Even before the pandemic, 1 in 2 Black and Latinx families with children were either food insecure or unable to pay their housing or utility costs, as were 1 in 4 white families with children. Poverty rates are also higher for American Indian and Alaskan Native and Asian children than they are for white children. Owing to historical and continuing barriers to economic opportunity such as discrimination in employment, education, and housing, poverty rates for Black and Latinx children are more than twice as high as for white children. Latinx children, who have also been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, are somewhat more likely than white children to live in states where benefits are the lowest. Black children are more likely than white children to live in states where benefits are the lowest, continuing a trend that began under TANF’s predecessor, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). While TANF provides inadequate support for all children, it does a particularly poor job of aiding Black children, whose parents and communities have disproportionately felt the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic crisis. With TANF providing such inadequate resources, families face tough choices, such as whether to pay bills or buy diapers and other necessities. TANF benefits in all states also leave families unable to afford modest housing. (See Figure 1.) In all but six states, benefit levels have declined in inflation-adjusted value since 1996. Despite recent increases, benefits are at or below 60 percent of the poverty line in every state and are below 20 percent in 16, mostly Southern, states. States have total flexibility to set benefit levels and have kept them too small to meet families’ basic needs and maintain their financial stability. However, more must be done to improve TANF benefit levels to better meet families’ needs.īenefits are at or below 60 percent of the poverty line in every state.TANF benefits in most states are still at their lowest value since the program was created in 1996. Recognizing the importance of income for children’s long-term growth and development - and the inadequacy of their existing TANF benefits - 20 states and the District of Columbia have increased benefits since July 2020. Research shows that cash assistance to families experiencing poverty can improve children’s health and academic achievement, which in turn can lead to better health and higher earnings in adulthood. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the primary cash assistance program for families with children when they face a crisis or have very low incomes, can play a key role in ensuring that these families struggling to make ends meet have income for their basic needs.