The pandemic has taken a toll on many families’ economic security. Some families with low incomes lost employment or work hours, and families with children experienced heightened food insecurity and struggled to pay for housing costs.

One way states addressed these financial challenges was by extending the length of time families could receive cash assistance in ways that still met federal requirements. Through these policies, families receiving aid would not accrue months toward a time limit, families reaching a time limit could continue receiving benefits, or previously time-limited families could reapply for cash benefits.

States made these changes by altering their time limit policies in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF is a block grant program that provides cash assistance and other services to families with low incomes. Under TANF, states must adhere to federal rules but can set some policies at their discretion. Though there were no changes to federal TANF rules during the pandemic, most states used the program’s flexibility to modify their policies to provide more support for families.

Our new report shows how many states used this flexibility to temporarily change their policies during the pandemic. Some states implemented changes only to their shorter state time limit, which meant they could use either federal or state funds to pay for the benefits. For example, Connecticut has a 21-month lifetime limit, which is shorter than the 60-month federal lifetime limit. The state suspended its lifetime limit because of the COVID-19 pandemic; therefore, Connecticut could fund benefits for recipients beyond 21 months (and up to 60 months) with either state or federal funds.

Several other states used their own funds to exempt months from being counted toward a time limit or to extend benefits beyond the federal time limit. In Washington State, recipients could receive benefits beyond the 60-month time limit because of the pandemic. Because this is beyond the federal limit, the state used state funds to assist these recipients.

Read the full article about TANF opportunities by Ilham Dehry and Sarah Knowles at Urban Institute.