Indiana TANF Spending
Indiana spent or transferred a total of $269,007,534.84 in federal TANF funds and state maintenance of effort funds in FY 2022.
This figure shows trends in TANF spending in Indiana from FY 2015-2022.
How TANF Dollars Were Spent in Indiana, FYs 2015-2022
Note: Total state TANF spending includes both expenditures and transfers for federal TANF funds and expenditures of state maintenance of effort funds, as reported by states in Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Form ACF-196R. While TANF’s authorizing legislation provides states $16.5 billion in fixed federal TANF funding, state spending may vary from year to year as states spend different amounts of maintenance of effort funds, receive and spend federal Contingency Funds, and spend unspent federal funds carried over from previous years or retain these funds for future use.
Definitions
Total Assistance Spending
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations define TANF assistance to include cash, payments, vouchers, and other forms of benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs (i.e., for food, clothing, shelter, utilities, household goods, personal care items, and general incidental expenses). These benefits may be conditioned on participation in work activities such as work experience or community service. The definition of assistance also includes supportive services such as transportation and child care provided to families who are not employed.
We identified the following categories of assistance expenditures, based on Administration for Children and Families reporting instructions:
Basic Assistance: Cash, payments, and other forms of benefits designed to meet a family's ongoing basic needs. Excludes Relative Foster Care Maintenance Payments and Adoption and Guardianship Subsidies.
Child Welfare Assistance: This is the sum of two Form ACF-196R categories:
Relative Foster Care Maintenance Payments and Adoption and Guardianship Subsidies: Basic assistance provided on behalf of a child involved in the state's child welfare system who is living with a caretaker relative. Also includes adoption subsidies.
Foster Care Payments Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Basic assistance provided on behalf of a child involved in the state's child welfare system who is in foster care, authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (codified at 42 U.S.C. 604(a)(2)) and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan.
Assistance Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: This is the sum of two Form ACF-196R categories:
Juvenile Justice Payments Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Basic assistance payments on behalf of children in the state's juvenile justice system, authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan..
Emergency Assistance Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Other benefits authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan.
Total Non-assistance Spending
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services TANF regulations exclude certain other benefits and services from the definition of assistance, creating another group of expenditures referred to as non-assistance. Non-assistance includes work subsidies, supportive services such as child care and transportation provided to families who are employed, refundable earned income tax credits, and services such as employment counseling and case management. Non-assistance expenditures also include nonrecurrent, short-term benefits that are designed to deal with a specific crisis situation or episode of need, are not intended to meet recurrent or ongoing needs, and will not extend beyond four months.
We identified the following categories of non-assistance expenditures, based on Administration for Children and Families reporting instructions:
Work, Education, and Training Activities: Payments to employers or third parties to cover the costs of employee wages, benefits, supervision, or training, job search assistance, and job readiness services. Expenditures on education and training activities, including secondary education, job skills training, and post-secondary education.
Refundable Tax Credits: This is the sum of two Form ACF-196R categories:
Refundable Earned Income Tax Credits: Refundable portion of state or local earned income tax credits (EITC) paid to families that are consistent with TANF regulations.
Non-EITC Refundable State Tax Credits: Refundable portion of other tax credits provided under state or local law that are consistent with TANF regulations.
Child Welfare Non-assistance: This is the sum of two Form ACF-196R categories:
Child Welfare or Foster Care Services Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Services provided to children and their families involved in the state's child welfare system, authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan.
Child Welfare Services: Services designed to strengthen families so that children can be cared for in their own homes, including family counseling, parenting skills classes, and case management. Services and activities designed to promote and support successful adoptions. Other services provided to children and families involved in or at risk of being involved in the child welfare system.
Pre-K: Pre-kindergarten or kindergarten education programs, expansion of Head Start programs, or other school readiness programs.
Other Non-assistance: This is the sum of 10 Form ACF-196R categories:
Juvenile Justice Services Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Juvenile justice services provided to children, youth, and families, authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan.
Emergency Services Authorized Solely Under Prior Law: Other services authorized solely under section 404(a)(2) of the Social Security Act and referenced in a state's former Aid to Families with Dependent Children or Emergency Assistance plan.
Financial Education and Asset Development: Programs and initiatives designed to support the development and protection of assets including contributions to Individual Development Accounts, financial education services, tax credit outreach campaigns and tax filing assistance programs, and credit and debt management counseling.
Non-Recurrent Short Term Benefits: Short-term payments to families to deal with a specific crisis situation or period of need, such as emergency housing, short-term utilities payments, and back-to-school payments.
Supportive Services: Services such as domestic violence services, and health, mental health, substance abuse and disability services, housing counseling services, and other family supports.
Services for Children and Youth: Programs designed to support and enrich the development and improve the life-skills and educational attainment of children and youth. This may include after-school programs and mentoring or tutoring programs.
Prevention of Out-of-Wedlock Pregnancies: Programs that provide sex education or abstinence education to pre-teens and teens and education and family planning services to individuals, couples, and families to reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies.
Fatherhood and Two-Parent Family Formation and Maintenance Programs: Programs that promote responsible fatherhood or encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families, such as parent and marriage skills workshops and public advertising campaigns.
Home Visiting Programs: Programs where nurses, social workers, or other professionals provide services to families in their homes, such as providing information and guidance around maternal health and child health and development and connecting families to necessary resources and services.
Other: Non-assistance activities not otherwise enumerated. States including expenditures on this line must provide a description of the specific benefits and services provided and the target population in their submission of Form ACF-196R Part 2.
Categories Containing Both Assistance and Non-assistance Spending
Child care and supportive services such as transportation are considered either assistance or non-assistance depending on whether the recipient family is employed--in which case the services are non-assistance--or not employed--in which case the services are assistance.
Work Supports: Assistance and non-assistance transportation benefits provided to help families obtain, retain, or advance in employment. Goods provided to individuals to help them obtain or maintain employment, such as tools, uniforms, and licensing fees.
Child Care: Child care assistance and non-assistance expenditures for families that need child care to work or participate in work activities.
Program Management
Program management includes administrative costs associated with contracts and subcontracts, Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income application services, case planning and management, and certain direct service provision. It also includes costs related to monitoring and tracking under the program, such as costs for information technology.
Total Transfers to Block Grants
TANF funds can be transferred for use under the Child Care and Development Fund and the Social Services Block Grant. States may transfer up to 30 percent of their federal TANF award to the Child Care and Development Fund and up to 10 percent of their federal TANF award to the Social Services Block Grant. Combined transfers to these two block grants cannot exceed 30 percent of the state's annual federal TANF grant. Transferred funds are subject to the rules of the program to which they are transferred.
We identified the following categories of transfers to other eligible block grants, based on Administration for Children and Families reporting instructions:
Transfers to the Child Care and Development Fund: Funds transferred to the Child Care and Development Fund. These funds are subject to the rules and regulations of the Child Care and Development Fund in place for the federal fiscal year at the time when the transfer occurs. A state can only transfer current-year federal TANF funds.
Transfers to the Social Services Block Grant: Funds transferred to the Social Services Block Grant. These funds are subject to the statute and regulations of the Social Services Block Grant program in place for the federal fiscal year at the time when the transfer occurs and are only to be used for programs and services to children or their families whose income is less than 200 percent of the income official poverty line as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. A state can only transfer current-year federal TANF funds.