It has been nearly 30 years since the federal government ended the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) entitlement program and created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act (PRWOA) in 1996. Each year, Ohio is awarded $726 million from the federal government to administer the TANF program, an amount that has remained stagnant since 1996.
Most adults receiving cash assistance must meet the work requirement.
The state couples that $726 million with over $400 million in maintenance of effort (MOE). This amount is codified in federal law and is tied to the amount a state spent on programs for needy families in 1994, a measure that has not kept pace with the population and need. Under TANF, states’ cash assistance recipients must work a set number of hours per week, and at least 50 percent of the adults in the program must meet the work requirement. TANF also limits enrollment in the program to five years; Ohio has set its time limit at three years.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) today
The most recent data, from November 2024, shows that there are just under 69,000 people in the state of Ohio—adults and children, both—receiving cash assistance in a state of 11.9 million people. The caseload includes about 7,000 adults and 62,000 kids. Most adults receiving cash assistance must meet the work requirement. Cash assistance, or Ohio Works First (OWF) as it is titled in Ohio, is only a part of what TANF funds.
TANF isn’t just a cash assistance program. These block grant dollars are increasingly stretched to fund health and human services in other ways. Since 1996, and the introduction of this program as a more flexible block grant, it has increasingly funded many other vital programs. TANF is an important support for childcare, Title XX, state and local nonprofits who provide direct services to families living in poverty, and county and state agency operations.
These are all important services supporting our fellow Ohioans, but TANF has increasingly been seen by policymakers as THE resource for supporting health and human services. The nature of a block grant, like TANF, means we have a limited amount of dollars for an expanding and increasing set of needs. Block grants’ value erodes over time, and the design limits the ability of states to respond to needs. TANF is aimed at reducing poverty but shouldn’t be the only resource committed to this effort.
TANF in the State Budget
Every odd year in Ohio, the state budget consumes the first six months of the year, and TANF is always a part of that conversation. Each state budget introduction includes an updated TANF spending plan from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
Source: TANF Program Services Framework Estimates for SFY 2024-2027 Prepared February 23, 2023 https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_135/committees/cmte_h_sub_health_1/meetings/cmte_h_sub_health_1_2023-03-07-1000_158/submissions/departmentofjobandfamilyservicestanfservicesframework03022023.pdf and The State of Ohio Executive Budget, Fiscal Years 2026-2027, https://archives.obm.ohio.gov/Files/Budget_and_Planning/Operating_Budget/Fiscal_Years_2026-2027/Blue%20Book%20FY%202026-2027.pdf
The spending plan included in the Governor’s as-introduced 2026-27 budget includes revenue and spending estimates for state fiscal years 2026 and 2027 but did not include the most recent actual spending from SFY 2024, nor did it include updated estimates for SFY 2025 (which ends June 30, 2025). The information shared in Table 1 is based on estimates for SFYs 2024 and 2025 from the TANF Services Framework issued during state budget deliberations in early 2023, combined with the 2026-27 estimates mentioned above that are recategorized to align with the revenue/spending categories from the old reporting format.
The TANF Services Framework document released in the last few budget cycles included more revenue and spending details. Without 2024 actuals and updated 2025 estimates, we cannot make apples-to-apples comparisons in the new format. This is our informed and best effort at aligning this information to be viewed consistently based on information from current and past budget proposals and conversations with stakeholders.
We appreciate the many conversations with ODJFS, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, and other partners to better understand TANF funding.
Conclusion
The overall sustainability of a limited pool of TANF resources continues to be something that Community Solutions is paying attention to as we go through this budget process. We appreciate the many conversations with ODJFS, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, and other partners to better understand TANF funding and the plans for how to use it. Ultimately, we aim for TANF to have as impactful a reach as possible to support families living in poverty, but we know that it will take more than a block grant stuck at 1996 funding levels and increasing needs across the board.
