<P> Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF / tænf /) is one of the United States of America's federal assistance programs . It began on July 1, 1997, and succeeded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, providing cash assistance to indigent American families through the United States Department of Health and Human Services . This cash benefit is often referred to simply as "welfare ." </P> <P> TANF was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act instituted under President Bill Clinton in 1996 . The Act provides temporary financial assistance while aiming to get people off of that assistance, primarily through employment . There is a maximum of 60 months of benefits within one's lifetime, but some states have instituted shorter periods . The reform granted states wide discretion of how to distribute TANF entitlements . States also have the authority to eliminate payments to recipients altogether . Under the new act, TANF recipients are required to find a job within 24 months of receiving aid . In enforcing the 60 - month time limit, some states place limits on the adult portion of the assistance only, while still aiding the otherwise eligible children in the household . </P> <P> Prior to TANF, Aid to Families with Dependent Children was a major federal assistance program that was coming under heavy criticism . Some argued that such programs were ineffective, promoted dependency on the government, and encouraged behaviors detrimental to escaping from poverty . Some people also argued that TANF is detrimental to its recipients because using these programs have a stigma attached to them, which makes the people that use them less likely to participate politically to defend this program, and thus the programs have been subsequently weakened . Beginning with President Ronald Reagan's administration and continuing through the first few years of the Clinton administration, growing dissatisfaction with AFDC, particularly the rise in welfare caseloads, led an increasing number of states to seek waivers from AFDC rules to allow states to more stringently enforce work requirements for welfare recipients . The 27 percent increase in caseloads between 1990 and 1994 accelerated the push by states to implement more radical welfare reform . </P> <P> States that were granted waivers from AFDC program rules to run mandatory welfare - to - work programs were also required to rigorously evaluate the success of their programs . As a result, many types of mandatory welfare - to - work programs were evaluated in the early 1990s . While reviews of such programs found that almost all programs led to significant increases in employment and reductions in welfare rolls, there was little evidence that income among former welfare recipients had increased . In effect, increases in earnings from jobs were offset by losses in public income, leading many to conclude that these programs had no anti-poverty effects . However, the findings that welfare - to - work programs did have some effect in reducing dependence on government increased support among policymakers for moving welfare recipients into employment . </P>

Exceptions to the eligibility rules to receive tanf include