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effort to decrease the number of families living in poverty and to promote self-sufficiency, housing stability, and food security, other states have raised the TANF benefit at varying levels.

Expanded TANF Programming Virginia funds many initiatives and programs through a direct appropriation of the TANF surplus or “discretionary” dollars. In this report, we provide a list of those programs, along with their alignment with the core purpose of the TANF program, and any outcomes reported. Some programs have a clear purpose that aligns with the federal TANF goals and report associated outcomes. Other programs have not historically reported outcomes data directly related to these goals. In Attachment B, we also provide a comparison of their allocated funding v. expenditures in prior fiscal years.

Recommendations The TANF working group met to consider options for changes to the block grant funding. The following recommendations summarize the discussions:

1. The General Assembly should consider utilizing the TANF block grant to mitigate the impact low-income households will experience when the federal government declares an end to the public health emergency (PHE). 2. In order to ensure structural balance, the General Assembly should focus on reductions in the Expanded Programming Category or continuing to support those programs with state general funds. 3. When evaluating the Expanded Programming Category, the General Assembly should consider the following: o whether each organization funded provides services that further the statutory purpose of the TANF program and whether the organization has submitted data to demonstrate their performance. o whether organization funded receives other state or federal funding. o whether funding needs to be adjusted or eliminated based on the organization’s expenditures v. current allocation in prior fiscal year(s).

TANF Spending Summary

Virginia has a wide variety of programs funded with TANF discretionary dollars. Discretionary TANF funding has been increasingly available as cash assistance caseloads have fallen and payment levels have stagnated. Currently, basic cash assistance makes up 15.7% of TANF appropriations.

FY2023