TANF Priorities

TANF,  short for  Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, is a federal program that offers states flexibility in serving families of low-income.

The purpose of TANF is to reduce intergenerational dependency on public benefits by increasing self-sufficiency, education, and economic mobility of families with children. The four federal goals of TANF are to:

1. Provide assistance to needy families with children so that they can live in their own homes or the homes of relatives;
2. End dependence of needy parents on government benefits through work, job preparation, and marriage;
3. Reduce out of wedlock pregnancies; and
4. Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.