Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a program that gives monthly cash grants to children and their families in need. Families use it to pay rent, utilities, clothing, hygiene products, diapers, and transportation. Families that qualify for TANF are the poorest of the poor. Though families qualify for TANF almost a third decide not to apply because of the barriers they face throughout the process. CCH, along with our advocacy partners, are working to make TANF a workable program for all.
2018: COIN (Creating Opportunities for Illinoisans in Need) Act
You can read the report brief below:
This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
You can read the report brief below:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
The COIN II Act commits all child support funds go straight to families across Illinois.
Housing is just the start of making a home. Help give families another chance to start a cycle of change, to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and to make housing a human right.
You can read the report brief below:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
The COIN II Act commits all child support funds go straight to families across Illinois.
Housing is just the start of making a home. Help give families another chance to start a cycle of change, to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and to make housing a human right.
You can read the report brief below:
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
In other states, when child support went to supporting the child relationships between kids and their non-custodial parent relationships improved as well as the relationship between the two parents when the family received these funds.
The COIN II Act commits all child support funds go straight to families across Illinois.
Housing is just the start of making a home. Help give families another chance to start a cycle of change, to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and to make housing a human right.
You can read the report brief below:
This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
TANF Research
Each year CCH hosts focus groups with TANF-eligible families to learn more about the program and the barriers they face in applying for and maintaining TANF. With that work in mind CCH along with Heartland began a project that would change the way we think about cash assistance programs in our community.
In expanding the work, Heartland and CCH wanted to move away from focus groups and instead have the people impacted (those with lived experience) create the hypothesis and questions, and engage their communities to determine the next steps in the advocacy. This led to the creation of the Research Advisory Board (RAB), with the collaboration of Heartland Alliance, Heartland Alliance’s Social IMPACT Research Center and CCH’s Organizing and Policy Departments.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]The Research Advisory Board includes Ms. Betty, Maxica Williams, and Taishi Neuman. Two RAB members Ms. Leeanna Majors and Ms. Edrika Fulford passed before the report was finished. We remember them both, and their work as researchers and advocates for this project will never be forgotten.
Their research started by looking at TANF administrative data from October 2017 – April 2021.
The research had a few major takeaways:
Less than two-thirds of estimated eligible families with children under 5 were enrolled in TANF in 2018 (62%) and 2019 (63%). Black families are disproportionately sanctioned as compared to other racial groups in Illinois. While the bureaucracy of TANF is the most frequently reported reason that a family is sanctioned, Black families are more likely to be sanctioned for child support non-compliance.
2022: HB4423
This year, in the FY22 legislative session CCH and Heartland Alliance worked alongside Leader Marcus Evans and Senator Adriane Johnson to introduce HB4423: Creating Opportunity for Illinoisans in Need II (COIN II). This legislation will raise the TANF grant amount to 50% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). This is the next step from the COIN Act passed in 2018 which raised grants to 30% of the FPL.
With COIN II, the same mom and two children would now be able to get $915 in cash grants each month. This bill would also make sure all paid child support goes to the child and isn’t retained by the government. Currently, the state retains $30-50 million annually in child support paid by the noncustodial family For each dollar these parents pay in child support only 14 cents is given to their child.
In other states, when child support went to supporting the child relationships between kids and their non-custodial parent relationships improved as well as the relationship between the two parents when the family received these funds.
The COIN II Act commits all child support funds go straight to families across Illinois.
Housing is just the start of making a home. Help give families another chance to start a cycle of change, to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and to make housing a human right.
You can read the report brief below:
This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
HB88 removed the barrier of denying cash assistance to families where a parent has a drug felony.
This bar only worked to ensure families remained in a cycle of poverty. This made parents face an uphill battle in gaining employment, housing, and support services. HB88 gives parents a real chance to successfully re-enter their communities and successfully parent their children.
TANF Research
Each year CCH hosts focus groups with TANF-eligible families to learn more about the program and the barriers they face in applying for and maintaining TANF. With that work in mind CCH along with Heartland began a project that would change the way we think about cash assistance programs in our community.
In expanding the work, Heartland and CCH wanted to move away from focus groups and instead have the people impacted (those with lived experience) create the hypothesis and questions, and engage their communities to determine the next steps in the advocacy. This led to the creation of the Research Advisory Board (RAB), with the collaboration of Heartland Alliance, Heartland Alliance’s Social IMPACT Research Center and CCH’s Organizing and Policy Departments.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]The Research Advisory Board includes Ms. Betty, Maxica Williams, and Taishi Neuman. Two RAB members Ms. Leeanna Majors and Ms. Edrika Fulford passed before the report was finished. We remember them both, and their work as researchers and advocates for this project will never be forgotten.
Their research started by looking at TANF administrative data from October 2017 – April 2021.
The research had a few major takeaways:
Less than two-thirds of estimated eligible families with children under 5 were enrolled in TANF in 2018 (62%) and 2019 (63%). Black families are disproportionately sanctioned as compared to other racial groups in Illinois. While the bureaucracy of TANF is the most frequently reported reason that a family is sanctioned, Black families are more likely to be sanctioned for child support non-compliance.
2022: HB4423
This year, in the FY22 legislative session CCH and Heartland Alliance worked alongside Leader Marcus Evans and Senator Adriane Johnson to introduce HB4423: Creating Opportunity for Illinoisans in Need II (COIN II). This legislation will raise the TANF grant amount to 50% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). This is the next step from the COIN Act passed in 2018 which raised grants to 30% of the FPL.
With COIN II, the same mom and two children would now be able to get $915 in cash grants each month. This bill would also make sure all paid child support goes to the child and isn’t retained by the government. Currently, the state retains $30-50 million annually in child support paid by the noncustodial family For each dollar these parents pay in child support only 14 cents is given to their child.
In other states, when child support went to supporting the child relationships between kids and their non-custodial parent relationships improved as well as the relationship between the two parents when the family received these funds.
The COIN II Act commits all child support funds go straight to families across Illinois.
Housing is just the start of making a home. Help give families another chance to start a cycle of change, to keep the utilities on, food on the table, and to make housing a human right.
You can read the report brief below:
This blog was put together by CCH’s communications department using past legislative summaries written by Niya Kelly, and with considerable reference to the TANF: Resigned to the Process report.
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is now Chicago Coalition to end Homelessness (CCH).