Tanf's Impact on Low-Income Mothers Raising Children with Disabilities (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) (Report‪)‬

In August 1996, Congress enacted the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act PRWORA), which replaced the longstanding cash assistance program, Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). AFDC was an open-ended entitlement program; TANF is a time-limited cash assistance program with strict work requirements. TANF's purview extended to include marriage promotion as a strategy to enhance family stability and reduce reliance on public welfare. PRWORA included four explicit program goals: (a) "provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives," (b) "end dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work and marriage," (c) "prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establish annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies," and (d) "encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families" (42 U.S.C. [section] 1305(A)(401)).