Recovery.gov - Track the Money

TANF is designed to help needy families achieve self-sufficiency. TANF funds are spent on cash assistance and various non-cash services including work activities, child care, transportation and work supports, and a wide range of other benefits and services. The purposes of the TANF program are:

• to provide assistance to needy families so that children may be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
• end the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
• to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and
• to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.

A jurisdiction may use Emergency Fund monies in the same way that annual federal TANF block grant funds are spent, except a jurisdiction may not transfer emergency funds to either the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) or the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG) programs. This means that it may use the funds in any manner reasonably calculated to meet a TANF purpose.

All Recovery Act programs will be assessed for risk and to ensure that appropriate internal controls are in place throughout the entire funding cycle. These assessments will be done consistent with the statutory requirements of the Federal Manager’s Financial Integrity Act and the Improper Payments Information Act, as well as OMB’s circular A-123 “Management’s Responsibility for Internal Control.”

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) will follow its existing internal control structure in implementing the Emergency Fund. States, territories, and tribes may submit estimated caseload and qualified expenditure data when applying for emergency funding. OFA will reconcile their submitted estimates with actual expenditure data on an on-going basis to ensure the jurisdictions receive the proper amount of funding; a final reconciliation will occur during FY 2011. States, territories, and tribes will be required to report all expenditures of emergency funds after the end of each quarter, and these expenditure amounts will be subject to review under the single state audit.

Current procedures for reviewing state expenditure reports will continue and states, territories, and tribes are subject to the Single Audit Act of 1984.

Transparency:
ACF will be open and transparent in all of its policymaking and financial oversight that involve spending of Recovery Act funding consistent with statutory and OMB guidance.

Jurisdictions have to submit information on caseloads and expenditures. Jurisdictions receiving Emergency Funds will account for and report on these funds separately from other TANF funds on agency financial reports. However, the reporting burden for the TANF Emergency Fund should be minimal, as expenditure reporting requirements and timelines will be the same as for other TANF funds already reported to ACF. Funded jurisdictions must submit reports as required by Section 1512 of the Recovery Act. Audits shall be conducted by the Inspector General and the jurisdictions under Chapter 75 of Title 31, United States Code.

Performance information on the performance measures is available in the annual ACF Budget Justification and Online Performance Appendix (available here: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/olab/budget/index.html). These measures are also published on the website for ACF’s Office of Family Assistance (available here: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/data-reports/index.htm).

Accountability:
To ensure that managers are held to high standards of accountability in achieving program goals under the Recovery Act, ACF will build on and strengthen existing processes. Senior ACF and Office of Family Assistance officials will meet regularly with senior Department officials to ensure that projects are meeting their program goals, assessing and mitigating risks, ensuring transparency, and incorporating corrective actions. The personnel performance appraisal system will also incorporate Recovery Act program stewardship responsibilities for program and business function managers. ACF program managers, specialists, and senior managers are accountable for the oversight of performance results and improvement actions through the Performance Management Appraisal Program (PMAP). Annual performance appraisals rate each employee on their effectiveness in meeting the goals of the agency, as well as identify the employee’s contributions to the mission of the programs administered by their office.

The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducts reviews of TANF programs to determine whether the state agencies expended funds in accordance with federal and state requirements, as demonstrated by adequate documentation of eligibility and payment determinations.

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