U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America
|
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services |
|
|
Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America |
Font Size 
Print 
Download Reader 
This is an archive page. The links are no longer being updated.
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2001 |
Contact: | ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215 |
The nation's governors, state legislators, county officials, welfare program directors and welfare recipients will be invited to discuss ways to strengthen the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which was created by the welfare reform legislation enacted in 1996. The sessions will allow Secretary Thompson and other top HHS officials to learn more about states' experiences implementing welfare reforms and running assistance programs.
"Welfare reform has been a remarkable success story, resulting in historic reductions in welfare dependency and child poverty, and dramatic gains in employment -- especially among single mothers. Yet, welfare reform has only just begun," Secretary Thompson said. "We must now build on the lessons of the past five years to help more families become self-sufficient in the future."
Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., HHS assistant secretary for children and families, will lead the five regional sessions, starting Sept. 24 in Atlanta. Other sessions will be scheduled for this fall in Chicago, Dallas, New York and San Francisco. Horn heads HHS' Administration for Children and Families, which oversees the TANF program.
"These sessions will allow us to learn what governors, recipients and others on the front lines of welfare reform see as the best ways to build upon our successes," Horn said. "As we prepare to reauthorize this legislation, we need to pay close attention to what works at the state and local levels to identify strategies to further improve the lives of America's children."
These sessions are an initial step by the Bush administration to develop TANF reauthorization legislation. TANF, which was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act of 1996, provides $16.5 billion in federal block grant funds to states each year to provide cash assistance to needy families, support their transition to work and self-sufficiency, and promote the formation of two-parent families.
The TANF program is currently authorized through fiscal year 2002, and Congress will consider reauthorization of the program next year. An HHS fact sheet on welfare reform implementation is available at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/01fswelreform.html. More information about welfare reform is available atwww.acf.dhhs.gov.
###