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Advocates urge restoring pre-2011 TANF time-limit policy and tying grants to cost-of-living measure
Summary
The Statewide Poverty Action Network told the committee that Washington’s TANF time-limit policy has cut thousands of families from aid, disproportionately affecting families of color, and proposed reinstating the pre-2011 policy and indexing cash grants to a state needs standard.
Liana Crescent (Statewide Poverty Action Network) told the Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning committee that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy changes enacted in 2011 continue to cause deep hardship and racial disparities in program access.
Crescent said TANF serves predominantly families with children, that about 70% of the caseload are children, and that a family of three currently must make no more than $1,412 per month to qualify for TANF in Washington. She said the maximum monthly grant for a family of three is $706 and that the average grant is $583 per month. Crescent described TANF’s 60-month…
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