The welfare reform law of 1996 required Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) recipients to meet “stringent work requirements.” TANF is delivered to states through block grants, which require that states place a certain percentage of people into the workforce. However, many of these jobs are low-wage, and states discourage people from acquiring skills for better jobs, pushing them to find a job as soon as possible. Lacking training or education, these low-wage workers find it nearly impossible to advance into higher paying jobs.The number of TANF recipients has decreased from 13 million in 1995 to three million today. And those who could not find even low-skill jobs in the allowed amount of time lost all government help, which thrust them into deep poverty. Today, about 1.5 million households, including about three million children, are living on $2.00 per person or less per day.
Source: The Atlantic, 7/11/16, Failing Welfare Reform
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