TANF, Child Care, Marriage Promotion, and Responsible Fatherhood Provisions in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171)

TANF, Child Care, Marriage Promotion, and
Responsible Fatherhood Provisions in the
Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171)
Gene Falk
Specialist in Social Legislation
Domestic Social Policy Division
Summary
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA, P.L. 109-171) includes a scaled-back
version of welfare reauthorization. More extensive versions were considered during the
preceding four-year debate. (See CRS Report RL33418 for details.) The DRA extends
funding at current levels for basic state grants under the Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) block grant through Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. It requires most
states to either raise participation in work activities among families receiving cash
welfare from TANF or further reduce the cash assistance rolls. DRA also required the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue regulations to define
activities countable toward work participation standards and set rules for state
enforcement and verification of participation in activities. These regulation were
published on June 29, 2006. The DRA also extends Child Care and Development Fund
(CCDF) mandatory funding through FY2010, increasing mandatory child care funding
by $200 million per year from previous levels (a total increase of $1 billion over five
years). The DRA further establishes $100 million per year in TANF research and
technical assistance funds for “healthy marriage promotion” initiatives and $50 million
per year for “responsible fatherhood initiatives.” This report will not be updated.
TANF Funding and Program Authority
The DRA continues the TANF block grant created in the 1996 welfare reform law
through FY2010. In general, TANF funding levels, rules for use of funds, and program
requirements continue unchanged through FY2010. With respect to funding, there are
some exceptions:
^!Supplemental grants paid to 17 states that have met criteria of low
historic grants per poor person or high rates of population growth are
continued at current levels only through FY2008.

^!TANF bonuses totaling $300 million to states are repealed.
^!The DRA established new project and demonstration grants for
promoting healthy marriages ($100 million per year) and “responsible
fatherhood” ($50 million per year).
TANF Work Participation Requirements
The DRA makes some significant changes to TANF work participation. These
changes require most states to engage more of their caseloads in activities and/or reduce
cash assistance caseloads from FY2005 levels.
The Caseload Reduction Credit. As originally enacted and also under DRA,
TANF sets minimum work participation standards that a state must meet or be penalized
by a reduction in its block grant. The standards are performance measures computed in
the aggregate for each state, which require that a specified percentage of families with an
adult or minor head of household receiving assistance be considered engaged in specified
activities for a minimum number of hours. A state must meet two standards each year:
50% of all families with an adult recipient or minor head-of-household recipient must
have a work participant; and (2) 90% of two-parent families must meet participation
rules.
However, the 1996 welfare reform law included a caseload reduction credit, which
provided that the standards were reduced one percentage point for each 1% decline in the
assistance caseload that had occurred since FY1995. States were not given credit for
caseload declines that resulted from eligibility changes that had occurred since FY1995,
the year before enactment of the federal welfare reform law (P.L. 104-193). After the
federal and state welfare reforms of the mid-1990s, many states had large declines in their
cash assistance caseloads. Though the rate of caseload decline varied among the states,
most states received fairly substantial caseload reduction credits which reduced their
effective (after-credit) TANF work participation standards well below 50%. In FY2004,
caseload reduction credits were large enough to reduce to 0% the effective (after-credit)
work participation standard for 18 states.
The DRA revises the caseload reduction credit, so that states will receive credit only
for future caseload reductions. Effective in FY2007, states will only receive credit for
caseload reductions that occur from FY2005 forward. The FY2007 credit will be based
on caseload declines (if any) that occur from FY2005 to FY2006; the FY2008 credit will
be based on caseload declines that occur from FY2005 to FY2007 and so on. As under
prior law, states are not given credit for caseload declines that occur because of eligibility
changes that occurred from the base year for measuring caseload changes; the base year
will be FY2005 under the DRA.
Separate State Programs. The TANF program was created in 1996 by
consolidating three programs that provided matching grants to states, with the federal
government funding approximately 55% of expenditures made in these predecessor
programs. TANF requires states to meet a maintenance of effort (MOE) requirement,
which is to spend, from their own funds, at least 75% of what they had spent in FY1994.

State spending to meet the MOE need not be in the TANF program, but must be for
needy families with children and for the same types of activities allowed under state
TANF programs. Under the 1996 law, most TANF requirements, including the work
participation standards, did not apply to families receiving assistance under separate state
programs (SSPs): programs with expenditures countable toward the MOE but designated
by the states as outside the TANF program. States used SSPs to, among other things,
assist two-parent families, which freed them from the 90% standard applicable to that part
of the caseload; operate “Parents as Scholars” programs for recipients attending college;
and assist special populations such as families with a disabled member, permitting them
to be exempted from work requirements without negatively affecting participation rates.
The DRA requires that states count families in SSPs in determining their work
participation rates. The major impact of this change is that states will have to meet a 90%
standard for the two-parent portion of its caseload. This change will also subject special
populations to the TANF work participation standards and, together with the HHS
regulations defining TANF work activities, affect states’ ability to allow recipients to
attend college without negatively affecting work participation rates.
HHS Regulations. Though the 1996 welfare reform law established TANF
participation standards, minimum hours requirements, and a list of 12 categories of
activities that count toward meeting the standards, much of the detail in operating and
enforcing these standards was left to the states. The DRA required HHS to issue
regulations to “ensure consistent measurement of work participation rates” by further
defining TANF work activities beyond the current statutory list; requiring uniform
methods for reporting hours of work; and determining the circumstances in which parents
must be included in the work participation rate calculation. The HHS regulations were
issued in interim, final form on June 29, 2006.
Definition of Work Activities. Table 1, at the end of this report, shows the
specific work activities that may be included in each of the 12 federal statutory categories,
as defined by HHS. These definitions prohibit states from counting participation in a four-
year college degree program as vocational educational training. They also provide that
activities such as substance abuse and mental health counseling may be counted as a “job
readiness activity,” countable together with job search for up to six weeks (12 weeks
under some circumstances) in a fiscal year. Additionally, the HHS regulations also include
requirements that activities be “supervised,” many on a daily basis.
State Work Verification Plans. The DRA requires states to have procedures to
verify recipients’ work participation, which identify who is subject to or excluded from
work standards, how recipients’ activities represent countable TANF work activities, and
how reported hours of work are verified. HHS regulations require states to submit a
description of these procedures in a state work verification plan. Preliminary work
verification plans were due to HHS on September 30, 2006; final plans are due on
September 30, 2007.
Families Included in the Participation Rate. Under the 1996 welfare reform
law, all child-only TANF families (families where there are no adult recipients) were
excluded from the work participation calculation. The DRA required that the HHS
regulations specify the types of families with parent caretakers that should be included in
or excluded from the participation rate. HHS regulations specifically exclude from the

participation rate immigrant parents who are ineligible for assistance (with citizen
children eligible for assistance). It allows states to make a case-by-case determination of
whether to include in the participation rate a parent receiving Supplemental Security
Income (SSI). Other nonrecipient parents must be included in the participation rate,
particularly affecting parents removed from the assistance unit because of a time limit or
sanction. These regulations do not affect the status of non-recipient, nonparent caretakers,
such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles caring for children, who are exempt from the work
participation standards. The regulations also allow states to exclude parents caring for a
disabled family member from the participation rate calculation.
Mandatory Child Care Funding
From FY2002 through FY2005, mandatory child care funding for the Child Care and
Development Block Grant has been set at $2.717 billion per year. The DRA increases
mandatory child care funding to $2.917 billion per year for FY2006 through FY2010,
an increase from current levels of $200 million per year or $1 billion over five years.
Healthy Marriage Promotion
and Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives
The DRA establishes new categorical grants within TANF for healthy marriage
promotion and responsible fatherhood initiatives. As originally enacted and continuing
under DRA, TANF law allows states to use block grant and MOE funds for activities to
further any TANF purpose, including promotion of the formation and maintenance of
two-parent families. However, state expenditures in this category have generally been
small.
Healthy Marriage Promotion. The healthy marriage promotion initiative is
funded at approximately $100 million per year,¹ to be spent through grants awarded by
the Secretary of HHS to support research and demonstration projects by public or private
entities; and technical assistance provided to states, Indian tribes and tribal organizations,
and other entities. The activities supported by the healthy marriage promotion initiatives
are programs to promote marriage to the general population, such as public advertising
campaigns on the value of marriage and education in high schools on the value of
marriage; education on “social skills “ (e.g. marriage education, marriage skills, conflict
resolution, and relationship skills) for engaged couples, those interested in marriage, or
married couples; and programs that reduce the financial disincentive to marry, if
combined with educational or other marriage promotion activities.
The DRA requires applicants for marriage promotion grants to ensure that
participation in such activities is voluntary and that domestic violence concerns be
addressed, including through consultation with experts on domestic violence.

¹ The DRA provides an appropriation of $150 million for three sets of activities. Of this
appropriation, up to $2 million per year is set aside to test the effectiveness of tribal governments
and consortia in coordinating child welfare services for abused and neglected children.
Additionally, up to $50 million per year is set aside for responsible fatherhood initiatives. If the
full amount of these set-asides were used for these purposes, $98 million per year is left for
healthy marriage promotion activities.

Responsible Fatherhood Initiatives. Additionally, the DRA makes available
up to $50 million per year for responsible fatherhood initiatives. These initiatives will be
funded through competitive grants made by HHS to states, territories, Indian tribes and
tribal organizations, and public and nonprofit community organizations (including
religious organizations). Responsible fatherhood initiatives are defined as including
activities to promote marriage; teach parenting skills through counseling, mentoring,
mediation, and dissemination of information; support employment and job training
services, and develop and promote media campaigns and a national clearinghouse focused
on responsible fatherhood. (See CRS Report RL31025 for more on these initiatives.)
Table 1. Creditable TANF Work Activities and Their Definitions
Activity Def i ni tion
UnsubsidizedMeans full- or part-time employment in the public or private sector
employmentthat is not subsidized by TANF or any other public program.
Subsidized privateMeans employment in the private sector for which the employer
sector employmentreceives a subsidy from TANF or other public funds to offset some
or all of the wages and costs of employing a recipient.
Subsidized publicMeans employment in the public sector for which the employer
sector employmentreceives a subsidy from TANF or other public funds to offset some
or all of the wages and costs of employing a recipient.
Job search andMeans the act of seeking or obtaining employment, or preparation
readiness to seek or obtain employment, including life skills training and
substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, or
^[^P^ar^ticip^atioⁿⁱⁿ^th^isrehabilitation activities for those who are otherwise employable.
^activ^ity^m^a^y^b^eSuch treatment or therapy must be determined to be necessary and
^couⁿ^t^{ed f}^o^{r s}ⁱ^x^w^eek^scertified by a qualified medical or mental health professional. Job
^{(12 w}^eek^sⁱⁿ^certainsearch and job readiness assistance activities must be supervised by
^circu^m^s^t^an^ces^{) in}^aa TANF agency or other responsible party on an ongoing basis no
^fⁱ^s^{cal y}^ear.]less frequently than daily.
Community serviceMeans structured programs and embedded activities in which
TANF recipients perform work for the direct benefit of the
community under the auspices of public or nonprofit organizations.
Community service programs must be limited to projects that serve
a useful community purpose in fields such as health, social service,
environmental protection, education, urban and rural
redevelopment, welfare, recreation, public facilities, public safety,
and child care. Community service programs are designed to
improve the employability of recipients not otherwise able to
obtain employment and must be supervised on an ongoing basis no
less frequently than daily. A state agency shall take into account,
to the extent possible, the prior training, experience, and skills of a
recipient in making appropriate community service assignments.
Work experienceMeans a work activity, performed in return for welfare, that
provides an individual with an opportunity to acquire the general
skills, training, knowledge, and work habits necessary to obtain
employment. The purpose of work experience is to improve the
employability of an individual who cannot find unsubsidized
employment. The activity must be supervised by an employer,
work site sponsor, or other responsible party on an ongoing basis
no less frequently than daily.

Activity Def i ni tion
On-the-job trainingMeans training in the public or private sector that is given to a paid
employee while he or she is engaged in productive work and that
provides knowledge and skills essential to the full and adequate
performance of the job. On-the-job training must be supervised by
an employer, work site sponsor, or other responsible party on an
ongoing basis no less frequently than daily.
VocationalMeans organized educational programs that are directly related to
educational trainingthe preparation of individuals for employment in current or
emerging occupations that require training other than a
^[^P^ar^ticip^atioⁿⁱⁿ^th^isbaccalaureate or advanced degree. Vocational educational training
^activ^ity^{is lim}^ited^to¹²must be supervised on an ongoing basis no less frequently than
^m^oⁿ^t^h^sⁱⁿ^{a lif}^etim^e.]daily.
Caring for a child ofMeans providing child care to enable another TANF recipient to
a recipient inparticipate in a community services program. This activity must be
community servicesupervised on an ongoing basis no less frequently than daily.
The following activities are often creditable only in conjunction with participation in other
activities (i.e. after a minimum number of hours per week of participation in the activities
listed above).
Job skills trainingMeans training or education for job skills required by an employer
directly related toto provide an individual with the ability to obtain employment or to
employmentadvance or adapt to the changing demands of the workplace. Job
skills training directly related to employment must be supervised
on an ongoing basis no less frequently than daily.
Education directlyMeans education related to a specific occupation, job, or job offer.
related toEducation directly related to employment must be supervised on an
employment (forongoing basis no less frequently than daily.
those without a high
school or equivalent
degree)
Completion of aIn the case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school
secondary schoolor received such a certificate, this means regular attendance, in
program (for thoseaccordance with the requirements of a secondary school or course
without a highof study, at a secondary school or in a course of study leading to a
school or equivalentcertificate of general equivalence. This activity must be supervised
degree)on an ongoing basis no less frequently than daily.
^Source:^T^a^bl^{e prepared by}^C^R^S^bas^e^{d on}^H^H^S^reg^u^l^atⁱ^oⁿ^s^{. S}^ee^Feder^a^{l Regis}^t^er^,^V^o^l^.^{71, N}^o^{. 125, Ju}ⁿ^e
^{29, 2006, pp. 37454-}^37483.