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Change Coming To Kansas TANF Program

By Joel Hardy

04/13/2015

(KAIR)--Changes are coming soon to the Kansas Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program.

That word from State Representative Jerry Henry who says a bill that would limit benefits provided by the program was recently passed by state legislators. He explains that “it used to be that you could be on TANF for forty-eight months, now that's reduced to thirty-six months in your lifetime. So you have three years in your lifetime to get welfare, and if you need it after that, you are off.” Other restrictions include assistance to mothers who just gave birth being cut from twelve months to three months. Families will also only eligible for childcare for twenty-four months.

Also, almost everyone participating in the program will now have some very strict work requirements to adhere to.

Henry adds that in the past, the Secretary of Children and Families has been able to make exceptions to TANF rules. However, the new law would prevent this from happening in the future. He says “now we have put it in law, which means the Secretary is prohibited from making any kind of deviations from the law...so we really handcuffed ourselves, saying we really can't help you. Even the Governor can't help. It will now take a state law to change those parameters. So a lot of families that in the past have gotten some emergency help, will not be able to get it now.”

Henry says that Governor Sam Brownback is expected to sign the bill that legislators sent him earlier this month.

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