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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005
Contact: Jane Norris
(202) 401-9215
ACF Awards $200M in Welfare Bonuses
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced $200 million in High Performance Bonuses from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The awards to 41 states and the District of Columbia are for transitioning welfare recipients to work and for job retention, increased earnings or meeting other goals of welfare reform.
“States are being awarded for helping low-income families become self-sufficient through work and higher earnings,” said HHS Assistant Secretary for Children and Families Wade F. Horn, Ph.D. “Welfare reform is working because more families are finding work and entering the economic mainstream.”
The 1996 TANF law authorized bonuses to states for annual achievements aimed at strengthening families through work and reforming the welfare system. Awards for each state depend upon its performance in achieving goals and the size of each state’s TANF block grant.
“I congratulate these states for earning high performance bonuses,” said HHS Director of the Office of Family Assistance Sidonie Squier. “The Bush Administration will continue to work with states to promote work and job advancement instead of welfare dependency so we can improve the lives of more children and families.”
Since 2002, the TANF legislation has been operating under a series of temporary extensions. President Bush’s proposal to reauthorize TANF would strengthen work requirements, provide assistance to help families advance in their careers and grant states greater flexibility to run successful programs.
For a complete list of high performance bonuses, view http://www.acf.hhs.gov/news/press/2005/hpb_2005.htm.
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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news