The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Bank Street Graduate School of Education has released its 2025/2026 TANF Cash Assistance Policy Series, a comprehensive collection of updated resources designed to support policymakers, advocates, and researchers working to strengthen economic supports for children and families across the United States.
The series examines state-level policies related to the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides cash assistance and other supports to families experiencing poverty. Established in 1996, TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program and gives states flexibility in how federal block grant funding is allocated.
The updated series arrives at a critical moment, as many families may face changing access to other safety net programs, including SNAP and Medicaid. NCCP’s research highlights the important role direct cash assistance can play in supporting children’s health, educational outcomes, family stability, and long-term well-being.
“Direct cash assistance for families at the very lowest income levels can be effective in helping children remain safely cared for within their families during periods of economic hardship,” the report notes.
The 2025/2026 TANF Cash Assistance Policy Series includes four updated resources with a detailed look at how TANF programs operate across the country. The first resource, TANF State Profiles Across All 50 States and DC, examines how states administer TANF cash assistance, including the share of families living below the federal poverty level who receive assistance, how many families are currently served, how TANF block grant funding is allocated, and the amount of reserve funding states continue to hold.
A second resource, TANF Maximum Benefit Amounts Across All 50 States and DC Provided to Three-person Families, compares maximum TANF benefit amounts for three-person families across all 50 states and DC, allowing users to examine benefit levels in dollar amounts, as a share of the federal poverty level, and in relation to each state’s median income. The series also includes TANF Policies Linked to Child and Family Well-Being Across All 50 States and DC, an updated scorecard examining TANF policies associated with improved outcomes for children and reduced rates of child neglect and foster care placement. Finally, NCCP released TANF Policy Compendium Across All 50 States and DC, which enables users to sort, filter, and compare TANF cash assistance policies and funding data across states.
“As families across the country face growing economic uncertainty, it is critical that policymakers have access to clear, up-to-date information about how TANF policies affect children and caregivers,” said Karen Chatfield, Director, NCCP. “This series is designed to help advocates and decision-makers better understand where supports are working and where barriers to assistance remain.”
The report identifies several emerging national trends in TANF policy. In recent years, many states have taken steps to expand access to cash assistance by increasing benefit amounts, reducing administrative barriers, eliminating asset tests, and extending supports for pregnant individuals and working families. The series also highlights growing use of transitional benefits, housing supports, and diaper assistance programs funded through TANF in some states.
At the same time, NCCP’s analysis shows significant variation in TANF policies and benefit levels across the country. The average maximum monthly TANF benefit for a family of three in 2026 is $614—an amount that remains well below what most families need to meet basic needs. The report also notes that roughly four in five US families living below the poverty line do not receive TANF cash assistance, often because of restrictive eligibility policies and administrative hurdles.
The series encourages policymakers to consider how streamlined access to assistance, higher benefit levels, and complementary supports—such as housing assistance, diaper vouchers, and transitional benefits—can help improve family economic security and child well-being.
NCCP acknowledged partial support for this work from the Alliance for Early Success and the Straus Foundation.
Access the full 2025/2026 TANF Cash Assistance Policy Series