Links To Apply For TANF in Your State

Is TANF a Government Grant?

You bet.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was established in 1996 to help individuals, families, and children under the care of a grandparent, get back on their feet. Their goals, as stated by the Department of Health and Human Services:

“States receive a block grant to design and operate their programs to accomplish the purposes of TANF. These are:
* assisting needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes
* reducing the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage
* preventing out-of-wedlock pregnancies
* encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.”

The Numbers:
Number of welfare recipients nationwide for every December since Temporary Assistance for Needy Families took effect:

Year Number of welfare recipients
2007: 3,880,321
2006: 4,074,689
2005: 4,386,206
2004: 4,695,211
2003: 4,843,562
2002: 5,013,728
2001: 5,276,319
2000: 5,527,071
1999: 6,175,831
1998: 7,578,222
1997: 9,326,683
1996: 11,533,710

Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services

As we see, in 2007, the number of cases per month had gone down to just over $3.8 million, which is where it has remained for the better portion of 2008 – we only have figures through September 2008. The number of monthly recipients was at about $3.87 million in September 2008.

This is a full 67% decrease in total welfare recipients since 1996! Not because they turned people away who qualified, but because that’s how few people applied. This would suggest there is room for more famlies to get help for a while in these tough times.

There is a national number you can call for TANF: 1-800-706-8263. You can also contact your local Department of health and Human Services.
I suggest going to the sites, as they list a variety of help US citizens can get. (They even have cash for refugees in most states, as you will see on the sites.)

The info and the applications are available on the sites. They are fully informative. At the very bottom of this article are three really useful tools to help you determine your likelihood to qualify.

In as much as it seems easy to have looked these sites up (!) it was not. Unbelievable how difficult they make some of the sites to navigate. Where were the actual applications for TANF? and not just the paperwork about it. Though the studeis/data are helpful, you need to be able to find a page to see if you qulaify and then another easy page to apply. I will see if I can pull tha ttogether.

Until then, here are the links for your state. This was last updated on June 23, 2009.

Alabama: Family Assistance Program

Alaska: ATAP Public Assistance

Arizona: Dept of Economic Security
Click here for Arizona cash assistance.

Arkansas: General Family Services

California: Welfare-to-Work

Colorado: Colorado Employment First
FOR COLORADO APPLICATION, CLICK HERE.

Connecticut: Jobs First

Delaware: ABC (A Better Chance)

D.C.: TANF
Click here for simpler list to apply for help…

Florida: ACCESS FLORIDA

Georgia: Family and Children Services

Hawaii: BENEFIT, EMPLOYMENT AND SUPPORT SERVICES

Idaho: Temporary Assistance for Families in Idaho

Illinois: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

Indiana: IMPACT (Indiana Manpower Placement and Comprehensive Training)
YOU HAVE TO APPLY BY COUNTY: GO TO FAMILY AND SOCIAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Iowa: Family Investment Program
CLICK ON ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS ON SIDEBAR HERE

Kansas: Services Index
SERVICES INDEX, CLICK ON ADULT, OR FAMILY, SCROLL TO ‘Temporary Assistance for Families.’

Kentucky: K-TAP (Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program) (Scroll down on their page for instructions)

Louisiana: Click on TANFEZ form on this page
Visit this link for requirements and more info.
Their site says to call the national number for TANF – 1 – 800 – 706-8263
or contact the local Department of Social Services, Office of Family Support at 1 – 225-342-3950.

Maine: Office of Integrated Services

Maryland: How Can We Help You?

Massachusetts: Cash Assistance

Michigan: Cash Assistance

Minnesota: You will probably do the Work program first, then the cash assistance program is available to you. Though this a Hennepin County Site, (couldn’t find such a concise page for the State site) it will apply to all Minnesotans applying for State Cash Assitance.

Mississippi: TANF

Missouri: Income Maintenance and Self-Sufficiency

Montana: Public Assistance Programs

Nebraska: Financial Assistance

Nevada: TANF

New Hampshire: Family Assistance Program

New Jersey: Work First New Jersey

New Mexico: Income Support Division

New York: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families

North Carolina: Click here. There are several programs

North Dakota: Click here and Scroll down for TANF. Several programs

Ohio:Newly Reauthorized TANF funding! Click here and scroll down.

Oklahoma: Several programs. scroll down for TANF

Oregon: Several programs including TANF. Look around the site for more help.

Pennsylvania: Cash Assistance, Food Stamps and Medical Assistance Benefits

Rhode Island: TANF info page and on left are the links for programs
These guys are tough.. As I was researching this, they kept on kicking me off their site saying “Your time has expired?!?” Anyway Click here for the closest I could get to actual apps, once you qualify through their pre-screening. I would not settle for it. Call or visit your local RI Dept of Heath and Human Services. Click here for welfare data.. see if it’s worth applying.

South Carolina: Family Assistance

South Dakota: TANF

Tennessee: Whoah! Their Dept of Health and Human Service website says “file not found!” However! I have found your Tennessee resource page! Click here.

Texas: Apply, TANF

Utah: Family Employment Program. Once you get there, click below on Contact Your Employment Center

Vermont: Reach Up Program

Virginia: TANF

Washington: TANF

West Virginia: WV Works.. a NUMBER! of programs down the left sidebar | 1-800-642-8589

Wisconsin: TANF page.

Wyoming:Several programs to apply for here, including TANF

Click here for free access the 50-State Policy Wizard. It is a website put together by Columbia University to help you check out if you are eligible for the programs. It gives eligibility info and other info on state and federal policies that assist low-income families and children.

Click here for free evaluation on where your income lands you in applying for these programs above. Enter (anonymously) your annual income (in dollars), and the Income Converter will return the percent of the federal poverty level (%FPL), or percent of state median income (%SMI). in any individual state or all states.

Last Cool Tool: Click here for a free calculation of the resources needed for your family for your area. It shows you how much it takes for a family to afford minimum daily necessities.As well this allows you to customize your results by changing basic family expenses in the formula. Pretty cool tool.

DO NOT let yourself get discouraged from these requirements. Often what you count as income isn’t; what you count as ownership isn’t. In one state, one of the TANF workers said that many were not applying who would qualify, because of the daunting requirements list. So…
A–P–P–L—Y. Let them decide.