The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Contingency Fund to provide supplemental funding to states during economic downturns. States that qualify can request a share of the annual appropriation—$608 million in recent years—but a recent Administration for Children and Families (ACF) analysis finds that most states now qualify regardless of economic conditions and that funding is concentrated among a small number of states. The ACF analysis concludes that the fund no longer functions as a recession-response mechanism and questions the justification for its continued annual appropriations—a concern that has arisen several times over the years.
This Issue Brief summarizes the key findings in the ACF report and provides recent TANF Contingency Fund award information.