Office of Family Assistance (OFA)

OFA published a new Information Memorandum (IM) regarding state flexibility to use TANF to support child care, including transfers to CCDF, and to provide assistance to married, two-parent families with an at-home parental caregiver.

OFA’s TANF Outcomes Technical Assistance and Logistics (TOTAL) project provides state partners with compliance support, technical assistance, peer resources, and virtual engagement as they implement the new Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) work and education outcomes reporting requirements. TOTAL will also support states selected for the TANF FRA Pilot.

The TANF Contingency Fund was created to provide short-term, targeted relief to states during economic downturns. Today, however, the Fund no longer operates as a true recessionary backstop.

In fiscal year (FY) 2024, combined federal TANF and state MOE expenditures and transfers totaled $37.5 billion. Of that amount, only 21.8 percent was used on basic assistance, compared to 70.9 percent in FY 1997. The share of funds used on basic assistance varied widely by state, with 34 states and the District of Columbia using less than 20 percent of TANF and MOE funds on basic assistance. About 8.1 percent of total TANF and MOE funds were used for child welfare services. Explore the national and state data in detailed tables.