Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is the largest public assistance program
in the country (Dolgoff, 214). It is a welfare
program that was instituted as a substitution for Aid to Families with
Dependent Children (AFDC). AFDC was a long-standing program that provided
assistance to widows or single mothers in need of aid. It was a program in
place for over sixty years and was built on the premise that needy children
should be “provided for in their own homes whenever possible” (Trattner, 215). This may suggest that needy children
require more attention in order to grow and prosper. TANF was created by an Act
of 1996 known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity
Reconciliation Act. This program was
implemented as a measure of welfare reform with the intention of placing “a
greater emphasis on work and personal responsibility”(Dolgoff,
213). It is evident that the policy makers had the goal of diminishing
individual and or family dependence on the social welfare system. NOTE: Page
#’s were input for your convenience so you know where I have gotten my
information in case you need to return to actual literature.
