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Extended TANF Cash Assistance

Pennsylvania’s provision for receipt of TANF assistance beyond the 60-month federal time limit is known as Extended TANF (ETANF). Regulations at 42 U.S.C.A. §608(a)(7)(C) and 45 CFR §264.1(c) give states the option to extend TANF beyond the 60-month limit to families that have a hardship as defined by the state or include an individual who has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty (DV). The number of families that may receive ETANF is limited to 20 percent of the average monthly number of families receiving TANF during the current or preceding FY. Pennsylvania is exercising this option.

The ETANF program was implemented on October 28, 2002. ETANF families who exhaust the 60-month time limit or who were granted ETANF during the contingency period are permitted to apply for ETANF cash assistance and meet eligibility requirements, as defined below. Among those who may qualify for ETANF are:

 Recipients who are exempt or have good cause for not meeting the work requirements;

 Recipients who are required and meeting the work requirements; and

 Recipients who are victims of DV.

Families who exhaust the TANF time limit and have their cash assistance discontinued may apply for and receive ETANF at a future time, if they are otherwise eligible. Funding for ETANF is all federal monies. Transitional Cash Assistance In accordance with 42 U.S.C.A. §609(a)(7)(B)(i) and subject to the availability of resources, DHS intends to provide funding included in the FY 2019-2020 budget for the Transitional Cash Assistance grant. Benefits received for this temporary supplemental grant period may be received up to three months.

Effective March 28, 2009, certain families who are ineligible for continued assistance in the TANF, ETANF or Time-Out programs due to earned income may be eligible for a temporary supplemental grant, known as Transitional Cash Assistance (TCA).

The purpose of TCA is to support families as they transition from dependence on welfare to self-sufficiency. Eligibility for this supplemental grant is limited to needy families, as defined in this State Plan, who have a gross annual earned income that does not exceed 235 percent of the FPIGs.