The COVID-19 pandemic created sudden and substantial hardships for many families with low incomes and also created unprecedented challenges for the operation of benefit programs. The primary program that provides cash aid to families in need is called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF. TANF is a block grant, meaning the federal government provides each state with a set amount of money that the state combines with its own funding to meet the program’s goals. Each state establishes its own policies for exactly who can get help, how much they can receive, and for how long. Although no TANF policy changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic were mandated at the federal level, states were able to use the TANF program’s existing flexibility to modify their policies if they felt such changes would better support families.

This report provides a graphical overview of selected TANF policy changes states made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policies described in this report were in effect for all or a portion of the time between the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and July 1, 2021. It includes information about changes to work and activity requirements, sanctions, time limits, benefit computation policies, and treatment of unemployment insurance benefits. It is a companion to the 2021 Welfare Rules Databook, which provides more details on standard state-by-state TANF policy variations. Both this report and the Databook are derived from information in the full Welfare Rules Database, publicly available at https://wrd.urban.org.