State-level data on TANF policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 mitigation measures prompted many states to revise the administration of their welfare programs. States adopted policies that varied across the U.S. to respond to the difficulties in fulfilling program requirements, as well as increased financial need. This dataset captures the changes made...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	BMC research notes 2023-06, Vol.16 (1), p.97-97, Article 97
Main Authors:	Dore, Emily C, Shafer, Paul R, Livingston, 3rd, Melvin D
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Control Coronaviruses COVID-19 COVID-19 - epidemiology COVID-19 - prevention & control Data Note Datasets Epidemics Governors Humans Internet Laws, regulations and rules Medical research Pandemics Pandemics - prevention & control Policy Poverty Public assistance programs Sanctions Social Welfare TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Time limits United States - epidemiology Websites Welfare Work requirements
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Summary:	COVID-19 mitigation measures prompted many states to revise the administration of their welfare programs. States adopted policies that varied across the U.S. to respond to the difficulties in fulfilling program requirements, as well as increased financial need. This dataset captures the changes made to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, from March 2020 through December 2020. The authors created this dataset as part of a larger study that examined the health effects of TANF policy changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. TANF is the main cash assistance program for low-income families in the U.S., but benefits are often conditional on work requirements and can be revoked if an individual is deemed noncompliant. Structural factors during the COVID-19 pandemic made meeting these criteria more difficult, so some states relaxed their rules and increased their benefits. This dataset captures 24 types of policies that state TANF programs enacted, which of the states enacted each of them, when the policies went into effect, and when applicable, when the policies ended. These data can be used to study the effects of TANF policy changes on various health and programmatic outcomes.
ISSN:	1756-0500 1756-0500