One Step Forward or Two Steps Back? Why the Bipartisan Senate Finanace Bill Reflects a Better Approach to TANF Reauthorization than the House Bill.

This document is comprised of three Center for Law and Policy articles dealing with reauthorization of funding for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The first article compares the U.S. House and Senate bills for reauthorization, asserting that in a broad array of areas, the Senate bill provides states with more flexibility and resources to help parents succeed in the labor force. The article then details 13 important ways in which the Senate bill reflects a better approach to welfare reform than the House bill. The second article examines the slowing trend in states' use of TANF funds since September 2001. The article notes that by the end of FY 2000, states redirected more TANF funds to their child care subsidy programs than were available through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). Since September 2001, however, a few states have pulled back TANF funds, and overall, states used slightly less for child care; the trend is likely to continue as the economy has worsened. These two articles contain references in the form of footnotes. The third article is a compilation of overhead slides for a presentation to the Welfare Reform Task Force at the National Conference of State Legislators. The slides pertain to work participation and child care funding issues in TANF reauthorization. In brief, the slides emphasize that rigid and prescriptive work requirements combined with little or no new child care funding will hurt state efforts, and that more flexible and outcome-oriented work provisions, along with increased child care funding comprise a better approach to welfare reform. (HTH)