This paper discusses that TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Families (AFDC) portion of federally financed
welfare assistance and was radically different than it. This paper describes that TANF consists of block grants of fixed amounts of federal funds to the states, which are free to provide welfare assistance to the poor on such terms as they individually see fit, subject to only to constitutional requirements and federal guidelines. The author feels that the aim of the TANF is to reduce the welfare rolls and associated costs by imposing time and other
limitations on the availability of welfare benefits and by encouraging the transition of recipients from welfare to work. Table of Contents Background Demands for Welfare Reform in the 1980s First Three Years of Clinton Administration (1993-1995) Passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 Evaluation of the Impact and Success or Failure of TANF Conclusion