Final answer:
TANF, established by the 1996 welfare reform act, replaced AFDC with the goal of moving recipients from welfare to employment and encouraging economic self-sufficiency. It includes work requirements and a time limit on benefits but faces criticism over its adequacy for people with significant employment barriers.
Step-by-step explanation:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, commonly referred to as TANF, emerged from the 1996 welfare reform act under President Bill Clinton. This program replaced the earlier Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), marking a paradigm shift in how the government approached poverty and public assistance. The primary focus of TANF is on aiding families with children to achieve economic self-sufficiency, and it includes provisions such as work requirements and a lifetime limit of five years for receiving benefits.
TANF places an emphasis on moving individuals from welfare to employment, which includes enforcing work requirements and limiting the duration of aid. Despite the decline in welfare rolls and an increase in employment among former recipients since its inception, there is an ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness and adequacy of TANF, particularly for individuals facing significant barriers to employment such as disabilities or domestic abuse. Questions regarding the future direction of welfare reform persist amid considerations about how to meet the needs of the poorest citizens and adapt to economic fluctuations.