Policies and practices that support and hinder Hispanic/Latinx families’ access to TANF

Experts at the National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families examined how Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) policies and administrative practices across 13 states influence utilization by Hispanic/Latinx families. Authors focused on the cash assistance component of TANF, which less than one-fourth of eligible families of any ethnicity received in 2018. They found that the high availability of application materials in Spanish likely supports Hispanic/Latinx families’ access to TANF cash assistance. However, policies around eligibility, particularly citizenship status requirements, and documentation administrative practices—such as asking for Social Security numbers, requiring contact information for all household members, and uncertainty regarding whether their information may be shared with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services—likely discourage access. #racialequity