Indicators of Welfare Dependence: Annual Report to Congress, 2003

Appendix A.
Program Data

[ Main Page of Report | Contents of Report ]

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)

Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) 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 cash welfare 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 which 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 must also 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. 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. In May 2002, the House of Representatives passed HR 4737, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2002, which incorporated all of the key elements of the President's plan. The Senate did not take up welfare reform legislation in the 107th Congress, so the program was temporarily extended. In February 2003, the House of Representatives passed HR 4, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003, an updated version of HR 4737, which would implement all of the key elements of the President's plan. Senate action is expected in 2003.

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. When tracking overall expenditure trends, the tables in this Appendix (e.g., Table TANF 3) include 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. Another program change is that 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; the TANF caseload figures do not include these families. Finally, it is 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.

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 1-6). These are followed by information on characteristics of AFDC/TANF families (Table TANF 7) and a series of tables presenting state-by-state data on trends in the AFDC/TANF program (Tables TANF 8-13). These data complement the data on trends in AFDC recipiency and participation rates shown in Tables IND 4a and IND 5a in Chapter II.

AFDC/TANF Caseload Trends (Figure TANF 1, Tables TANF 1-2). Welfare caseloads have declined dramatically during the past several years. In fiscal year 2001, the average monthly number of TANF recipients was 5.4 million persons, 57 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 65 percent to 5.0 million in September 2002. Over three-fourths of the reduction in the caseload since March 1994 has occurred following the implementation of TANF. These are the largest welfare caseload declines in the history of U.S. welfare programs.

As shown in Figure TANF 1, AFDC caseloads generally tended to increase in times of economic recession and decline in times of economic growth. The recent decline, however, has far outstripped that experienced in any previous period.

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 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 were attributable to welfare reform (O'Neill and Hill, 2001).

AFDC/TANF Expenditures (Tables TANF 3-6 and Figure TANF 2). Tables TANF 3, 4 and 5 show trends in expenditures on AFDC and TANF. Table TANF 3 tracks both programs, breaking out the costs of benefits and administrative expenses. It also shows the division between federal and state spending. Table TANF 4 breaks out the benefits paid under the single parent or "basic" program and the Unemployed Parent (UP) program, and also nets out the value of child support collected on behalf of recipient children, but retained by the state to reimburse welfare expenditures. This table presents data through 1996 only, because the TANF data reporting requirements do not require that caseload data be separated into "basic" and "UP" components. Table TANF 5 shows 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, the average monthly benefit per recipient in 2001 was 62 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 child-only cases and in employment among adult recipients.

One of the most dramatic trends is the recent jump in the proportion of adult recipients who are working. In FY 2001, 27 percent of TANF adult recipients were employed, up from 11 percent in FY 1996 and 7 percent in FY 1992, as shown in Table TANF 7. Adding in those in work experience and community service positions, the percentage working was at an all-time high of 33 percent in FY 2001 (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 among mothers with young children. Among single mothers with children under six and family income below 200 percent of the Federal poverty level, for example, the employment rate increased from 35 percent in 1992 to 59 percent in 2000 (data not shown). In addition, employment rates for white and black women ages 18 to 65 with no more than a high school education were at all-time highs in 1999, and for Hispanic women in 2000. There was some leveling off among all three groups in 2001 (as shown in WORK 2 in Chapter III).

Another dramatic change in the caseload is the increasing fraction of cases without an adult recipient (i.e., child-only cases). Such cases occur when the adults are ineligible (because they are a caretaker relative, SSI parent, immigrant parent, or sanctioned parent). Child-only cases have climbed from 11.6 percent of the caseload in FY 1990 to 37.1 percent in FY 2001. This dramatic growth has been due to both the overall decline in the number of adult-present cases as well as an increase in the number of child-only cases. Child-only cases are generally not subject to the work requirements or time limits under TANF.

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 8-14). 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 September 2002 ranges from 94 percent (Wyoming) to 29 percent (Nevada). Six 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).

Figure TANF 1.
AFDC/TANF Families Receiving Income Assistance

TANF 1. AFDC/TANF Families Receiving Income Assistance

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

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

Table TANF 1.
Trends in AFDC/TANF Caseloads, 1962 - 2001
Fiscal Year Average Monthly Number (In thousands) Children as
a Percent of Total Recipients
Average1 Number
of Children per Family
Total
Families1
Total Recipients Unemployed Parent
Families
Unemployed
Parent Recipients
Total
Children
1962 924 3,593 48 224 2,778 77.3 3.0
1963 950 3,834 54 291 2,896 75.5 3.0
1964 984 4,059 60 343 3,043 75.0 3.1
1965 1,037 4,323 69 400 3,242 75.0 3.1
1966 1,074 4,472 62 361 3,369 75.3 3.1
1967 1,141 4,718 58 340 3,560 75.5 3.1
1968 1,310 5,349 67 377 4,013 75.0 3.1
1969 1,539 6,146 66 360 4,591 74.7 3.0
1970 1,906 7,415 78 420 5,484 74.0 2.9
1971 2,531 9,557 143 726 6,963 72.9 2.8
1972 2,918 10,632 134 639 7,698 72.4 2.6
1973 3,123 11,038 120 557 7,967 72.2 2.6
1974 3,170 10,845 93 434 7,825 72.2 2.5
1975 3,342 11,067 100 451 7,928 71.6 2.4
1976 3,549 11,369 135 593 8,072 71.0 2.3
1977 3,575 11,108 149 659 7,818 70.4 2.2
1978 3,528 10,663 128 567 7,475 70.1 2.1
1979 3,493 10,311 114 504 7,194 69.8 2.1
1980 3,642 10,598 141 612 7,322 69.1 2.0
1981 3,871 11,160 208 881 7,614 68.2 2.0
1982 3,569 10,431 232 976 6,975 66.9 2.0
1983 3,651 10,659 272 1,144 7,051 66.1 1.9
1984 3,725 10,866 287 1,222 7,153 65.8 1.9
1985 3,692 10,813 261 1,131 7,165 66.3 1.9
1986 3,748 10,997 254 1,102 7,300 66.4 1.9
1987 3,784 11,065 236 1,035 7,381 66.7 2.0
1988 3,748 10,920 210 929 7,325 67.1 2.0
1989 3,771 10,934 193 856 7,370 67.4 2.0
1990 3,974 11,460 204 899 7,755 67.7 2.0
1991 4,374 12,592 268 1,148 8,513 67.6 1.9
1992 4,768 13,625 322 1,348 9,226 67.7 1.9
1993 4,981 14,143 359 1,489 9,560 67.6 1.9
1994 5,046 14,226 363 1,510 9,611 67.6 1.9
1995 4,879 13,659 335 1,384 9,280 67.9 1.9
1996 4,543 12,645 293 1,241 8,671 68.6 1.9
19972 3,937 10,935 2753 1,1583 7,7813 71.23 2.03
1998 3,200 8,790 179 7544 6,273 71.4 2.0
1999 2,674 7,188 NA NA 5,319 74.0 2.0
2000 2,265 5,943 NA NA 4,385 73.8 1.9
2001 2,117 5,420 NA NA 4,055 74.8 1.9
1 Includes unemployed parent families and child-only cases.
2 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 to Needy Families (TANF) program.
3 Based on data from the old AFDC reporting system which was available only for the first 9 months of the fiscal year.
4Estimated based on the ratio of Unemployed Parent recipients to Unemployed Parent families in 1997.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, (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 - 2001
Calendar
Year1
Total
Recipients in
the States & DC
(in thousands)
Child
Recipients in
the States & DC
(in thousands)
Recipients
as a Percent
of Total
Population2
Recipients
as a Percent
of Poverty
Population3
Recipients
as a Percent
of Pretransfer
Poverty
Population4
Child
Recipients
as a Percent
of Total Child
Population2
Child
Recipients
as a
Percent of
Children
in Poverty3
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 13,241 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 7,3405 3.7 28.7 40.7 10.4 52.0
1998 8,215 5,781 3.0 23.8 34.7 8.1 42.9
1999 6,709 4,836 2.4 20.8 30.9 6.7 39.9
2000 5,700 4,181 2.0 18.2 27.9 5.8 36.1
2001 5,273 3,917 1.9 16.0 25.1 5.4 33.4
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. 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 P60-210 and Resident Population Estimates of the United States by Age and Sex, April 1, 1990 to July 1, 2000, Internet release date January 2, 2001.
4 The pretransfer poverty population used as 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 Average 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, "Poverty in the United States: 2001," Current Population Reports, Series P60-219 and earlier years, (Available online at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html).

Table TANF 3.
Total AFDC/TANF Expenditures on Cash Benefits and Administration, 1970 - 2001
[In millions of dollars]
Fiscal Year Federal Funds
(Current Dollars)
State Funds
(Current Dollars)
Total
(Current Dollars)
Total
(Constant 2001 Dollars1)
Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative Benefits Administrative
1970 $2,187 $5722 $1,895 $309 $4,082 $8812 17,813 3,845
1971 3,008 271 2,469 254 5,477 525 22,881 2,193
1972 3,612 2403 2,942 241 6,554 4813 26,441 NA
1973 3,865 313 3,138 296 7,003 610 27,135 2,364
1974 4,071 379 3,300 362 7,371 740 26,306 2,641
1975 4,625 552 3,787 529 8,412 1,082 27,362 3,519
1976 5,258 541 4,418 527 9,676 1,069 29,463 3,255
1977 5,626 595 4,762 583 10,388 1,177 29,444 3,336
1978 5,724 631 4,898 617 10,621 1,248 28,243 3,319
1979 5,825 683 4,954 668 10,779 1,350 26,357 3,301
1980 6,448 750 5,508 729 11,956 1,479 26,282 3,251
1981 6,928 835 5,917 814 12,845 1,648 25,675 3,294
1982 6,922 878 5,934 878 12,857 1,756 24,012 3,279
1983 7,332 915 6,275 915 13,607 1,830 24,305 3,269
1984 7,707 876 6,664 822 14,371 1,698 24,622 2,909
1985 7,817 890 6,763 889 14,580 1,779 24,113 2,942
1986 8,239 993 6,996 967 15,235 1,960 24,574 3,161
1987 8,914 1,081 7,409 1,052 16,323 2,133 25,603 3,346
1988 9,125 1,194 7,538 1,159 16,663 2,353 25,108 3,546
1989 9,433 1,211 7,807 1,206 17,240 2,417 24,791 3,476
1990 10,149 1,358 8,390 1,303 18,539 2,661 25,396 3,645
1991 11,165 1,373 9,191 1,300 20,356 2,673 26,544 3,486
1992 12,258 1,459 9,993 1,378 22,250 2,837 28,160 3,591
1993 12,270 1,518 10,016 1,438 22,286 2,956 27,380 3,632
1994 12,512 1,680 10,285 1,621 22,797 3,301 27,285 3,951
1995 12,019 1,770 10,014 1,751 22,032 3,521 25,655 4,101
1996 11,065 1,633 9,346 1,633 20,411 3,266 23,126 3,700
19974 9,748 1,273 7,799 1,098 17,547 2,371 19,359 2,616
1998 7,518 1,231 7,096 1,028 14,614 2,259 15,864 2,453
1999 6,475 1,407 6,975 884 13,449 2,291 14,327 2,440
2000 5,444 1,570 5,736 1,032 11,180 2,302 11,540 2,686
2001 4,772 1,598 5,390 1,042 10,163 2,639 10,163 2,639
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. 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 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 2001 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal year price index.
2 Includes expenditures for services.
3 Administrative expenditures only.
4 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 to 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 Systems.

Table TANF 4.
Federal and State AFDC Benefit Payments
Under the Single Parent and Unemployed Parent Programs, Fiscal Years 1970 to 1996
[In millions of current and 1996 dollars]
Fiscal Year (1)
Single Parent1
(2)
Unemployed Parent
(3)
Child Support
Collections2
(4)
Net Benefits3
(1) + (2) minus (3)
(5)
Net Benefits
( 1996 dollars)4
1970 3,851 231 0 4,082 15,722
1971 4,993 412 0 5,405 19,882
1972 5,972 422 0 6,394 22,715
1973 6,459 414 0 6,873 22,504
1974 6,881 324 0 7,205 22,740
1975 7,791 362 0 8,153 23,363
1976 8,825 525 245 9,105 24,469
1977 9,420 617 395 9,642 24,121
1978 9,624 565 459 9,730 22,870
1979 9,865 522 584 9,803 21,156
1980 10,847 693 593 10,947 21,186
1981 11,769 1,075 659 12,185 21,472
1982 11,601 1,256 771 12,086 19,879
1983 12,136 1,471 865 12,742 20,128
1984 12,759 1,612 983 13,388 20,264
1985 13,024 1,556 901 13,679 19,967
1986 13,672 1,563 951 14,284 20,335
1987 14,807 1,516 1,070 15,252 21,115
1988 15,243 1,420 1,196 15,466 20,569
1989 15,889 1,350 1,286 15,952 20,246
1990 17,059 1,480 1,416 17,123 20,702
1991 18,529 1,827 1,603 18,753 21,583
1992 20,130 2,121 1,824 20,426 22,816
1993 19,988 2,298 1,971 20,315 22,028
1994 20,393 2,404 2,093 20,704 21,871
1995 19,820 2,212 2,215 19,817 20,367
1996 18,438 1,973 2,374 18,037 18,037
1 Includes payments to two-parent families where one adult is incapacitated.
2 Total AFDC collections (including collections on behalf of foster care children) less payments to AFDC families.
3 Net AFDC benefits--Gross benefits less those reimbursed by child support collections.
4 Constant dollar adjustments to 1996 level were made using a CPI-U-XI fiscal year price index.
Note: Data are not available after 1996 because the TANF data reporting requirements do not require that caseload data be separated into single parent and unemployed parent components.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Financial Management.

Table TANF 5.
Federal and State TANF Program and Other Related Spending
Fiscal Years 1997 to 2001
(Millions)
Cash &
Work-Based
Assistance
Work Activities Child Care Trans- portation Adminis- tration Systems Transitional Services Other 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
  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
  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
  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
Note: Administration and Systems, shown separately here in Table TANF 5, can be combined to show total administrative costs, as in Table TANF 3.
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 - 2001
Fiscal Year Monthly Benefit per Recipient Average Number of Persons per Family Monthly Benefit per Family (not reduced by Child Support) Weighted Average1 Maximum Benefit (per 3-person Family)
Current
Dollars
2001
Dollars
Current
Dollars
2001
Dollars
Current
Dollars
2001
Dollars
1962 $31 $168 3.9 $121 $634 NA NA
1963 31 166 4.0 126 650 NA NA
1964 32 167 4.1 131 670 NA NA
1965 34 174 4.2 140 705 NA NA
1966 35 178 4.2 146 716 NA NA
1967 36 179 4.1 150 716 NA NA
1968 40 188 4.1 162 746 NA NA
1969 43 198 4.0 173 766 $1862 $854
1970 46 200 3.9 178 753 1942 848
1971 48 200 3.8 180 730 2012 840
1972 51 207 3.6 187 732 2052 828
1973 53 205 3.5 187 701 2132 824
1974 57 202 3.4 194 670 2292 816
1975 63 206 3.3 209 658 243 791
1976 71 216 3.2 226 665 257 782
1977 78 220 3.1 241 662 271 768
1978 83 221 3.0 249 644 284 756
1979 87 213 2.9 257 609 301 735
1980 94 207 2.9 274 583 320 703
1981 96 192 2.9 277 536 326 651
1982 103 192 2.9 300 543 331 617
1983 106 190 2.9 311 537 336 600
1984 110 189 2.9 321 534 352 602
1985 112 186 2.9 329 527 369 610
1986 115 186 2.9 339 529 383 618
1987 123 193 2.9 359 546 393 617
1988 127 192 2.9 370 541 404 609
1989 131 189 2.9 381 531 412 593
1990 135 185 2.9 389 516 421 577
1991 135 176 2.9 388 490 425 554
1992 136 172 2.9 389 477 419 530
1993 131 161 2.8 373 444 414 509
1994 134 160 2.8 376 437 420 497
1995 134 157 2.8 376 425 418 487
1996 135 152 2.8 374 410 422 478
19973 130 144 2.8 362 405 420 464
1998 130 142 2.7 358 406 432 469
1999 133 142 2.7 357 439 452 481
2000 133 138 2.6 349 428 453 468
2001 137 137 2.6 351 351 456 456
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 to Needy Families (TANF) program.
Note: AFDC benefit amounts have not been reduced by child support collections. Constant dollar adjustments to 2001 level were made using a CPI-U-X1 fiscal-year price index.
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 - 2001
    Fiscal year1
May
1969
May
1975
March
1979
1983 1988 1992 1996 1998 2000 2001
Avg. Family Size (persons) 4.0 3.2 3.0 3.0 3.0 2.9 2.8 2.8 2.6 2.6
Number of Child Recipients
One 26.6 37.9 42.3 43.4 42.5 42.5 43.9 42.4 44.2 44.8
Two 23.0 26.0 28.1 29.8 30.2 30.2 29.9 29.6 28.4 28.5
Three 17.7 16.1 15.6 15.2 15.8 15.5 15.0 15.7 15.3 14.8
Four or More 32.5 20.0 13.9 10.1 9.9 10.1 9.2 10.6 10.1 9.9
Unknown NA NA NA 1.5 1.7 0.7 1.3 1.8 2.0 2.0
Child-Only Families 10.1 12.5 14.6 8.3 9.6 14.8 21.5 23.4 34.5 37.1
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 NA 17.7 20.0
Participating in Food Stamp                    
Or Donated Food Program 52.9 75.1 75.1 83.0 84.6 87.3 89.3 83.5 79.9 80.9
Presence of Income
With Earnings NA 14.6 12.8 5.7 8.4 7.4 11.1 20.64 23.64 24.34
No Non-AFDC/TANF Income 56.0 71.1 80.6 86.8 79.6 78.9 76.0 73.04 71.64 77.24
Adult Employment Status (percent of adults)
Employed - - - - - 6.6 11.3 22.8 26.4 26.7
Unemployed - - - - - - - 45.0 49.2 47.5
Not in Labor Force - - - - - - - 28.3 24.3 25.8
Unknown - - - - - - - 4.0 - -
Adult Women's employment status (percent of adult female recipients):3
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 - - - - - - - 52.5 65.3 66.9
Married - - - - - - - 16.4 12.4 11.7
Separated - - - - - - - 11.7 13.1 12.5
Widowed - - - - - - - 0.7 0.7 0.8
Divorced - - - - - - - 8.8 8.5 8.2
Unknown - - - - - - - 9.9 - -
Basis for Child's Eligibility (percent children):
Incapacitated 11.72 7.7 5.3 3.4 3.7 4.1 4.3 - - -
Unemployed 4.62 3.7 4.1 8.7 6.5 8.2 8.3 - - -
Death 5.52 3.7 2.2 1.8 1.8 1.6 1.6 - - -
Divorce or Separation 43.32 48.3 44.7 38.5 34.6 30.0 24.3 - - -
Absent, No Marriage Tie 27.92 31.0 37.8 44.3 51.9 53.1 58.6 - - -
Absent, Other Reason 3.52 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 Calculated on the basis of total number of families.
3 For years prior to 1983, data are for mothers only.
4 Presence of income is measured as a percentage of adult recipients, not families, in 1998 and subsequent years.
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: 2002 TANF Annual Report to Congress and earlier years.

Table TANF 8.
AFDC/TANF Benefits by State, Selected Fiscal Years 1978 - 2001
[Millions of dollars]
  1978 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1994 1996 1998 2001
Alabama $78 $72 $74 $68 $62 $62 $92 $75 $44 $32
Alaska 17 32 37 46 54 60 113 107 77 51
Arizona 30 49 67 79 103 138 266 228 145 91
Arkansas 51 34 39 48 53 57 57 52 26 25
California 1,813 2,734 3,207 3,574 4,091 4,955 6,088 5,908 4,128 3,301
Colorado 74 87 107 107 125 137 158 129 80 55
Connecticut 168 210 226 223 218 295 397 323 305 151
Delaware 28 28 28 25 24 29 40 35 24 21
Dist. of Columbia 91 86 75 77 76 84 126 121 97 67
Florida 145 207 251 261 318 418 806 680 357 251
Georgia 103 172 149 223 266 321 428 385 313 172
Guam 3 4 5 4 3 5 12 14 NA NA
Hawaii 83 88 83 73 77 99 163 173 153 126
Idaho 21 20 21 19 19 20 30 30 6 5
Illinois 699 802 845 886 815 839 914 833 771 191
Indiana 118 139 153 148 167 170 228 153 104 120
Iowa 107 127 159 170 155 152 169 131 104 78
Kansas 73 81 87 91 97 105 123 98 41 56
Kentucky 122 123 135 104 143 179 198 191 147 113
Louisiana 97 127 145 162 182 188 168 130 103 66
Maine 51 59 69 84 80 101 108 99 80 68
Maryland 166 213 229 250 250 296 314 285 192 224
Massachusetts 476 468 406 471 558 630 730 560 442 143
Michigan 780 1,064 1,214 1,248 1,231 1,211 1,132 779 589 329
Minnesota 164 235 287 322 338 355 379 333 276 184
Mississippi 33 55 58 74 85 86 82 68 60 31
Missouri 152 175 196 209 215 228 287 254 180 148
Montana 15 19 27 37 41 40 49 45 30 26
Nebraska 38 49 56 62 56 59 62 54 41 39
Nevada 8 12 10 16 20 27 48 48 39 25
New Hampshire 21 25 16 20 21 32 62 50 39 27
New Jersey 489 513 485 509 459 451 531 462 372 199
New Mexico 32 45 49 51 56 61 144 153 104 111
New York 1,689 1,641 1,916 2,099 2,140 2,259 2,913 2,929 2,149 1,620
North Carolina 138 143 149 138 206 247 353 300 211 128
North Dakota 14 14 16 20 22 24 26 21 22 13
Ohio 441 606 725 804 805 877 1,016 763 546 336
Oklahoma 74 74 85 100 119 132 165 122 72 53
Oregon 148 100 101 120 128 145 197 155 141 73
Pennsylvania 726 740 724 389 747 798 935 822 523 305
Puerto Rico 25 65 38 33 67 72 74 63 NA NA
Rhode Island 59 70 71 79 82 99 136 125 117 88
South Carolina 52 76 75 103 91 96 115 101 52 33
South Dakota 18 17 17 15 21 22 25 22 14 10
Tennessee 77 74 83 100 125 168 215 190 108 123
Texas 122 118 229 281 344 416 544 496 315 242
Utah 41 47 52 55 61 64 77 64 50 39
Vermont 21 38 40 40 40 48 65 56 47 35
Virgin Islands 2 3 2 2 2 3 4 4 NA NA
Virginia 136 166 165 179 169 177 253 199 123 103
Washington 175 240 294 375 401 438 610 585 450 288
West Virginia 53 56 75 109 107 110 126 101 52 64
Wisconsin 260 406 519 444 506 440 425 291 145 81
Wyoming 6 9 13 16 19 19 21 17 7 4
United States $10,621 $12,857 $14,371 $15,236 $16,663 $18,543 $22,798 $20,411 $14,614 $10,163
Note: Benefits refers to total cash benefits paid (see Table TANF 3) but does not include emergency assistance payments. NA denotes data not available.
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 2001 Family Assistance Grants Awarded Under PRWORA
[In millions]
State FY 1996 Grants for
AFDC, EA & JOBS1
FY 2001 State Family
Assistance Grant2
Increase from
FY 1996 Level
Percent Increase from
FY 1996 Level
Alabama $79.0 $134.1 $55.1 70
Alaska 60.7 60.3 -0.4 -1
Arizona 200.6 233.0 32.4 16
Arkansas 54.3 65.8 11.5 21
California 3,545.6 3,764.6 219.1 6
Colorado 138.9 149.6 10.7 8
Connecticut 221.1 269.4 48.3 22
Delaware 30.2 32.9 2.7 9
Dist of Columbia 77.1 119.4 42.2 55
Florida 504.7 643.6 138.9 28
Georgia 301.2 368.0 66.8 22
Hawaii 98.4 103.9 5.5 6
Idaho 31.3 35.5 4.2 13
Illinois 593.8 601.8 7.9 1
Indiana 121.4 208.8 87.4 72
Iowa 129.3 131.5 2.2 2
Kansas 86.9 101.9 15.0 17
Kentucky 171.6 181.3 9.6 6
Louisiana 122.4 181.0 58.6 48
Maine 73.2 78.1 4.9 7
Maryland 207.6 229.1 21.5 10
Massachusetts 372.0 352.5 -19.6 -5
Michigan 581.5 800.4 218.9 38
Minnesota 239.3 269.8 30.4 13
Mississippi 68.6 98.2 29.6 43
Missouri 207.9 223.0 15.1 7
Montana 39.2 46.4 7.2 18
Nebraska 56.2 57.9 1.7 3
Nevada 41.2 49.9 8.7 21
New Hampshire 36.0 38.5 2.5 7
New Jersey 353.4 411.7 58.3 16
New Mexico 129.9 132.5 2.5 2
New York 2,332.7 2,442.9 110.2 5
North Carolina 311.9 346.6 34.7 11
North Dakota 24.5 27.7 3.2 13
Ohio 564.5 728.0 163.5 29
Oklahoma 125.1 151.7 26.5 21
Oregon 146.4 166.8 20.4 14
Pennsylvania 780.1 719.5 -60.6 -8
Rhode Island 82.9 95.0 12.2 15
South Carolina 99.4 100.0 0.5 1
South Dakota 19.7 21.3 1.5 8
Tennessee 178.9 222.7 43.7 24
Texas 437.1 563.3 126.2 29
Utah 68.0 85.8 17.8 26
Vermont 42.4 47.4 5.0 12
Virginia 134.6 166.2 31.6 23
Washington 393.2 402.2 9.0 2
West Virginia 95.1 112.1 17.0 18
Wisconsin 241.6 332.8 91.2 38
Wyoming 14.4 20.1 5.7 40
United States $15,067 $16,926 $1,859 12
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 2001 awards include State Family Assistance Grants, Supplemental Grants for Population Increases, Out of Wedlock Bonus and High Performance Bonus.
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Financial Services.

Table TANF 10.
AFDC/TANF Caseload by State, October 1989 to September 2002 Peak
[In thousands]
State Peak
Caseload
Oct '89 to
Sept '02
Date Peak
Occurred
Oct '89 to
Sept '02
Sept '96
Caseload
Sept '02
Caseload
Percent Decline1
Sept '96 to
Sept '02
Percent
Decline
Peak to
Sept '02
Alabama 52.3 Mar-93 40.7 17.9 56 66
Alaska 13.4 Apr-94 12.3 5.6 55 58
Arizona 72.8 Dec-93 61.8 43.9 29 40
Arkansas 27.1 Mar-92 22.1 11.7 47 57
California 933.1 Mar-95 870.3 454.2 48 51
Colorado 43.7 Dec-93 33.6 12.4 63 72
Connecticut 61.9 Mar-95 57.1 22.6 60 63
Delaware 11.8 Apr-94 10.5 5.6 47 53
Dist. of Columbia 27.5 Apr-94 25.1 16.4 35 40
Florida 259.9 Nov-92 200.3 58.3 71 78
Georgia 142.8 Nov-93 120.9 54.9 55 62
Guam 3.1 Apr-02 2.3 3.1 -36 0
Hawaii 23.4 Jun-97 21.9 10.3 53 56
Idaho 9.5 Mar-95 8.4 1.4 83 85
Illinois 243.1 Aug-94 217.8 42.5 80 83
Indiana 76.1 Sep-93 49.7 52.1 -5 32
Iowa 40.7 Apr-94 31.1 19.9 36 51
Kansas 30.8 Aug-93 23.4 14.7 37 52
Kentucky 84.0 Mar-93 70.4 34.7 51 59
Louisiana 94.7 May-90 66.5 23.1 65 76
Maine 24.4 Aug-93 19.7 9.3 53 62
Maryland 81.8 May-95 68.9 25.9 62 68
Massachusetts 115.7 Aug-93 84.3 48.4 43 58
Michigan 233.6 Apr-91 167.5 69.4 59 70
Minnesota 66.2 Jun-92 57.2 36.9 35 44
Mississippi 61.8 Nov-91 45.2 19.3 57 69
Missouri 93.7 Mar-94 79.1 43.7 45 53
Montana 12.3 Mar-94 9.8 5.8 41 53
Nebraska 17.2 Mar-93 14.4 10.6 26 38
Nevada 16.3 Mar-95 13.2 11.6 12 29
New Hampshire 11.8 Apr-94 8.9 6.1 31 48
New Jersey 132.6 Nov-92 100.8 40.5 60 69
New Mexico 34.9 Nov-94 33.0 16.6 50 52
New York 463.7 Dec-94 412.7 151.5 63 67
North Carolina 134.1 Mar-94 107.5 41.2 62 69
North Dakota 6.6 Apr-93 4.7 3.3 29 50
Ohio 269.8 Mar-92 201.9 83.5 59 69
Oklahoma 51.3 Mar-93 35.3 15.3 57 70
Oregon 43.8 Apr-93 28.5 18.0 37 59
Pennsylvania 212.5 Sep-94 180.1 78.8 56 63
Puerto Rico 61.7 Jan-92 49.5 18.6 62 70
Rhode Island 22.9 Apr-94 20.5 13.7 33 40
South Carolina 54.6 Jan-93 42.9 20.4 52 63
South Dakota 7.4 Apr-93 5.7 2.8 51 62
Tennessee 112.6 Nov-93 96.2 65.6 32 42
Texas 287.5 Dec-93 238.8 131.7 45 54
Utah 18.7 Mar-93 14.0 8.0 43 57
Vermont 10.3 Apr-92 8.7 5.0 42 51
Virgin Islands 1.4 Dec-95 1.3 0.5 65 67
Virginia 76.0 Apr-94 60.5 30.4 50 60
Washington 104.8 Feb-95 96.8 52.0 46 50
West Virginia 41.9 Apr-93 37.6 15.3 59 64
Wisconsin 82.9 Jan-92 49.9 19.4 61 77
Wyoming 7.1 Aug-92 4.3 0.4 90 94
United States 5,098 Mar-94 4,346 2,025 53 60
1 Negative values denote percent increase. 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
[In thousands]
State 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1989 1994 2001 Percent Change
1989-94 1994-01
Alabama 78 123 160 180 151 129 132 44 2 -67
Alaska 5 8 12 15 16 19 38 17 96 -55
Arizona 40 51 71 51 72 105 201 83 91 -59
Arkansas 30 45 101 85 64 70 69 28 -0 -60
California 528 1,148 1,355 1,387 1,619 1,763 2,639 1,185 50 -55
Colorado 42 66 96 77 79 97 119 27 22 -77
Connecticut 59 83 125 139 122 106 166 60 56 -64
Delaware 12 20 31 32 24 19 27 12 43 -55
Dist. of Columbia 20 40 103 85 58 48 74 43 55 -42
Florida 106 204 265 256 271 327 669 125 105 -81
Georgia 71 198 354 221 239 266 393 121 48 -69
Guam 1 2 3 5 6 4 7 10 67 43