Before welfare reform in 1996, states were mostly required to give cash assistance to anyone who was eligible — without work requirements or time limits. The amount of money from the federal government varied year to year based on need. After welfare reform, the government capped the program at $16.5 billion dollars. Now, states receive a block grant, and they can choose to spend their federal money as long as it fits within four categories:
Oklahoma spends a small percentage of its welfare dollars on either cash assistance or work support. After welfare reform, states began receiving money from the federal government in a block grant to be used toward any of the four purposes of the welfare reform law. Oklahoma is among a number of states that have used that flexibility to shift spending toward areas like promoting marriage and support for maintaining two-parent families. As a result, in 2014, the state spent 9 percent of its total welfare funds — or $18 million — on cash assistance for poor families. About half that amount — $9.8 million — went to programs designed to promote marriage and reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Among those, a for-profit public relations campaign that teaches couples relationship skills.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Note: Single-year labels represent two-year averages; for example '2016' represents '2015-2016'.
In 2016, there were about 80,000 fewer TANF cases than the number of families with children in poverty in Oklahoma. Put another way, for every 100 families with children in poverty, just 8 received TANF assistance.
