In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-193), a welfare reform plan that requires work in exchange for time-limited assistance. A new system of block grants to states for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) was created, changing the nature and provision of welfare benefits in America. Moving people from welfare into work is now one of the primary goals of federal welfare policy. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997, signed by President Clinton in 1997 helps to achieve that goal by authorizing the U. S. Department of Labor to provide $2 billion annually in Welfare-to-Work grants to states and local communities to create additional job opportunities for the hardest-to-employ recipients of TANF.

Low basic skills are among the most common barriers to employment for TANF clients. Research has shown that recipients with work barriers are less likely to find jobs, have lower earnings on average, and are more likely to lose assistance because of a sanction for program noncompliance than families without barriers.

The law that created TANF expires on September 30, 2002. Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize the program, which will set the nation's welfare policies for the next five years. Congress is also considering some modifications to the rules and funding of the TANF program, including the rules that apply to adult education and training opportunities.

Welfare Legislation

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Public Law 104-193 Text of the Law

Key Resources for Reauthorization

• Working Toward Independence: The President's Plan to Strengthen Welfare Reform
• The Office of Family Assistance (OFA), located in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, oversees the TANF Program and provides information on TANF reauthorization at http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/ofa/.
• The Employment and Training Administration, located in the U.S. Department of Labor, oversees the Welfare-to-Work grant program and provides information on that program and TANF reauthorization at http://wtw.doleta.gov/.

Key Resources

• Welfare and Literacy Facts
• What Works: Integrating Basic Skills Training Into Welfare-to-Work, September 1998
• States Can Use Family Literacy Programs to Support Welfare Reform Goals, June 1998
• Learn to Earn: Issues Raised by Welfare Reform for Adult Education, Training and Work, 1997

NIFL Policy Updates

• New Reports Underscore Importance of Literacy, July 1999
• Learning Disabilities and Welfare-to-Work, August 1998
• Welfare-to-Work Grants, January 1998
• How to Prepare for Welfare Changes Part II in a Series, March 1997
• How to Prepare for Welfare Changes Part I in a Series, October 1996
• Welfare Overhaul Challenges Literacy Field, August 1996
• Senate Passes Welfare Legislation; Includes Simon-Specter Literacy Provision, July 1996 
• Congress Considers Literacy Legislation: Welfare and Immigration Changes Also on the Horizon, May 1996
• Congress Reconvenes in September to Debate Welfare and Adult Education, September 1995

Links for More Information

• The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center has developed a special report series on TANF reauthorization.
• Center for Law and Social Policy. A national non-profit organization which seeks to improve the economic conditions of low income families through education, policy research and advocacy.
• The Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that develops and evaluates innovative approaches to moving people from welfare to work and improving education for at-risk youth.
• National Center for Family Literacy. A non-profit organization supporting family literacy services for families through programming, training, research, advocacy and dissemination.
• National Governor's Association. A bipartisan national organization of, by, and for the nations' Governors.
• Welfare Information Network. A clearinghouse for information, policy analysis and technical assistance on welfare reform.
• The Urban Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research and educational organization established to examine the social, economic, and governance problems facing the nation. It provides information and analysis to public and private decision makers to help them address these challenges and strives to raise citizen understanding of these issues and tradeoffs in policy making.

Which members of Congress have jurisdiction over welfare reform and welfare-to-work policy?

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