ABSTRACT
Chris and her three children are among the nearly three million “successful” families that have left Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the cash assistance program created in 1997 in the wake of welfare reform (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2005). Chris left welfare for work, and has been steadily employed for nearly three years – a model TANF leaver in every way. Yet on closer scrutiny, her story does not ring of success.
