Welfare Pilot Projects to Start Anew

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services sent a letter to officials in five states, notifying them they were deselected from a pilot project the Biden administration attempted to finalize after the election. 

California, Maine, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio were approved by the previous presidential administration for a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pilot program. The Trump administration, which will take a new approach aligned with the commitment to promoting work and reducing dependency, noted to the five states “The last administration announced selections very shortly after the 2024 presidential election. We believe the prior administration should not have proceeded with the pilots in the period between the election and the inauguration and should have left that decision for this administration," said ACF Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. He continued, in the letter to states, “We have reviewed the legislation, the solicitation for applications, the criteria and performance measures that were identified and the projects that were selected, and unfortunately, they do not reflect this administration’s goals and priorities, particularly related to views on work, performance measures and indicators of family stability and well-being.”

The previously selected states will not be subject to work participation rates for Fiscal Year 2025, since they were originally selected to participate in the pilot. The previously selected states will be subject to work participation rates for Fiscal Year 2026 unless they are selected under a new request for pilot proposals. The letter encouraged the five states to reapply for the pilot once the new application is released.

“The Trump Administration and our Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and myself, will take a new direction to reshape our nation’s human services programs to promote independence, in line with the administration’s priorities,” said Gradison.

ACF, through its Office of Family Assistance, will issue a new solicitation for proposals  in the coming weeks — aimed at promoting work and reducing dependency — and will work to meet statutory deadlines and select a new cohort of states for the pilot later this year.

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