81 5,052 880 3,562 2,054
Dec 1998 6,566 1,332 5,234 80 5,154 887 3,646 2,033
Dec 1999 6,557 1,308 5,249 79 5,169 847 3,691 2,019
Dec 2000 6,602 1,289 5,312 79 5,234 847 3,744 2,011
Dec 2001 6,688 1,264 5,424 78 5,346 882 3,811 1,995
Dec 2002 6,788 1,252 5,537 78 5,459 915 3,878 1,995
Dec 2003 6,902 1,233 5,670 77 5,593 959 3,878 1,990
1 Includes students 18-21 in 1974 only.

Source: Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Income, Annual Statistical Report, 2004 (Data available online at http://www.ssa.gov/statistics).

Table SSI 2.
SSI Recipiency Rates: 1974-2003 (percent)
Date All Recipients as a Percent of Total Population 1 Adults 18-64 as a Percent of 18-64 Population 1 Child Recipients as a Percent of All Children 1 Elderly Recipients (Persons 65 & Older) as a Percent of
All Persons 65 & Older 1 All Elderly Poor 2 Pretransfer Elderly Poor 3
Dec 1974 1.9 1.2 0.1 10.8 78.5 NA
Dec 1975 2.0 1.3 0.2 10.9 75.6 NA
Dec 1976 1.9 1.3 0.2 10.2 72.4 NA
Dec 1977 1.9 1.3 0.2 9.7 74.1 NA
Dec 1978 1.9 1.3 0.3 9.3 71.5 NA
Dec 1979 1.8 1.3 0.3 8.8 61.3 66.8
Dec 1980 1.8 1.2 0.3 8.6 57.5 64.7
Dec 1981 1.7 1.2 0.3 8.0 55.0 63.3
Dec 1982 1.7 1.2 0.3 7.4 53.6 62.3
Dec 1983 1.7 1.2 0.3 7.3 55.2 61.9
Dec 1984 1.7 1.2 0.3 7.2 61.2 66.3
Dec 1985 1.7 1.3 0.4 7.1 58.7 64.5
Dec 1986 1.8 1.3 0.4 6.9 57.9 63.4
Dec 1987 1.8 1.4 0.4 6.7 56.5 64.7
Dec 1988 1.8 1.5 0.4 6.6 57.6 64.3
Dec 1989 1.9 1.5 0.4 6.5 60.3 64.6
Dec 1990 1.9 1.6 0.5 6.5 56.3 63.3
Dec 1991 2.0 1.7 0.6 6.5 55.0 61.1
Dec 1992 2.2 1.9 0.8 6.4 53.5 59.8
Dec 1993 2.3 2.0 1.1 6.4 56.3 63.3
Dec 1994 2.4 2.1 1.2 6.3 57.9 65.6
Dec 1995 2.4 2.2 1.3 6.2 63.7 71.4
Dec 1996 2.4 2.2 1.4 6.1 61.0 69.3
Dec 1997 2.4 2.2 1.2 6.0 60.8 69.1
Dec 1998 2.4 2.2 1.2 5.9 60.0 69.1
Dec 1999 2.3 2.2 1.2 5.8 62.6 72.4
Dec 2000 2.3 2.1 1.2 5.7 60.5 66.9
Dec 2001 2.3 2.1 1.2 5.6 58.4 67.6
Dec 2002 2.3 2.1 1.3 5.6 55.8 64.5
Dec 2003 2.4 2.2 1.3 5.5 56.0 xxx
1 Population numbers used for the denominators are Census Bureau resident population estimates adjusted to the December date by averaging the July 1 population of the current year with the July 1 population of the following year (resident population estimates by age are available online at http://www.census.gov).
2 For the number of persons (65 years of age and older living in poverty) used as the denominator, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-226.
3 The pretransfer poverty population used as the denominator is the number of all elderly persons living in elderly-only units whose income (cash income plus social insurance plus Social Security but before taxes and means-tested transfers) falls below the appropriate poverty threshold. See Appendix J, Table 20, 1992 Green Book; data for subsequent years are unpublished Congressional Budget Office tabulations.

Notes: Numerators for these ratios are from Table SSI 1. Rates computed by DHHS.

Source:  1994 Green Book and U.S. Bureau of the Census, “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the United States: 2003,” Current Population Reports, Series P60-226, (Available online at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html).

Table SSI 3.
Total, Federal and State SSI Benefits and Administration: 1974-20031 (millions)
Calendar
Year		 Total Benefits   State Supplementation Administrative Costs
(fiscal year)
20032 Dollars Current Dollars Federal Payments Total Federally Administered State Administered
1974 $18,598 $5,246 $3,833 $1,413 $1,264 $149 $285
1975 19,245 5,878 4,314 1,565 1,403 162 399
1976 18,790 6,066 4,512 1,554 1,388 166 500
1977 18,359 6,306 4,703 1,603 1,431 172 526
1978 17,860 6,552 4,881 1,671 1,491 180 539
1979 17,592 7,075 5,279 1,797 1,590 207 611
1980 17,753 7,941 5,866 2,074 1,848 226 668
1981 17,548 8,593 6,518 2,076 1,839 237 717
1982 17,286 8,981 6,907 2,074 1,798 276 780
1983 17,373 9,404 7,423 1,982 1,711 270 846
1984 18,368 10,372 8,281 2,091 1,792 299 864
1985 18,914 11,060 8,777 2,283 1,973 311 956
1986 20,282 12,081 9,498 2,583 2,243 340 1,023
1987 20,977 12,951 10,029 2,922 2,563 359 977
1988 21,443 13,786 10,734 3,052 2,671 381 976
1989 22,228 14,980 11,606 3,374 2,955 419 1,052
1990 23,368 16,599 12,894 3,705 3,239 466 1,075
1991 25,025 18,524 14,765 3,759 3,231 529 1,230
1992 29,157 22,233 18,247 3,986 3,435 550 1,426
1993 31,270 24,557 20,722 3,835 3,270 566 1,468
1994 32,127 25,877 22,175 3,701 3,116 585 1,780
1995 33,356 27,628 23,919 3,708 3,118 590 1,978
1996 33,765 28,792 25,265 3,527 2,988 539 1,953
1997 33,306 29,052 25,457 3,595 2,913 682 2,055
1998 34,109 30,216 26,405 3,812 3,003 808 2,304
1999 34,153 30,923 26,805 4,154 3,301 853 2,493
2000 33,727 31,564 27,290 4,274 3,381 893 2,321
2001 34,349 33,061 28,706 4,355 3,460 895 2,397
2002 35,355 34,567 29,899 4,668 3,820 848 2,522
2003 35,605 35,605 30,688 4,917 4,005 912 2,656
1 Payments and adjustments during the respective year but not necessarily accrued for that year
2 Data adjusted for inflation by ASPE using the CPI-U-X1 for calendar years

Source: Social Security Administration, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004, (Data available online at http://wwwssagov/statistics).

Table SSI 4.
Average Monthly SSI Benefit Payments: 1974-2003
  Total1   State Supplementation
Calendar Year 2003 Dollars Current Dollars Federal Payments Total Federally Administered State Administered
1974 $477 $135 $108 $64 $71 $35
1975 368 112 92 66 69 45
1976 365 118 99 68 71 50
1977 357 123 104 69 72 53
1978 349 128 108 72 74 56
1979 349 140 119 77 79 67
1980 353 158 133 89 91 76
1981 360 176 151 92 94 79
1982 369 191 166 96 97 93
1983 366 198 172 91 92 89
1984 374 211 187 93 93 93
1985 375 219 193 99 99 102
1986 389 232 202 107 108 101
1987 392 242 208 117 118 110
1988 393 253 219 118 118 118
1989 396 267 230 126 126 127
1990 398 283 244 132 131 136
1991 401 297 260 125 122 143
1992 430 328 292 124 121 147
1993 430 337 306 112 107 150
1994 420 338 310 105 99 152
1995 423 350 322 110 103 164
1996 421 359 333 108 103 145
1997 423 369 342 99 102 86
1998 428 379 350 103 104 102
1999 429 388 356 111 113 105
2000 420 393 360 113 114 109
2001 423 407 373 113 114 108
2002 424 415 383 129 129 128
2003 421 421 387 136 135 138
1 Total is a weighted average of the Federal plus State average benefit, the Federal-only average benefit, and State- only average benefit.

Note: The numerators for these averages are given in Table SSI 3 and the denominators are given in Table SSI 5. Averages were computed by DHHS. Data adjusted for inflation using a calendar-year average CPI-U-X1 index.

Source: Number of persons receiving payments obtained from Social Security Administration, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004.

Table SSI 5.
Number of Persons Receiving SSI Payments, by Type of Payment: 1974-2003 (thousands)
  Total Federal State Supplementation
Total Federally Administered State Administered
Jan 1974 3,249 2,956 1,839 1,480 358
Dec 1975 4,360 3,893 1,987 1,684 303
Dec 1980 4,194 3,682 1,934 1,685 249
Dec 1984 4,094 3,699 1,875 1,607 268
Dec 1985 4,200 3,799 1,916 1,661 255
Dec 1986 4,347 3,922 2,003 1,723 279
Dec 1987 4,458 4,019 2,079 1,807 272
Dec 1988 4,541 4,089 2,155 1,885 270
Dec 1989 4,673 4,206 2,224 1,950 275
Dec 1990 4,888 4,412 2,344 2,058 286
Dec 1991 5,200 4,730 2,512 2,204 308
Dec 1992 5,647 5,202 2,684 2,372 313
Dec 1993 6,065 5,636 2,850 2,536 314
Dec 1994 6,377 5,965 2,950 2,628 322
Dec 1995 6,576 6,194 2,817 2,518 300
Dec 1996 6,677 6,326 2,732 2,421 310
Dec 1997 6,565 6,212 3,029 2,372 657
Dec 1998 6,649 6,289 3,072 2,412 661
Dec 1999 6,641 6,275 3,116 2,441 675
Dec 2000 6,685 6,320 3,164 2,481 683
Dec 2001 6,776 6,410 3,209 2,520 689
Dec 2002 6,940 6,505 3,014 2,462 553
Dec 2003 7,052 6,614 3,019 2,467 551
Source:  Number of persons receiving payments obtained from Social Security Administration, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004.

Table SSI 6.
Characteristics of SSI Recipients, by Age, Sex, Earnings/Income and Citizenship: Selected Years 1980-2003
  1980 1985 1990 1994 1998 2000 2002 2003
Total
Ages 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Under 18 5.5 5.5 6.4 13.4 13.5 12.8 13.5 13.9
18-64 40.9 45.4 50.9 53.0 55.5 56.7 57.2 57.3
65 or Older 53.6 49.1 42.7 33.7 31.0 30.5 29.3 28.8
Sex  
Male 34.4 35.2 37.2 41.3 41.3 41.5 42.0 42.4
Female 65.5 64.8 62.8 58.7 58.7 58.5 58.0 57.6
Selected Sources of Income  
Earnings 3.2 3.8 4.7 4.2 4.5 4.4 4.1 3.5
Social Security 51.0 49.4 45.9 39.1 36.5 36.1 35.5 35.1
No Other Income 34.8 34.5 36.4 43.6 47.3 54.4 55.1 55.4
Noncitizens NA 5.1 9.0 11.7 10.2 10.5 10.4 10.1
Eligibility Category  
Aged 43.6 36.4 30.2 23.3 20.3 19.5 18.4 17.9
Blind 1.9 2.0 1.7 1.4 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1
Disabled 54.5 61.7 68.1 75.4 78.5 79.3 80.4 81.0
Aged
Ages 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
65-69 14.0 14.9 19.4 20.5 17.6 17.6 15.3 15.2
70-79 51.5 45.6 41.3 44.3 48.4 48.4 49.1 48.2
80 or older 34.5 39.5 39.2 35.1 34.0 34.0 35.7 36.6
Sex  
Male 27.3 25.5 25.1 26.8 27.8 27.8 29.9 30.3
Female 72.6 74.5 74.9 73.2 72.2 72.2 70.1 69.7
Noncitizens NA 9.7 19.4 30.0 27.0 27.0 29.2 28.9
Blind and Disabled
Ages 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
18-64 80.2 77.7 80.0 83.4 83.6 83.6 83.8 83.9
65 or older 19.8 22.3 20.0 16.6 16.4 16.4 16.1 16.1
Sex1  
Male 39.8 40.8 42.4 41.8 41.1 41.1 44.8 45.0
Female 60.2 59.2 57.6 58.2 58.9 58.9 55.2 55.0
Noncitizens NA 2.4 4.6 6.2 5.5 5.5 7.2 6.0
Children
Ages 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Under 5 11.7 NA NA 15.8 15.8 15.8 16.1 16.2
5-9 20.9 NA NA 28.5 30.2 30.2 26.8 26.7
10-14 28.8 NA NA 32.7 34.6 34.6 36.9 36.7
15-17 21.7 NA NA 17.3 19.4 19.4 20.2 20.4
18-212 16.8 14.3 9.3 5.7 - - - -
Sex  
Male NA NA NA 63.0 62.9 62.9 64.3 64.7
Female NA NA NA 37.0 37.1 37.1 35.7 35.3
1 For 1980-1992 male-female classification reflects all blind and disabled, both children and adults; thereafter, it is based on adults only.
2 In this table, students 18-21 are classified as children prior to 1998.

Note: Data are for December of the year.

Source: Social Security Administration, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004 and prior years.

Table SSI 7.
Total SSI Payments, Federal SSI Payments and State Supplementary Payments Calendar Year 2003 (thousands)
State Total Total Federal Federal SSI State Supplementation
Federally Administered State Administered
Total $35,604,829 $34,693,278 $30,688,029 $4,005,249 $911,551
Alabama 738,282 737,864 737,864 - 418
Alaska 102,312 46,650 46,650 - 55,662
Arizona 429,640 429,266 429,266 - 374
Arkansas 361,449 361,449 361,445 4 -
California 7,573,189 7,573,189 4,594,264 2,978,925 -
Colorado 333,924 245,610 245,610 - 88,314
Connecticut 332,186 244,249 244,249 - 87,937
Delaware 58,853 58,853 57,842 1,011 -
District of Columbia 104,754 104,754 101,398 3,356 -
Florida 1,927,484 1,907,671 1,907,671 - 19,813
Georgia 887,534 887,534 887,521 13 -
Hawaii 112,546 112,546 100,327 12,219 -
Idaho 98,187 90,651 90,651 - 7,536
Illinois 1,296,419 1,266,722 1,266,722 - 29,697
Indiana 444,294 440,514 - 3,780
Iowa 192,737 176,138 172,993 3,145 16,599
Kansas 169,930 169,930 169,930 - -
Kentucky 837,776 819,136 819,136 - 18,640
Louisiana 769,164 768,662 768,662 - 502
Maine 154,958 135,931 135,931 - 19,027
Maryland 450,002 441,479 441,463 16 8,523
Massachusetts 854,601 854,601 689,082 165,519 -
Michigan 1,164,793 1,086,326 1,061,722 24,604 78,467
Minnesota 407,273 316,268 316,268 - 91,005
Mississippi 550,133 550,133 550,119 14 -
Missouri 554,337 528,033 528,033 - 26,304
Montana 63,633 63,633 62,783 850 -
Nebraska 101,570 95,263 95,263 - 6,307
Nevada 144,194 144,194 138,933 5,261 -
New Hampshire 69,594 57,997 57,997 - 11,597
New Jersey 731,586 731,586 650,405 81,181 -
New Mexico 223,135 222,902 222,902 - 233
New York 3,400,463 3,400,463 2,848,138 552,325 -
North Carolina 965,057 824,976 824,976 - 140,081
North Dakota 33,788 31,856 31,856 - 1,932
Ohio 1,203,950 1,203,950 1,203,941 9 -
Oklahoma 376,375 338,925 338,925 - 37,450
Oregon 291,441 271,165 271,165 - 20,276
Pennsylvania 1,599,027 1,599,027 1,453,656 145,371 -
Rhode Island 149,950 149,950 126,866 23,084 -
South Carolina 483,611 461,421 461,421 - 22,190
South Dakota 54,182 51,674 51,671 3 2,508
Tennessee 718,938 718,938 718,938 - -
Texas 1,903,087 1,901,120 1,901,120 - 1,967
Utah 99,124 99,123 99,067 56 -
Vermont 57,441 57,441 49,013 8,428 -
Virginia 606,200 586,507 586,507 - 19,693
Washington 545,912 545,684 545,680 4 228
West Virginia 357,405 357,405 357,405 - -
Wisconsin 524,654 397,850 397,850 - 126,804
Wyoming 25,537 24,850 24,850 - 687
Other: N. Mariana Islands 3,549 3,549 3,549 - -
Source:  Number of persons receiving payments obtained from Social Security Administration, Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics, Social Security Bulletin, Annual Statistical Supplement, 2004.

Table SSI 8.
SSI Recipiency Rates, by State and Program Type: 1979 and 2003 (percent)
  Total Recipiency Rate Rate for Adults 18-64 Rate for Adults 65 & over
1979 2003 Percent Change 1979-03 1979 2003 Percent Change 1979-03 1979 2003 Percent Change 1979-03
Alabama 3.6 3.6 1 1.8 3.5 91 21.0 6.5 -69
Alaska 0.8 1.6 108 0.5 1.6 196 14.0 7.5 -47
Arizona 1.1 1.6 44 0.9 1.6 80 5.0 3.2 -36
Arkansas 3.5 3.2 -9 1.9 3.0 60 17.1 5.5 -68
California 3.0 3.3 9 2.1 2.5 22 16.4 13.3 -19
Colorado 1.1 1.2 9 0.8 1.1 43 6.7 3.1 -54
Connecticut 0.8 1.5 100 0.6 1.5 138 2.7 2.6 -4
Delaware 1.2 1.6 34 0.9 1.5 60 5.4 2.3 -58
District of Columbia 2.3 3.6 58 1.9 3.1 61 8.6 6.5 -24
Florida 1.8 2.4 35 1.1 1.9 67 6.2 4.7 -24
Georgia 2.9 2.3 -20 1.9 2.1 11 17.7 6.5 -63
Hawaii 1.1 1.7 62 0.7 1.5 117 7.6 5.0 -34
Idaho 0.8 1.5 90 0.6 1.6 150 3.8 1.9 -50
Illinois 1.1 2.0 85 1.0 2.0 111 4.3 3.8 -11
Indiana 0.8 1.5 100 0.6 1.6 162 3.3 1.7 -49
Iowa 0.9 1.4 57 0.6 1.6 158 3.5 1.7 -51
Kansas 0.9 1.4 57 0.6 1.5 138 3.5 1.9 -45
Kentucky 2.5 4.3 69 1.8 4.5 151 12.5 6.9 -45
Louisiana 3.4 3.7 10 2.0 3.5 72 20.1 7.5 -63
Maine 2.0 2.4 23 1.4 2.7 94 8.6 3.0 -65
Maryland 1.2 1.7 48 0.9 1.5 60 5.4 4.0 -26
Massachusetts 2.2 2.6 16 1.3 2.5 95 10.8 5.6 -48
Michigan 1.3 2.2 75 1.1 2.3 115 5.9 2.9 -50
Minnesota 0.8 1.4 73 0.6 1.4 155 3.7 2.6 -30
Mississippi 4.5 4.4 -2 2.4 4.0 65 26.0 9.6 -63
Missouri 1.8 2.0 14 1.1 2.1 91 7.9 2.8 -65
Montana 0.9 1.6 80 0.7 1.7 136 3.8 2.0 -47
Nebraska 0.9 1.3 48 0.6 1.4 119 3.4 1.7 -50
Nevada 0.8 1.4 67 0.5 1.2 126 5.9 3.3 -44
New Hampshire 0.6 1.0 72 0.4 1.1 150 2.5 1.2 -53
New Jersey 1.1 1.7 49 0.9 1.5 74 4.7 4.5 -4
New Mexico 2.0 2.7 37 1.4 2.5 82 12.4 6.9 -44
New York 2.1 3.3 56 1.6 2.7 70 8.3 9.0 9
North Carolina 2.4 2.3 -4 1.6 2.1 33 13.6 5.1 -63
North Dakota 1.0 1.3 31 0.6 1.3 128 5.1 2.1 -58
Ohio 1.1 2.1 89 1.0 2.3 132 4.2 2.4 -42
Oklahoma 2.3 2.1 -9 1.3 2.2 65 11.6 3.6 -69
Oregon 0.9 1.6 86 0.7 1.7 143 3.3 2.7 -18
Pennsylvania 1.4 2.5 79 1.1 2.6 132 5.0 3.4 -31
Rhode Island 1.6 2.7 70 1.1 2.7 150 6.4 4.9 -24
South Carolina 2.7 2.5 -7 1.8 2.3 29 17.0 5.2 -69
South Dakota 1.1 1.6 40 0.7 1.6 122 5.0 2.9 -42
Tennessee 2.9 2.8 -2 1.9 2.7 44 14.8 5.3 -64
Texas 1.9 2.1 11 1.0 1.7 79 12.7 7.4 -42
Utah 0.6 0.9 64 0.5 1.0 96 3.0 1.8 -41
Vermont 1.8 2.1 19 1.3 2.2 68 8.1 3.4 -58
Virginia 1.5 1.8 20 1.0 1.6 57 8.5 4.4 -48
Washington 1.2 1.8 55 1.0 1.8 84 4.8 3.6 -25
West Virginia 2.1 4.2 97 1.9 4.8 158 8.0 4.5 -43
Wisconsin 1.4 1.6 11 1.0 1.7 77 6.5 2.3 -65
Wyoming 0.4 1.1 162 0.3 1.2 314 2.7 1.5 -45
Total 1.9 2.4 30 1.3 2.2 75 9.0 5.5 -39
Note: Recipiency rates for 2002 are the ratios of the number of SSI recipients (in the respective age groups) as of the month of December to the estimated population in the respective age group as of the month of July; calculations by DHHS. The 1979 rates are based on the average number of recipients during the year. The total recipiency rate includes both children and adults.

Source: Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Income, Annual Statistical Report, 2003 and U.S. Bureau of the Census, (Resident population by state available online at http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/).

Table SSI 9.
SSI Recipiency Rates, by State: Selected Fiscal Years 1975-2003 (percent)
  1975 1980 1985 1990 1994 2 1998 2 20022 20032
Alabama 4.0 3.4 3.3 3.3 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.6
Alaska 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.6
Arizona 1.2 1.1 1.0 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.6 1.6
Arkansas 4.1 3.4 3.1 3.2 3.8 3.5 3.1 3.2
California 3.1 3.0 2.6 2.9 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3
Colorado 1.4 1.0 0.9 1.1 1.5 1.4 1.2 1.2
Connecticut 0.8 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.5
Delaware 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.6
District of Columbia 2.2 2.4 2.5 2.7 3.5 3.8 3.5 3.6
Florida 1.9 1.8 1.6 1.7 2.3 2.4 2.4 2.4
Georgia 3.3 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.8 2.6 2.3 2.3
Hawaii 1.1 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.7
Idaho 1.1 0.8 0.8 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.5
Illinois 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.6 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.0
Indiana 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.1 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Iowa 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Kansas 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.4 1.4 1.4 1.4
Kentucky 2.8 2.6 2.7 3.1 4.1 4.4 4.3 4.3
Louisiana 3.9 3.2 2.9 3.2 4.1 4.0 3.7 3.7
Maine 2.3 1.9 1.9 1.9 2.4 2.3 2.4 2.4
Maryland 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.6 1.7 1.6 1.7
Massachusetts 2.3 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.6 2.7 2.6 2.6
Michigan 1.3 1.2 1.4 1.5 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.2
Minnesota 1.0 0.8 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4
Mississippi 5.2 4.4 4.3 4.4 5.2 4.9 4.4 4.4
Missouri 2.1 1.7 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.0
Montana 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.6 1.6
Nebraska 1.1 0.9 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.3
Nevada 1.0 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.4
New Hampshire 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0
New Jersey 1.1 1.2 1.2 1.4 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.7
New Mexico 2.3 1.9 1.8 2.1 2.6 2.6 2.6 2.7
New York 2.2 2.1 2.0 2.3 3.1 3.3 3.3 3.3
North Carolina 2.7 2.4 2.2 2.2 2.6 2.6 2.3 2.3
North Dakota 1.3 1.0 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.3 1.3
Ohio 1.2 1.1 1.2 1.4 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.1
Oklahoma 3.0 2.2 1.8 1.9 2.2 2.2 2.1 2.1
Oregon 1.1 0.8 1.0 1.1 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6
Pennsylvania 1.2 1.4 1.4 1.6 2.1 2.3 2.4 2.5
Rhode Island 1.7 1.6 1.6 1.7 2.3 2.6 2.7 2.7
South Carolina 2.8 2.7 2.6 2.6 3.0 2.9 2.6 2.5
South Dakota 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.5 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.6
Tennessee 3.2 2.8 2.7 2.9 3.4 3.1 2.8 2.8
Texas 2.2 1.8 1.6 1.7 2.1 2.1 2.0 2.1
Utah 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.0 0.9 0.9
Vermont 1.9 1.7 1.8 1.8 2.2 2.1 2.1 2.1
Virginia 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.9 2.0 1.8 1.8
Washington 1.5 1.1 1.1 1.3 1.6 1.7 1.7 1.8
West Virginia 2.4 2.1 2.2 2.6 3.5 3.9 4.1 4.2
Wisconsin 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.8 2.2 1.7 1.6 1.6
Wyoming 0.7 0.4 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.2 1.1 1.1
Total 1 2.0 1.8 1.7 1.9 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.4
1 The number of SSI recipients used to calculate the total recipiency rate includes a certain number of recipients whose State is unknown. For 1975, 1985, and 1992, the numbers of unknown (in thousands) were 256, 14, and 71 respectively.
2 For 1975-92 the percentages are calculated as the average number of monthly SSI recipients over the total population of each State in July of that year. For 1994-2003 the number of recipients is from the month of December; calculations by DHHS.

Source: Social Security Administration, Supplemental Security Income, Annual Statistical Report, 2004, and U.S. Bureau of the Census, (Resident population by state available online at http://www.census.gov/population/estimates/state/).

Endnotes

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF):

[1] States are allowed to use TANF funds on a variety of services, including employment and training services, domestic violence services, child care, transportation, and other support services. Families receiving such services, however, generally should not be counted as recipients of TANF "assistance." Under the final regulations for TANF, "assistance" primarily includes payments directed at ongoing basic needs. It includes payments when individuals are participating in community service and work experience (or other work activities) as a condition of receiving payments (e.g., workfare). In addition to cash assistance, the definition also includes certain child care and transportation benefits (provided the families are not employed). It excludes, however, such things as: non-recurrent, short-term benefits; services without a cash value, such as education and training, case management, job search, and counseling; and benefits such as child care and transportation when provided to employed families.

[2] Family characteristics in Table TANF 7 may differ from those reported in Chapter II because the administrative data focus on the assistance unit, whereas the survey-based data in Chapter II often use a broader family unit definition. For example, grandparents, adult siblings, aunts, uncles, and other adult relatives living in the same household as the recipient children may be excluded from the assistance unit and thus the administrative data, yet be included in survey data on the family in which the TANF recipient resides.

[3] Note that these figures include recipients in SSPs, who are usually omitted from TANF caseload statistics.

Supplemental Security Income:

[1] In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that the IFA (or a residual functional capacity assessment) that applied to adults whose condition did not meet or equal a listing of medical impairments to determine eligibility should also be applied to children whose condition did not meet or equal the medical listing of impairments.

[2] The GAO study estimated that 87,000 children were added to the SSI caseload after the IFA for children was initiated.

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