Phoenix Arizona-The Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families program hit the 20-year mark in August. When the program was
designed two decades ago it was supposed to help poor families get back on track
by providing support and resources, including job training programs.
But as Children’s Action
Alliance recently pointed out, Arizona spends under 2 percent of its block grant
funds on job training activities, compared to 6.5 percent nationally.
In 2015, Legislative Republicans reduced TANF benefits
from a lifetime limit of 24 months to only 12 months. They said state did not
have enough money to maintain the program. This cut was expected to save $9
million, but
it looks it will actually only save $4 million. What makes this move so
disingenuous is that Gov. Ducey’s and Legislative Republican’s cuts to the TANF
program went into effect the
same day they gave away $138 million in big business tax cuts.
Their decisions left 955
poor families—and their 1,660 children—with a little less money to put food on the table and with
fewer resources to get the job training and skills needed to move families out
of poverty and prevent crisis. In draining money out of the state coffers
through special interest tax cuts, the governor and his supporters turned their
backs on these families. As a columnist for the Arizona Republic recently wrote, “What
the Legislature actually is telling such families – moms, dads and children –
is: ‘We don’t care about you.’”
House Democrats are
fighting for Arizona families. We
advocated for restoring TANF benefits and providing additional resources to
parents trying to get back to work. That will continue to be a priority as
long as it is a priority for the people in our communities.
#DemsLead
