![]() Many of TANF’s rules mirror those dating back to cash programs of the early 20th century, and many of its assumptions reflect anti-Black racism dating back to enslavement. In the decade after policymakers remade the cash assistance system, it became much less effective at protecting children from deep poverty - that is, at lifting their incomes above half of the poverty line - and children’s deep poverty rose, particularly among Black and Latinx children. ![]() Also, Black children are more likely than white children to live in states where benefits are the lowest and where the program reaches the fewest families in poverty. TANF’s harsh work requirements and arbitrary time limits disproportionally cut off Black and other families of color. But much of the debate around the 1996 law was centered (often implicitly, but sometimes explicitly) on Black mothers, who were portrayed as needing a “stick” to compel them to be more responsible and leave the program. The “Black Women Best” (BWB) framework developed by Janelle Jones, now Chief Economist at the Department of Labor, “argues if Black women - who, since our nation’s founding, have been among the most excluded and exploited by the rules that structure our society - can one day thrive in the economy, then it must finally be working for everyone.” Consistent with Jones’ framework, redesigning TANF so that it centers the needs of Black women and families, adequately helps families struggling to afford the basics, and offers meaningful opportunities to gain skills and secure quality jobs would better serve families of all races and ethnicities, improving child outcomes and reducing hardship.įederal policymakers created TANF in 1996 with the purported promise of helping families lift themselves out of poverty through work. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist, One World, 2019 and Dismantling Racism, “What is Racism?: Racism Defined,”. hite supremacy is] ever present in our institutional and cultural assumptions that assign value.” White supremacy: “The idea (ideology) that white people and the ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions of white people are superior to People of Color and their ideas, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Racist policy: any policy or practice, written or unwritten, that creates or maintains racial disparities in access to public assistance, housing, goods and services, opportunity, and well-being. ![]() Racist ideas are created to justify and sustain racist policy. Racist idea: any idea that regards one racial or ethnic group as inferior or superior to another in any way. Antiracism as a broader philosophy recognizes racist policies, not just racist ideas, as a root of racial inequality. Below we define terms used in this report to describe policies that work either to uphold or to eliminate racism, a system of oppression based on race.Īntiracist policy: any policy that promotes or maintains racial equality, including by reversing racist policies and their effects. TANF does not refer explicitly to participants’ race or ethnicity, but historical racism and contemporary patterns of racial discrimination and bias affect who has access to cash assistance. (It does not cover the full scope of TANF policies that are racist and should be changed, including child support enforcement requirements that apply to custodial parents and exclusions of immigrants.) This legacy of exclusion and subjugation is a major reason why TANF cash assistance, though a critical support for some, doesn’t meet the needs of most families in poverty, regardless of their race or ethnicity. It then shows how these ideas and policies still influence TANF today. This paper, the first in a series on TANF and race, documents more than a century of false and harmful narratives - such as that Black women are unfit mothers - and paternalistic policies that sought to control Black women’s behavior and compel their labor. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the nation’s primary program for providing cash assistance to families with children when parents are out of work or have very low income, is perhaps the clearest example of a program whose history is steeped in racist ideas and policies (see text box, “Defining Key Terms,” for definitions) that particularly strip Black women of their dignity. ![]() Economic security programs can help families meet basic needs and improve their lives, but design features influenced by anti-Black racism and sexism have created an inadequate system of support that particularly harms Black families and other families of color.
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