File #: Res 0353-2004    Version: * Name: Modify the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program requirements.
Type: Resolution Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on General Welfare
On agenda: 5/19/2004
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: Resolution urging the Federal government to modify the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program requirements by eliminating the mandatory working requirements and the five-year time limit for receiving benefits for grandparents under the age of 60.
Sponsors: Maria Baez, Charles Barron, Alan J. Gerson, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James, John C. Liu, Margarita Lopez, Miguel Martinez, Christine C. Quinn, Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., Larry B. Seabrook, Kendall Stewart
Council Member Sponsors: 12

Res. No. 353

 

Resolution urging the Federal government to modify the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program requirements by eliminating the mandatory working requirements and the five-year time limit for receiving benefits for grandparents under the age of 60.  

 

By Council Members Baez, Barron, Gerson, Gonzalez, James, Liu, Lopez, Martinez, Quinn, Recchia, Seabrook and Stewart

 

                     Whereas, According to a publication entitled “New York, a State Fact Sheet for Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children” (the “Fact Sheet”), there are 4.5 million children living in grandparent headed families throughout the Untied States; and

Whereas, The Fact Sheet found that 83,946 grandparents in New York City report that they are responsible for raising their grandchildren; and

Whereas, Children live with their grandparents for many reasons, including but not limited to, divorce, teen pregnancy, parental substance abuse, and increasing incarceration rates for women of childbearing age; and

Whereas, Grandparents who raise their grandchildren are providing a vital service to the entire society by preserving kinship ties and by assuming many costs that would otherwise have to be assumed by governmental entities; and

Whereas, A significant number of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren are encountering obstacles, including financial obstacles, that hinder their ability to care for their grandchildren; and

Whereas, According an article entitled “Grandparents as Family Care Givers”, (the “Grandparents article”), nationwide, 23 percent of grandparent headed households have incomes that are below the federal poverty line; and

Whereas, The Grandparents article noted that 57 percent of grandmothers who raise grandchildren by themselves have incomes that fall below the federal poverty line; and

Whereas, The U.S. Census found that 71 percent of relative caregivers are under the age of 60; and

Whereas, A potential source of additional income for grandparents raising grandchildren is the Federal Temporary Assistance for Families (TANF) program; and

Whereas, The provisions of TANF require grandparents under the age of 60 who receive this benefit to participate in mandatory work requirements, which limit the time they have to care for their grandchildren; and

Whereas, All grandparents who qualify for TANF can receive this benefit for a maximum of five years, despite the fact that grandparents may have to raise grandchildren for a period that is longer than five years; now, therefore, be it

                     Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York urges the Federal government to modify the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program requirements by eliminating the mandatory working requirements and the five year time limit for receiving benefits for grandparents under the age of 60.

 

 

LS#1051

5/12/04

PS