Testimony: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Description
Opening Statements by GAO Directors, Jeff Arkin, Kathy Larin, James Dalkin, and Seto Bagdoyan on April 8, 2025 to the House Committee on Ways & Means, Subcommittee on Work & Welfare.
Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant annually provides $16.5 billion to states.
Nationwide, state spending on TANF "non-assistance" services--such as job training and child welfare services--increased as a percentage of total TANF spending from fiscal year 2015 through fiscal year 2022 (from 40.8 to 44.2 percent). During that period, "assistance" spending, including cash payments to needy families, decreased as a percentage of total spending (from 27.2 to 25.2 percent).
This statement summarizes GAO's key findings from recent work related to (1) states' reporting on TANF expenditures; (2) states' use of TANF to provide child welfare services; (3) states' use of data on job training and other services funded by TANF; (4) the timeliness of state TANF single audit reports and the extent of unresolved TANF single audit findings; and (5) TANF fraud risk management.
Administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant annually provides $16.5 billion to states.
Nationwide, state spending on TANF "non-assistance" services--such as job training and child welfare services--increased as a percentage of total TANF spending from fiscal year 2015 through fiscal year 2022 (from 40.8 to 44.2 percent). During that period, "assistance" spending, including cash payments to needy families, decreased as a percentage of total spending (from 27.2 to 25.2 percent).
This statement summarizes GAO's key findings from recent work related to (1) states' reporting on TANF expenditures; (2) states' use of TANF to provide child welfare services; (3) states' use of data on job training and other services funded by TANF; (4) the timeliness of state TANF single audit reports and the extent of unresolved TANF single audit findings; and (5) TANF fraud risk management.