If the state Idaho’s Child Support Program doesn’t meet federal requirements by June 12, the state’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding of $30.4 million is threatened.

A list of programs that receive all or part of their funding from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is below. The budgets for these programs are a mix of state and federal funds. The percentages vary for each program, so it’s impossible to say at this point what the impact might be if Idaho stops receiving TANF funds. But we do know that each of these programs would be affected. We’re seeking more information and clarification from federal officials.

• Some services for Children’s Mental Health
• Some Child Care subsidy funds
• TAFI cash assistance program
• Work and Training Program
• Some Family and Children Services programs
• Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program
• Some DHW systems and Administration
• Some Head Start services (This is not a DHW program, but the money passes through the department.)
• Tribal TANF programs
• Child support for receipting-services only cases
• Rapid re-housing program
• IDA Savings Accounts program
• Refugee case management services

About TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, is used by states to help struggling families achieve self-sufficiency. The grant was an integral part of Welfare reform in the 1990s. Every state uses TANF funds differently; the federal government is very flexible in allowing states to develop original strategies to move families from public assistance to work and self-sufficiency. The program’s four purposes are to:

1. Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes
2. Reduce the dependency of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work and marriage
3. Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies
4. Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families