ABSTRACT
In August 1996, the president signed a comprehensive federal welfare reform bill, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which consolidated the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Emergency Assistance, and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) programs into a single block grant for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The primary focus of the 1996 act was to (1) provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; (2) end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; (3) prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numeric goals toward this end; and (4) encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
