Page 7
7 North Carolina
Strategy 1 Provide families with tools to save money and help to make sure they really are better off working than on Work First.
Strategy 2 Increase resource limits to ease the burden on low-income families pursuant to the change from Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) to Work First.
Strategy 3 Raise income eligibility limits for families who receive subsidized childcare to help families stay employed.
Strategy 4 Counties continue providing services, such as transportation, child care, financial counseling, short-term training, and child and family enrichment services to families whose income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
Strategy 5 Families leaving Work First Cash Assistance for work may receive a Job Bonus payment for up to three months.
Ensuring optimal health and well-being of all North Carolinians is of the utmost concern. Toward that end, North Carolina has taken advantage of the opportunity offered by the TANF Block Grant to enhance our efforts in this area.
The NC TANF program provided services to approximately 44,565 cases with 85,224 participants during the previous state plan years. Adult recipients that remain on the caseload have multiple barriers that include but are not limited to medical and mental health issues, learning disabilities, lack of skills and work experience.
Federal Fiscal Year Caseload Size # of Participants FFY 2022 15,993 30,802 FFY 2023 15,631 30,374 FFY 2024 12,941
24,048
Due to the changes in the work requirements associated with the program, low Work First benefit amounts, an increase in the job market in NC, and the Public Health Emergency, the Work First program has and continues to experience a continuous decline in individuals applying for assistance. The numbers remained steady from FFY 2022 to FFY 2023 due to the Public Health Emergency (PHE) flexibilities. These flexibilities allowed for the postponement of sanctions due to non-compliance with work requirements. When the Federal PHE was lifted the caseload trends continued to decline more rapidly.