TANF Sanctions Result in Undeserved Hardships for Poor Families

(Originally posted at Legal Momentum Briefing Room)

A new report by Legal Momentum, “The Sanction Epidemic in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program,” examines the serious harm financial sanctions cause recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Our report demonstrates that the sanctions are commonly utilized and imposed erroneously for extremely minor violations, resulting in undeserved hardships for families. Indeed, sanctioned TANF families often report maternal or child hunger, eviction or homelessness, and lack of medical care.

Some sanctions are “partial,” meaning a withholding of some (but not all) of the aid that a family would otherwise receive. Some sanctions are “full family” meaning a withholding of all of the aid that a family would otherwise receive. These sanctions often come as a result of minor violations, including failing to file a document. For example, the report describes the case of “a 43-year-old black woman, living in an emergency shelter and suffering from both shingles and AIDS, who was sanctioned for failing to attend an appointment at the Department of Labor. According to her, when she called the Department of Labor to say she would be 20 minutes late for her appointment she was told it was too late and was sanctioned.”

While sanctions contribute to the sharp reduction in program participation by eligible families, the federal statute incentivizes them, thus offering little hope of future sanction reduction. Full family sanctions have contributed to a decline in program participation from 84% of eligible families in 1995 to 40% of eligible families in 2005, the most recent year for which this information is available. Currently, only about two million families are receiving TANF although probably at least five million families are eligible.

TANF recipients are a disadvantaged and vulnerable population for whom the consequences of sanctions are severe. All are extremely poor. About a third are African-American and about a quarter are Hispanic. Ninety percent of the parents receiving TANF are single mothers, over half with a child below age 6 and over a quarter with a child below age 2. A third of parent recipients have a disability, a substantial portion are domestic violence victims. 40% lack a high school degree and only 3% have a college degree. One quarter of TANF recipient families include a child who has at least one chronic health problem or disability.

Are these really the people that should be further hindered from achieving economic security and independence?

The decline in TANF participation as a result of sanctions has devastating consequences for these individuals. Indeed, a study in twenty cities in fifteen states of mothers who had received TANF in the prior twelve months found that 42% of those who had been sanctioned and 27% of those who had not been sanctioned reported experiencing one or more of the following four hardships: maternal or child hunger; eviction or homelessness; utility shutoff; unable to receive medical care due to cost. Another study of TANF caregivers seeking emergency room treatment for a child in six cities found that compared to children in non-sanctioned families children in sanctioned families had a 30% greater risk of having been previously hospitalized, a 50% greater risk of food insecurity, and a 90% greater risk of being admitted to the hospital at the ER visit.

The Obama Administration has asked Congress to extend TANF’s current legislative authorization until September 30, 2011. When TANF is considered for reauthorization, Congress must look closely at sanction issues. In an assistance program for America’s neediest families, sanctions should be fair and rare. During a time of extreme economic insecurity for millions, needy families should be aided, not hurt, by TANF.

– Read “The Sanction Epidemic in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program” here.

– To learn more about Legal Momentum’s work with TANF, click here.

– To learn more about TANF reauthorization, click here.

– To learn more about Legal Momentum, click here.