Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was created by the 1996 federal welfare reform bill and replaced the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. As a part of that change, “federal entitlement to assistance” under AFDC was replaced by block grants to the states, which were given “wide flexibility to develop and implement their own welfare programs.” Unlike AFDC, benefits under TANF were designed to be “time-limited” and to “promote work, responsibility and self-sufficiency.”
According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the purpose of TANF is to provide “short term assistance with basic needs for families with children whose lives have been disrupted by divorce, illness, unemployment or similar challenges.” TANF funds are used to provide cash assistance, funding for child care, “transportation benefits,” “employment support” and other benefits.
TANF eligibility levels
Eligibility for TANF involves a number of variables, but the maximum gross monthly income levels for TANF eligibility are as follows:
| Family Size | Maximum Gross Monthly Income | Maximum Gross Annual Income |
| 1 | $578 | $6,936 |
| 2 | $855 | $10,260 |
| 3 | $1116 | $13,392 |
| 4 | $1379 | $16,548 |
TANF benefits
As with eligibility, benefit levels under TANF vary according to circumstances, but the maximum available benefit available under TANF is as follows:
| Family Size | Maximum Monthly Benefit | Maximum Annual Benefit |
| 1 | $330 | $3,960 |
| 2 | $463 | $5,556 |
| 3 | $585 | $7,020 |
| 4 | $711 | $8,532 |
TANF Time Limits
The “Maine Public Assistance Manual,” “Families subject to the 60 month limit, in which an individual has received benefits as an adult for 60 months, will continue to receive TANF assistance provided that they are complying in all respects with TANF Program rules.” In other words, as the advocacy group Maine Equal Justice makes clear, Maine does “not have a TANF time limit the way many states do. In 1998 the Maine Legislature passed a law that says a family that follows all TANF program rules and still needs assistance after 60 months (5 years) will be able to get it.”
TANF spending
| Year | State General Fund | Federal spending | Total Spending |
| FY 2006 | $23.2 Million | $65.2 Million | $88.4 Million |
| FY 2007 | $23.2 Million | $71.7 Million | $94.9 Million |
| FY 2008 | $24.7 Million | $82.7 Million | $107.4 million |
TANF Caseload
| Year | Individual TANF Cases | TANF children | Total TANF Recipients (estimated – cases plus children) |
| March 2008 | 12,640 | 22,799 | 35,439 |
| March 2009 | 13,256 | 23,633 | 36,889 |
| March 2010 | 13,971 | 24,728 | 38,699 |
Maine’s TANF webpage: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/OIAS/
