After$chool Funding: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Welcome to our series on funding and sustainability for afterschool and summer learning programs! We will be sharing information about top funding streams and how to access them every Friday during this campaign. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to make sure you get regular updates.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides states with flexibility in operating programs designed to help low-income families and children achieve economic self-sufficiency, including providing direct financial assistance to eligible families.  But how can this funding stream help support, maintain, and expand out-of-school time opportunities which provide additional support for families?

States may allow TANF funds to subsidize the cost of child care, including school-age care programs that take place during the summer and afterschool hours. States may also choose to utilize TANF funds to support prevention programming for older youth when school is out. In 2024 a number of states leveraged TANF funds to support afterschool — check your state social service agency website to see if your state is one of them.

Quick facts about TANF:

• Who controls the money: TANF funds are usually administered by a state social services agency

• Who is eligible: Afterschool and childcare programs that directly promote TANF pillars: help needy families with children, promote job preparation and workforce skills, reduce out-of-wedlock pregnancies, and encourage formation and maintenance of two-parent families. 

• How much is a typical grant: Amount of funding varies for states that choose to operate TANF-funded afterschool or summer grant programs

• How long is the grant: Length of grants vary by state but are generally two- year grants

In Georgia, the Afterschool Care Program, funded by TANF, supports out-of-school time programs and services for young people in the state. The Afterschool Care Program partners with local organizations and agencies to deliver high-quality programming aligned with TANF’s goal of promoting self-sufficiency. Through this funding stream, the program is able to “strengthen youth-serving organizations and institutions by providing funding that increases their capacity to design, implement, and sustain quality youth development programs and services.”

Further west, the Utah Department of Workforce Services and Utah Office of Childcare received $1 million from the TANF program to support a summer youth grant program that would help “expand services for currently operating afterschool/out-of-school time programs to include summer youth programs and to reduce the impact of ‘summer learning loss’ among youth participants.” The funds helped reach more Utah youth aged 13-18.

To learn more about TANF and funding streams available to help you sustain your out-of-school time program, check out our new sustainability page!