Introduction What is TANF? The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program was created under the 1996 welfare reform law known as the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Falk, 2014). TANF is funded by a $16.5 billion-per-year basic federal block grant. Each state is also required to contribute at least $10.4 billion under a maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirement (Schott, 2012). TANF’s primary purpose is to fund a wide range of benefits and services for low-income families with children. These services include cash assistance, child care, and services for children who have been or are at risk of being abused or neglected Clientele The requirements to receive TANF benefits vary from state to state. …show more content…
Each state is responsible for how the benefits are allocated. The application process for benefits is very similar among the states. However, 12 states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Utah) have laws regarding receiving benefits and drug testing. In 2011, 36 states proposed some form of drug testing for TANF benefits; in 2012, 28 states; in 2013, 29 states; and in 2014, 18 states. As of February 2015, at least 14 states have proposed legislation requiring some form of drug testing or screening for public assistance recipients (Finzel, …show more content…
The TANF program has several purposes: assist needy families, end dependency by promoting job preparation, and prevent and reduce out-of wedlock pregnancies. To qualify for benefits, Montana requires residence, pregnancy or responsibility for a child under 19 years of age, low or very low income, and either under-employment, unemployment or imminent unemployment (Benefits.Gov, n.d.). TANF benefits are based on family size and gross monthly income (GMI). If approved, TANF cash assistance is limited to 60 months in an adult’s lifetime. Currently, the final requirement, is an application process. However, there is an additional requirement being considered in Montana legislation: HB 200. HB 200 would require all applicants to be screened and possibly tested for illegal drugs. It is estimated the cost to screen all applicants and test those who are identified would be $63,285 from the general fund in 2016 and $39,950 per year thereafter (Carter,
A positive drug test can be treated as a violation of probation. Judges can also require individual offenders to pay for their own drug testing, as they do now in the "drug court" system, if they can afford it. The cost of a test can be $4 to $7 per test. The fact is, tens of millions of dollars in state and federal funds already go to drug testing of criminal offenders through the court system and probation system. If more money is needed, this can easily be appropriated from the hundreds of millions of dollars saved each year by this initiative.
The current system has not been good for children. In 1965 there were 3.3 million children on AFDC; by 1992, that had risen to over 9 million children despite the fact that the total number of children in this country has declined. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated if we do nothing, 12 million will be on AFDC in 10 years. Instead of working up, we find more and more children being trapped in a system and into dependency on welfare. 90 percent of the children on AFDC live without one of their parents. Only a fraction of welfare families are engaged in work. There are always the sad accounts of how, again and again, women would get off of welfare, they would be doing well on their own, but their child-care would fall apart just as they were getting back on their feet. The new bill provides $3.5 billion more than current for that needed child care.
- If all of the options were explored, and patient is given antibiotics and is treated without any pain or suffering than the treatment identifies with the ethnical principles of autonomy, non-maleficence, and veracity. In turn, Mrs. Dawson will be happy with the outcome of the procedure.
"States Consider drug testing for Welfare recipients." Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly 21.8 (2009): 4-6. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 04 Feb. 2011
Welfare is a federally funded program that provides health care, food stamps, child care assistance, unemployment, cash aid, and housing that is under the umbrella of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). Per Welfare Information, eligibility is determined by net income, family size, and any crisis situation such as: pregnancy, homelessness, and unemployment. TANF also requires the recipient to obtain employment within two years of receiving help (2014). A majority of the monies that support Welfare come from taxes paid by the working class and donations from private companie...
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Administration for children and families: about TANF. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/tanf/about.html
Walters, Jonathan. Should Welfare Recipients Be Drug Tested? 13 March 2012. Web. 8 Jan. 2014
TANF and AFDC differ in many ways: 1) TANF provides a block grant to individual states, 2) there is no longer a guarantee of cash assistant to all eligible individuals, 3) recipients may receive benefits for no more than five years over a life time, 4) recipients must adhere to work requirement to receive benefits, and 5) current and future legal immigrants are denied benefits until citizenship (O’Campo & Rojas-Smith 421). The fact that TANF is restricted for a maximum of five years has adverse consequences for the needy. Five years is often too short for recipients to gain independence.
On 30 January 2011, the Missouri House of Representatives passed a bill and sent it to the senate that would require drug testing for those receiving state Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) funds. Funding from food stamps, medicare, and public housing would not be affected by this bill (Keller – House). According to Columbia Tribune reporter Rudi Keller, the bill is very similar to the Arizona law which is the only other state that tests welfare recipients. Missouri and Arizona would use a questionare and interview which would determine which applicants to test. The two states are also similar in their caseload of 45,017 people on assistance in Arizona and 42,885 in Missouri. The state would not be obligated to provide treatment for those that fail. Also, children would be protected because the money would be given to them by a third party in the event that their head of household tests positive (Keller- Arizona). According to the Columbia Tribune, TANF is a five year maximum support benefit for people who are attempting to find a job or gain employment skills. The maximum TANF payment is $292 dollars a month with the head of household portion being $58 (Keller- House). The issue of drug testing those on welfare goes back to 1996 with the welfare reform act authorized, but did not require, states to impose mandatory drug testing as a prerequisite to receiving state welfare assistance (Drug Testing).
U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. Administration for Children and Families. (2011). TANF - Data and Reports. Washington D.C.: U.S. Dept of Health & Human Services Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/index.htm.
Downs-Whitelaw, S., Moore, E., &McFadden, E. J. (2009). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice, USA: Parson Education Inc.
Downs, S., Moore, E., McFadden, E., & Costin, L. (2004). Child welfare and family services: Policies and practice. (7th. Ed., pp. 319-363) Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Drug use now in days has grown more over these past years, with the abuse of drugs many people still have the privilege to apply freely to the welfare programs such as WIC, Food Stamps, and TANF. My interest to this topic is why it would be unconstitutional to be able to do a drug testing on welfare applicants.
The programs to help the poor and homeless are few and far between. There are five general programs that assist those who are not able to provide for certain things, such as food, shelter and care for the children. These programs are Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Food Stamps programs, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Unemployment Compensation, and General Assistance. These programs are generally harder to get into than what most people think. People must meet strict requirements to be able to receive money from the federal government. For example, a household qualifies for the expedited service of the Food Stamp program, a family must have less than $150 in gross monthly income, be a migrant or seasonal farm worker with resources o...
BASF is one of the world's largest chemical companies. It was established in 1865 with the main product was coal tar based dyestuff. It has six main categories of products, which are oil and gas, chemicals, agricultural products, plastics and fibers, dyestuff and finishing products, and consumer products. The structure of the company is presented by three-dimensional matrix consisting of operating, regional and functional divisions. Since 1960, the company began to expand its operation at a global level through acquisition. In Southeast Asia, the company has over 30 companies in 16 countries through the region of which 12 have the production facility. Headquarter for the region is located in Singapore.