View all text of Part A [§ 601 - § 619]
§ 613. Evaluation of temporary assistance for needy families and related programs
(a) Evaluation of the impacts of TANF
(b)
(c) Dissemination of information
(d) State-initiated evaluationsA State shall be eligible to receive funding to evaluate the State program funded under this part or any other State program funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 609(a)(7)(B)(i) of this title) if—
(1) the State submits to the Secretary a description of the proposed evaluation;
(2) the Secretary determines that the design and approach of the proposed evaluation is rigorous and is likely to yield information that is credible and will be useful to other States; and
(3) unless waived by the Secretary, the State contributes to the cost of the evaluation, from non-Federal sources, an amount equal to at least 25 percent of the cost of the proposed evaluation.
(e) Census Bureau research
(1) The Bureau of the Census shall implement or enhance household surveys of program participation, in consultation with the Secretary and the Bureau of Labor Statistics and made available to interested parties, to allow for the assessment of the outcomes of continued welfare reform on the economic and child well-being of low-income families with children, including those who received assistance or services from a State program funded under this part or any other State program funded with qualified State expenditures (as defined in section 609(a)(7)(B)(i) of this title). The span of the surveys should include such information as may be necessary to examine the issues of unmarried childbearing, marriage, welfare dependency and compliance with work requirements, the beginning and ending of spells of assistance, work, earnings and employment stability, and the well-being of children.
(2) To carry out the activities specified in paragraph (1), the Bureau of the Census, the Secretary, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics shall consider ways to improve the surveys and data derived from the surveys to—
(A) address under reporting of the receipt of means-tested benefits and tax benefits for low-income individuals and families;
(B) increase understanding of poverty spells and long-term poverty, including by facilitating the matching of information to better understand intergenerational poverty;
(C) generate a better geographical understanding of poverty such as through State-based estimates and measures of neighborhood poverty;
(D) increase understanding of the effects of means-tested benefits and tax benefits on the earnings and incomes of low-income families; and
(E) improve how poverty and economic well-being are measured, including through the use of consumption measures, material deprivation measures, social exclusion measures, and economic and social mobility measures.
(f) Research and evaluation conducted under this section
(g) Development of What Works Clearinghouse of Proven and Promising Approaches 1
1 So in original. The word “Projects” is used in text.
to Move Welfare Recipients into Work(1) In general
(2) Criteria for evidence of effectiveness of approachThe Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and organizations with experience in evaluating research on the effectiveness of various approaches in delivering services to move welfare recipients into work, shall—
(A) establish criteria for evidence of effectiveness; and
(B) ensure that the process for establishing the criteria—
(i) is transparent;
(ii) is consistent across agencies;
(iii) provides opportunity for public comment; and
(iv) takes into account efforts of Federal agencies to identify and publicize effective interventions, including efforts at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice.
(h) Appropriation
(1) In general
(2) Allocation
(3) Baseline
(Aug. 14, 1935, ch. 531, title IV, § 413, as added Pub. L. 104–193, title I, § 103(a)(1), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2153; amended Pub. L. 105–33, title V, §§ 5001(f), 5509, 5514(c), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 592, 618, 620; Pub. L. 105–200, title IV, § 410(a), July 16, 1998, 112 Stat. 673; Pub. L. 106–169, title IV, § 401(c), Dec. 14, 1999, 113 Stat. 1858; Pub. L. 110–234, title IV, § 4002(b)(1)(D), (2)(V), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1096, 1097; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title IV, § 4002(b)(1)(D), (2)(V), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1857, 1858; Pub. L. 112–96, title IV, § 4002(e), Feb. 22, 2012, 126 Stat. 195; Pub. L. 113–235, div. G, title II, § 228(e), Dec. 16, 2014, 128 Stat. 2492; Pub. L. 115–31, div. M, title I, § 102(c)(1), May 5, 2017, 131 Stat. 801.)