The District’s Dime Blog: Cutting TANF Would Harm DC’s Kids

In a guest blog for the DC Fiscal Policy Insitute, Children’s Law Center Policy Attorney Kimberly Waller calls on the DC Council to extend the time limit for families on TANF. WIthout the extention, over 6,000 struggling families will lose TANF benefits that help them meet the most basic needs of 13,000 children. She says:

We don’t have to guess about how the loss of TANF will impact DC’s kids. The experiences of families in other jurisdictions tell us that cuts in TANF benefits have resulted in increased hunger and poor health outcomes among children. Additionally, children in families who have lost TANF support do worse in a number of developmental areas and score lower on tests of quantitative and reading skills, resulting in long-ranging effects on these children’s ability to finish school and find meaningful work as adults.

…The bottom line: eliminating TANF payments to families is the wrong thing to do. It will hurt children and will strain our social safety net.

Read the full blog post by clicking on the link below.