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You are here:Home →Reports & Publications →Other Reports →Job Access Planning - Challenges & Approaches →Appendix A Table of Contents → Illinois' Welfare Reform Program: Basic Program Components
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Illinois' Welfare Reform Program: Basic Program Components
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The following key principles and goals of Illinois' TANF program are outlined in the TANF State Plan Summary:
- Accessibility to the TANF program is transitional;
- Recipients of TANF assistance must work;
- Recipients of TANF assistance must become self-sufficient;
- TANF assistance will be denied to clients who are convicted of Class X or Class 1 drug-related felonies or who do not cooperate with child support, paternity establishment and employment activities;
- TANF grants remain at the same level when another child is born.
The TANF program is administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS). TANF provides financial assistance to families with one or more dependent children. Most families receiving TANF are also eligible for food stamps and medical assistance.
Most TANF families are headed by single mothers. Married couples living together and expecting their first child may also be eligible for TANF assistance.
Adults age 18 and older and their children are limited to 60 months of TANF assistance in their lifetimes. Earnings up to an average of at least 20 hours per week that are budgeted for work do not count towards the limit.
The number of eligible family members and the area of the state where the family lives determine the size of the TANF grant. However, the TANF grant is not increased if a child is born more than 10 months after the family begins to receive TANF. Newborns, however, are included in the medical and food stamps programs.
Unmarried parents under age 18 are required to live with a parent or legal guardian in order to receive TANF. Unmarried parents under age 18, who are without a high school diploma or GED, are required to enroll in school or a GED program.
TANF parents are required to see that their children (grades 1 through 8) maintain regular school attendance.
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