The economy has definitely seen better days, and the average American family is currently struggling to make ends meet and keep food on the table for their loved ones.
Thankfully, the federal government is just as aware of this as we are, and they’ve created several assistance programs for those that are experiencing financial struggles.
Sometimes, choosing between the options available to you can become overwhelming, as there are dozens you may be able to qualify for, but we’ll try to introduce you to TANF, a program specially designed for helping needy families deal with the rising costs of basic necessities.
This program is available to millions of eligible households across the US, and if you feel like you could benefit from it, you won’t lose anything by reading on and informing yourself about the many advantages this program can offer you.
What is TANF
Even though it was designed by the government, the program itself is managed by state governments, and if you look deeper into it, you’ll find that it provides around $16.5 billion in funding to the states, Columbia, and other US territories.
In fact, it’s also offered through the tribal TANF program by the federally-recognized American Indian tribes and some Alaska Native organizations that aim to help those in need.
Due to the program being managed by state governments, the amount of benefits everyone can receive is also determined by them, and they even craft their own eligibility requirements that are in line with state laws.
The general idea of the program is to give low-income households with children a second chance at achieving independence and self-sufficiency at some point, with the end goal being for them not having to rely on others for help once they’ve exited the program.
How does it work
While it may sound simple, the TANF program is actually fairly complex, and the government won’t exactly do handouts of cash to every low-income household in the country.
Instead, this money is used by state governments to provide these households with cash assistance, with a portion of the funding going towards helping these people reach self-sufficiency at some point in time.
The program’s main goals are allowing children to grow up in a healthy environment, removing the parents’ reliance on government welfare programs through education and counseling programs, and improving the development of two-parent families in the US.
Of course, you can’t expect to receive benefits if you don’t apply for the program, and you’ll first want to reach out to your local Social Services office, or if you’ve got one, your state’s TANF office in the area.
It’s highly recommended to look through what the program has to offer and carefully study the criteria for eligibility, as it may help avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings or postponements in the application process that may follow.
The main benefit here is that applying for TANF is completely free of charge, much like with other government assistance programs, meaning that even if you’re not eligible, you won’t lose anything but your time by applying for benefits.
Eligibility
It’s important to remember that the eligibility requirements for TANF can vary by quite a bit from state to state, although the one common thing between all of them is that the main focus is low-income families with children.
In general, the most common requirements you’ll encounter are that you have to be low-income to qualify for benefits, and your household will have to include at least one child under the age of 18 to be eligible.
This is done to ensure that the money is given to those that actually need it, as the funding for the program is limited, and the state government will do regular checkups to determine whether the assistance they’re offering is actually helping the development of these households.
Final word
Money is getting much harder to come by, and with inflation at an all-time high, even the money that low-income families do have tends to not be enough to cover all of their monthly expenses.
This leads to a number of difficulties in the household, including a number of difficulties for any of the children that are part of said household.
The TANF program aims to change that with the assistance they provide to needy families across the nation, and they’ve made it their goal to help these families reach self-sufficiency through the education, rehab, and counseling programs they may offer.
If you’re looking for additional information on how TANF operates, you can find much more at benefits.gov, along with even more information on other programs that may be available in your area that you could benefit from.
No matter how hard things may seem, there’s always a helping hand for you to reach out to, and all you’ve got to do is find it.