SECTION 3. BACKGROUND

Congress reformed the welfare system

through the enactment of PRWORA, which replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). AFDC required individuals to perform some work activities in order to continue to receive public assistance. TANF provides states with more flexibility than they had under AFDC to determine basic eligibility rules and benefit amounts. TANF also requires that specified percentages of individual recipients engage in work activities and imposes penalties on the states for non-compliance with that requirement.

For purposes of TANF, the term “work activities” is defined under § 407(d) of the Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 607(d), as:

(1) unsubsidized employment; (2) subsidized private sector employment;

(3) subsidized public sector employment;

(4) work experience (including work associated with the refurbishing of publicly assisted housing) if sufficient private sector employment is not available;

(5) on-the-job training; (6) job search and job readiness assistance;

(7) community service programs; (8) vocational educational training (not to exceed 12 months with respect to any individual);

(9) job skills training directly related to employment;

(10) education directly related to employment, in the case of a recipient who has not received a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency;

(11) satisfactory attendance at secondary school or in a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence, in the case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school or received such a certificate; and

(12) the provision of child care services to an individual who is participating in a community service program.