Economic assistance (cash benefits)
- Case management to help you reach your goals
- Monthly cash payments to help you pay for necessities like housing, utilities, and clothing
- Health insurance
- Education, training and employment
How can I receive AFDC?
You may be eligible if you:
- Have children 18 or younger,
- Are pregnant and are due in less than 4 months; if you are under age 20 you may be eligible at any stage of pregnancy, and/or
- Are a caregiver for a child you are related to but who is not your biological or adopted child As a caregiver, you can apply for TAFDC for only the ...
What does AFDC stand for in health care?
Seal of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, which administered the Aid to Families with Dependent Children program. Aid to Families with Dependent Children ( AFDC) was a federal assistance program in the United States in effect from 1935 to 1997, created by the Social Security Act (SSA) and administered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provided financial assistance to children whose families had low or no income .
Why was AFDC changed to TANF?
transformed AFDC into the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, would eventually increase SSI participation, for two reasons. First, the new TANF work requirements and time limits could induce more AFDC/TANF recipients with disabilities to obtain SSI benefits. Second, the change from open-ended
What does AFDC stand for in economics?
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.
Is AFDC the same as welfare?
This poster is a reminder that the Aid to Dependent Children program (aka AFDC) was an original program under Title IV of the Social Security Act, until it was repealed in 1996 as part of “welfare reform.”
What was wrong with AFDC?
The three most common criticisms made of AFDC were: It caused poor adults who could work to not work. It caused dependency; rather than using it as a temporary safety net, some people embraced it as a way of life. It encouraged having children out of wedlock and discouraged marriage.
What is the main difference between TANF and AFDC?
Under TANF, a federal block-grant program, states have the authority to determine eligibility requirements and benefit levels. Unlike AFDC, TANF is not an entitlement program. Because of this, there is no requirement that states aid, or apply uniform rules to, all families determined financially needy.
What was AFDC replaced with?
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), enacted in 1996, replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), which provided cash assistance to families with children experiencing poverty.
Why was AFDC created?
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 ...
Why is it so hard to get off welfare?
The Clinton Welfare-to-Work program successfully got millions of families off the social safety net program. But today's recipients face stagnant low wages and limited resources for job training, making it nearly impossible for many to gain economic mobility. Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.
What is SNAP assistance?
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal nutrition assistance program. SNAP provides benefits to eligible low-income individuals and families via an Electronic Benefits Transfer card. This card can be used like a debit card to purchase eligible food in authorized retail food stores.
What is the difference between TANF and CalWORKs?
CalWORKs stands for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Program. It is California's name for the federal TANF program.
What is cash assistance?
Cash Assistance helps families meet their basic needs for well-being and safety and serves as their path to self-sufficiency. The Cash Assistance program provides temporary cash benefits and supportive services to the neediest of Arizona's children and their families.
How do Native Americans get benefits in California?
How to Get Native American Benefits in CaliforniaApplying for Membership in a Tribe. Each California tribe establishes its own criteria for membership. ... Apply to Your Tribe for Benefits. ... Apply to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for Benefits. ... General Assistance. ... Burial Assistance. ... Emergency Assistance.
Who created the AFDC?
On August 22, 1996 President Clinton signed into law the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 (Public Law 104–193). PRWORA replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that had been in existence for 60 years.
How much cash assistance will I get in NY?
How much cash assistance you'll get in NY largely depends upon your family's income and size. New York pays a maximum of $789 a month to a family of three — one of the most generous among the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia.
What is AFDC in Social Security?
AFDC is a cash grant program to enable States to aid needy children without fathers.
How much did the AFDC increase in 1984?
From 1984 to 1986 (for the first time since the late 1960s and early 1970s), current-dollar AFDC benefit levels increased faster (10%) than inflation (6.3%), resulting in a 3.6% real increase in AFDC benefits.
When did the AFDC shrink?
By 1994, the AFDC benefit had shrunk to a little under 62% of the combined benefit package. In 1970, State governments were spending equal amounts on AFDC and Medicaid. By 1979, they were spending 70% more on Medicaid than on AFDC.
Does DSS deduct shelter hardship?
But working clients may not always qualify. To determine eligibility, DSS calculates a family's applied income and then deducts a “shelter hardship” (the family's shelter expenses divided by two) to come up with net adjusted income (NAI).
Can AFDC be counted as income?
AFDC recipients typically qualify for a credit, and the amount of the credit cannot be counted as income in AFDC income eligibility determination. In each of the two scenarios described, the families would qualify for the maximum credit.
What is the AFDC?
The Social Security Act established the Social Security that we are familiar with today, but it also included the AFDC, or Title IV of the Act, which was then simply called the Aid to Dependent Children (ADC). The outline for the ADC was written by two women, Grace Abbott and Katherine Lenroot, who were the directors of the U.S. Children's Bureau of the Department of Labor.
How long did AFDC recipients depend on education?
Education was a large factor in whether, or not, a recipient depended on AFDC assistance for more than five years. Of those who did depend on the aid, for more than five years, 63% did not have a high school education. Those who never married also used the aid for longer periods of time. The majority of the program recipients were single and uneducated.
When did the AFDC start?
Starting in 1962, the Department of Health and Human Services allowed state-specific exemptions as long as the change was "in the spirit of AFDC" in order to allow some experimentation. By 1996 spending was $24 billion per year.
When did AFDC replace TANF?
However, it was criticized for offering incentives for women to have children, and for providing disincentives for women to join the workforce. In July 1997 , AFDC was replaced by the more restrictive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
When was the ADC program created?
The program was created under the name Aid to Dependent Children ( ADC) by the Social Security Act of 1935 as part of the New Deal. It was created as a means tested entitlement which subsidized the income of families where fathers were "deceased, absent, or unable to work". It provided a direct payment of $18 per month for one child, ...
Who said TANF gives states an incentive to deny benefits to those who need it most?
In 2003, LaShawn Y. Warren , an ACLU Legislative Counsel, said that TANF gives states an incentive "to deny benefits to those who need it most. The solution to getting people out of the cycle of poverty is not to prematurely kick them off welfare.
What is Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides grant funds to states and territories to provide families with financial assistance and related support services. State-administered programs may include childcare assistance, job preparation, and work assistance.
Who is eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families?
To be eligible for this benefit program, applicants must be a resident of the state in which they apply, and a U.S. citizen, legal alien or qualified alien. You must be unemployed or underemployed and have low or very low income. You must also be one of the following:
How can I contact someone?
For more information about this program, please visit the TANF homepage.
What is the WF program?
North Carolina’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, called Work First (WF), is based on the premise that parents have a responsibility to support themselves and their children.
How long can you get Work First Family Assistance?
In most cases families who have reached the 24-month limit cannot receive Work First Family Assistance for another three years. Federal law sets a 60-month cumulative lifetime limit for receiving these benefits.
Overview
History
Criticism
Termination
See also
The program was created under the name Aid to Dependent Children (ADC) by the Social Security Act of 1935 as part of the New Deal. It was created as a means tested entitlement which subsidized the income of families where fathers were "deceased, absent, or unable to work". It provided a direct payment of $18 per month for one child, and $12 for a second child. In 1994, the average payment was $420/month.
Further reading
Early in the program, there were concerns about whether it encouraged unwed motherhood. Some advocates complained that the rule had the effect of breaking up marriages and promoting matriarchy:
[T]he AFDC program tended to treat households with a cohabiting male who was not the natural father of the children much more leniently than those with …
External links
In 1996, President Bill Clinton negotiated with the Republican-controlled Congress to pass the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act, which drastically restructured the program. Among other changes, a lifetime limit of five years was imposed on the receipt of benefits; the newly limited nature of the replacement program was reinforced by calling AFDC's successor Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Many Americans continue to refer to TANF a…