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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families State Plan: Georgia

The State of Georgia continues to operate a program to serve the broad purposes of Title 1, Block Grants to States for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (P.L.104- 193) using the State family assistance grant made under Section 103 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

Introduction

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (P.L. 104- 193), Title I, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) states that the purpose of the TANF program is to strengthen the economic and social stability of families, in part by:

• Providing assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their homes or in the homes of relatives; • Ending the dependency of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; • Preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies and establishing annual numerical goals for preventing and reducing the incidence of these pregnancies; and • Encouraging the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

Georgia will continue to conduct a program under the provisions of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) and the Deficit Reduction act of 2005 (DRA 2005). Georgia’s primary goal is to provide necessary assistance on a temporary basis to needy families with children, to assist parents with job preparation, and to provide work opportunities, support services, and the enforcement of child support obligations to children living in these families.

Georgia will not discriminate against any person applying for or receiving TANF due to race, color, national origin, disability, age, or any other protected status. In so doing, Georgia will help all needy families become self-sufficient and able to leave the TANF program as soon as possible. There is no entitlement to any assistance under Georgia’s TANF program. Assistance is provided for a maximum of forty-eight months, except as noted in the hardship sections of this plan.

Promoting the well-being of the children of Georgia is a major part of the mission for the Department of Human Services (DHS) and its Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS). In order to fulfill its mission, the Department assists families in their efforts to acquire the necessary means to achieve economic self-sufficiency. Assistance is provided in the following manner:

• Work activities that include job search, job training, and assistance with job placement; • Support services such as childcare, transportation assistance, and reimbursement for other necessary expenditures that can assist families in obtaining employment and remaining employed;