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Promising Practices Catalog
 Economic Success Clearinghouse/WIN
Out-of-School Time
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Time Limits
The Personal Responsibility and Work
Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) forbids use of
federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to provide
assistance to a family for more than 60 months (5 years) in total.
(States however, may use their own funds to provide assistance to
families after they have reached the 60 month threshold.) A state may
exempt up to 20% of the average monthly TANF caseload from these time
limits for hardship reasons, or if the family includes a domestic
violence victim.
PRWORA
also requires that welfare recipients engage in "work" (as defined by
the state) within 24 months of receiving benefits, and some states have
their own more stringent work requirement deadlines. Information on
time limits related to work requirements is included in our TANF Work Requirements page.
Welfare clients who are reaching time limits typically fall into three categories:
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Hard-to-serve
recipients with multiple barriers to self-sufficiency who are long-time
recipients or who cycle on and off assistance.
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Employed
recipients in states with earnings disregard policies or other 'make
work pay' policies who remain eligible for cash assistance because
their earnings are not adequate to achieve self-sufficiency.
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Long-time recipients with little evidence of employment barriers, but no success in securing employment.
Resources from The Finance Project
What Happens Next? Post-Time-Limit Program
by Jan Kaplan,
The Finance Project, December 2001
TANF Reauthorization and Time Limits, Vol. 2, No. 4
by Jan Kaplan,
The Finance Project, May 2001
State Policies and The TANF Time Limit Clock
by Jan Kaplan,
The Finance Project, November 1999
Other Resources
Welfare Time Limits: An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families
by Mary Farrell; Sarah Rich; Lesley Turner; David Seith; Dan Bloom,
Lewin Group/MDRC, April 2008
Getting On, Staying On, and Getting Off Welfare: The Complexity of State-by-State Policy Choices
by Gretchen Rowe and Linda Giannarelli,
The Urban Institute, July 2006
See Description
Welfare Reform in Miami: Implementation, Effects, and Experiences of Poor Families and Neighborhoods
by Thomas Brock, Isaac Kwakye, Judy C. Polyné, Lashawn Richburg-Hayes, David Seith, Alex Stepick,Carol Dutton Stepick with Tara Cullen and Sarah Rich,
MDRC, June 2004
See Description
Time Limits, Employment,and State Flexibility in TANF Programming: How States Can Use Time Limits and Earnings Disregards to Support Employment Goals, Preserve Flexibility, and Meet Stricter Federal Participation Requirements
by John M. Bouman, Margaret Stapleton, and Deb McKee,
National Center on Poverty Law, September 2003
Earning Back Time: Who Would Benefit from Work-Related Time Limit Exemptions?
by Katherin Ross Phillips,
Urban Institute, September 2002
Time Limited TANF Recipients
by Andrea Wilkins,
National Conference of State Legislatures, July 2002
Time-Limited TANF Recipients
by Andrea Wilkins,
National Conference of State Legislatures, July 2002
Welfare Reform: With TANF Flexibility, States Vary in How They Implement Work Requirements and Time Limits
by U.S. General Accounting Office,
, July 2002
Welfare Time Limits: State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families
by Dan Bloom, Mary Farrell, and Barbara Fink with Diana Adams-Ciardullo,
MDRC, July 2002
With TANF Flexibility, States Vary in How They Implement Work Requirements and Time Limits
General Accounting Office, July 2002
See Description
Experiences of Virginia Time Limit Families After Case Closure: 18-Month Followup with Cases Closed in 1998 and 1999
by Anne Gordon, Jacqueline Kauff, Carole Kuhns, and Renee Loeffler,
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., June 2002
See Description
Experiences of Virginia Time Limit Families After Case Closure,
by Gordon, James-Burdumy, et al.,,
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., January 2002
Exceptions to the Rule: The Implementation of 24-Month Time-Limit Extensions in W-W
by Susan Gooden and Fred Doolittle,
MDRC, December 2001
The End of Welfare as They Knew It: What Happens When Welfare Recipients Reach Their Time Limits?
by Bania, Coulton, et al.,
Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change, October 2001
After Time Limits: A Study of Households Leaving Welfare Between December 1998 and April 1999
Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance, November 2000
Time Limits, Exemption and Disclosure: TANF Caseworkers and Clients with Disabilities
by Jaimie Ciulla Timmons and Danielle Dreilinger,
Institute for Community Inclusion, November 2000
How Should I Talk with Recipients About Welfare Time Limits?
by Dan Bloom,
MDRC, August 2000
See Description
Experiences of Virginia Time Limit Families in the Six Months After Case Closure: Results for an Early Cohort
by Anne Gordon, Carole Kuhns, Renee Loeffler, Roberto Agodini,
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., May 2000
Sanctions and Exits: What do States Know About Families Who Leave Welfare because of Sanctions and Time Limits?
by Jack Tweedie,
Joint Center for Poverty Research (JCPR), January 2000
Welfare Dynamics under Time Limits
by Jeff Grogger and Charles Michalopoulos,
Joint Center for Poverty Research (JCPR), January 2000
Connecticut’s Welfare Reform Boosts Employment Rates: First Results from a Study of the Program with the Nation’s Shortest Welfare Time Limit
MDRC 1999
Welfare Reform: Time Limits Under TANF
by Gene Falk,
Congressional Research Service, November 1998
See Description
Time Limiting Welfare: Lessons from the States
by Judith M. Gueron,
Welfare Reform Academy, February 1998
Approaching the Limit: Early Lessons From Welfare Reform
by Sheldon Danziger,
University of Michigan School of Social Work
See Description
Family Transition Program: Final Report on Florida's Initial Time-Limited Welfare Program
by Dan Bloom, James P. Kemple, Pamela Morris, Susan Scrivener, Nandita Verma, and Richard Hendra,
MDRC
See Description
How Much do Welfare Recipients Know About Time Limits?
by Sheila R. Zedlewski and Jennifer Holland,
Urban Institute
Sanctions and Time Limits: State Policies, Their Implementation, and Outcomes for Families
by Dan Bloom, MDRC and LaDonna Pavetti, Mathematica,
University of Michigan, Ford School of Public Policy
See Description
Time Limits
See Description
Time Limits and Welfare Use
by Jeff Grogger,
National Bureau of Economic Research
Ways That States Can Serve Families That Reach Welfare Time Limits
by Liz Schott,
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Welfare Time Limits Nationwide and in the South
by Dan Bloom,
Center for Policy Research
What Welfare Recipients Know About the New Rules and What They Have to Say About Them
Johns Hopkins University
See Description
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For questions about the Economic Success Clearinghouse (formerly Welfare Information Network), email us at esinfo@financeproject.org.
Please note that The Finance Project does not provide services for low-income families. Individuals needing assistance should contact their local human service agency and social service organizations. |
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