Federal grant programs / Department of Health and Human Services

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (93.558)

Also known as TANF

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$86 billion
• Grant awards524
• Typical award$18.9 million
• Awarded in FY 2025$17 billion
• Size rank8 of 1824
• Type of assistanceFormula grants, dissemination of technical information

Key findings

• Annual funding fell from $18 billion in fiscal 2021 to $17 billion in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 8th largest of 1,824 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 82% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 55 states and territories.

What the program funds

The TANF program issues awards to States and the District of Columbia, Territories, and Indian Tribes to assist needy families with children so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

Eligible entities include States and Indian Tribes. According to 45 C.F.R. 260.30, State refers to the 50 States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa, unless otherwise specified. Indian Tribe is defined under 25 U.S.C. 5304 per 42 U.S.C. § 619(4)(A), and includes the 13 specified entities in Alaska, per 42 U.S.C. § 619(4)(B). States and Indian Tribes that operate TANF programs must do so under plans determined to be complete (or for Tribes, approved) by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 603(b) for Contingency Funds, all States and the District of Columbia are eligible if they are determined to be a "needy State", as defined under 42 U.S.C. § 603(b)(5), by satisfying criteria related to the state's unemployment rate or the average number of participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Tribes are not eligible for Contingency Funds. See 45 CFR 264.70(c). Per the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, eligible recipients for Pandemic Emergency Assistance Funds were: states, the District of Columbia, Tribes operating a Tribal TANF program, and all five U.S. territories.

What the money can and cannot pay for

TANF funds monthly cash assistance payments to low-income families with children, as well as a wide range of services that are “reasonably calculated” to address the program’s four broad purposes. States, Territories, the District of Columbia, and Federally-recognized Indian Tribes operating their own TANF programs have flexibility to use the awarded funds in any manner that meets the purposes of the program and in ways that States and Territories were authorized to use funds received under the predecessor Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS), and Emergency Assistance (EA) programs. States and Territories may also transfer a limited portion of their assistance award funds to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) Programs. Not more than 15 percent of any State award may be spent on administrative costs, exclusive of certain computerization and information technology expenses. Cash awards, work opportunities, and other services are made directly to needy families with children. For Tribal programs, ACF will negotiate a limitation on administrative costs for the first year of the program's operation not to exceed 35 percent, for the second year of the program's operation not to exceed 30 percent, and then for the third and subsequent years of the program's operation not to exceed 25 percent.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

Statutory Formula: Title IV, Part A, Subpart 403,Public Law 104-193.Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. 603Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. In order to receive their full federal block grant, states must meet a maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement, which means they must expend state funds on “eligible families” for benefits and services related to TANF purposes in an amount equal to at least 80 percent of state spending in FY 1994 for AFDC programs related to cash assistance, emergency assistance, job training, and child care (about $11.1 billion). This amount is reduced to 75 percent (about $10.4 billion) if a state meets its work participation rates.

Deadlines

Deadlines do not apply

Award range and average, in the agency's words

State and Tribal Family Assistance grants are estimated from $77,195 to $3,634,115,206 with an approximate average of $159,008,917.70.

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 94% of the money, tribes 0.9%.

By state

54 states have a page for this program: those that received at least $1 million or 10 awards.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.