Last Updated 09/14/2023
One strategy for getting additional cash to TANF recipients to help them meet their basic needs is to provide special purpose payments regularly or at select times during the year. In some states, it may be easier to garner support for special purpose payments than for grant increases. In some states, it may also be possible to authorize such payments administratively without the need for legislative approval. Since TANF recipients are already subject to time limits, work requirements and child support cooperation and assignment requirements, providing these additional payments do not trigger any additional behavioral requirements.
A key advantage of providing special purpose payments to TANF recipients is that they can be administered efficiently with no extra burden placed on recipients to apply for the additional funds or on staff to process the benefits. Special purpose payments can be provided to all recipients or to a subset of recipients with specific characteristics.
Depending on their design, they may, however, be considered as income for purposes of determining SNAP benefits. A quick rule of thumb is that payments that are received irregularly are not considered as income for purposes of determining the amount of a family’s SNAP benefits, but benefits received on a regular basis as cash are considered income for the purposes of determining the amount of a family’s SNAP benefits.
Some examples of special purpose benefits include the following:
- Housing supplements (see https://www.incomesecuritycbpp.org/housing-supplements-for-tanf-recipients/ for more detailed information and examples)
- Diaper benefits (see https://www.incomesecuritycbpp.org/diaper-need/ for more detailed information and examples)
- Clothing allowances: A number of states provide clothing allowances in August or September to help families cover the costs of purchasing clothing for the start of school. States can provide clothing allowances more than once during the year, for example, in December to cover the costs of purchasing winter clothing and in May to cover the costs of purchasing summer clothing.
- Utility allowances: States could provide extra payments to recipients at the start of summer to cover the extra costs for air conditioning and/or in the winter to cover the extra costs for heating
- Period supplies: States could provide an extra payment each month to cover the costs of period supplies. This fact sheet provides information on period poverty to support the need for additional benefits to cover the costs of period products: End Diaper Need and Period Poverty: Families Need Cash Assistance to Meet Basic Needs | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (cbpp.org)