The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Fiscal Policy
BILL: CS/SB 776
INTRODUCER: Children, Families, and Elder Affairs Committee and Senator Powell
SUBJECT: Temporary Cash Assistance Eligibility
DATE: February 20, 2024 REVISED:
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. Hall Tuszynski CF Fav/CS
2. Sneed McKnight AHS Favorable
3. Hall Yeatman FP Favorable
Please see Section IX. for Additional Information:
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE - Substantial Changes
I. Summary:
CS/SB 776 leaves the existing prohibition from receiving Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)
and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) assistance for individuals with felony
drug trafficking convictions, but creates an exemption for victims of human trafficking. Under
the bill, these public benefits may not be denied to an individual solely on the basis of a drug
trafficking conviction if the Department of Children and Families has determined the individual
is a victim of human trafficking.
The bill has an indeterminate, negative fiscal impact on state government. See Section V., Fiscal
Impact Statement.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Public Assistance
Public assistance programs help low-income families meet their basic needs, such as housing,
food, and utilities.1 The social safety net for American families depends on the coordination of a
1
National Conference of State Legislatures, Introduction to Benefit Cliffs and Public Assistance Programs, available at
https://www.ncsl.org/human-services/introduction-to-benefits-cliffs-and-public-assistance-programs (last visited February 1,
2024).
BILL: CS/SB 776 Page 2
complex patchwork of federal, state, and local funding and program administration.2 Through
various programs, public assistance can help families to keep children in their family home
through economic difficulties3, reduce the material hardship that has been linked to negative
outcomes in children4, drive the economy in times of market downturns5, and support the career
advancement of low-income adults striving to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.6
Two of the most commonly utilized public assistance programs in Florida are the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families Temporary Cash Assistance (TANF or TCA) program and the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or food assistance program
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) system was established at the federal
level in 1996 through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act
(PRWORA) of 1996.7 PRWORA ended the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC)
program, a federal program that provided dedicated funding for cash assistance to needy families
with children, and alternatively created the broad-purpose federal TANF block grant.8 The
TANF block grant became effective July 1, 1997, and was reauthorized by the Deficit Reduction
Act of 2005.
Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)
Direct cash assistance to needy families is the foundation of public welfare in the U.S.9 Prior to
the establishment of TANF in 1996, direct cash assistance to needy families was the primary
2
Brookings Institute, State Social Safety Net Policy: How are States Addressing Economic Need, available at
https://www.brookings.edu/events/state-social-safety-net-policy-how-are-states-addressing-economic-need/ (last visited
February 1, 2024).
3
Providing assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes is one of the four purposes of the
TANF program. See Office of Family Assistance, About TANF, available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/programs/tanf/about
(last visited February 1, 2024); see also Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Three Reasons Why Providing Cash to
Families with Children is a Sound Policy Investment, available at https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/three-
reasons-why-providing-cash-to-families-with-children-is-a-sound (last visited February 1, 2024).
4
Urban Institute, What Explains the Widespread Material Hardship among Low-Income Families with Children?, available
at
https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/99521/what_explains_the_widespread_material_hardship_among_low-
income_families_with_children_0.pdf (last visited February 1, 2024).
5
Stephen Vogen, Cristina Miller, Katherine Ralston, Impact of USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
on Rural and Urban Economies in the Aftermath of the Great Recession, Economic Research Service (2021), available at
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3938336 (last visited February 1, 2024).
6
Brookings, Policies that Reduce Intergenerational Policy, available at https://www.brookings.edu/articles/policies-that-
reduce-intergenerational-poverty/ (last visited February 1, 2024).
7
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Policy Basics: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, available at
https://www.cbpp.org/research/family-income-support/policy-basics-an-introduction-to-tanf (last visited February 1, 2024).
See also Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Assistance, Major Provisions of the Welfare Law,
available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/policy-guidance/major-provisions-welfare-law (last visited February 1, 2024).
8
Congressional Research Service, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The Decline in Assistance Receipt Among
Eligible Individuals, available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47503 (last visited February 1, 2024).
9
Public cash assistance to needy families has its origin in the early 1900s; state and local entities financed “mother’s
pension” programs that provided support to single, often widowed, mothers so that children could be raised in their family
homes rather than be institutionalized. See Congressional Research Service, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The
Decline in Assistance Receipt Among Eligible Individuals, available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47503
(last visited February 1, 2024).
BILL: CS/SB 776 Page 3
method of providing support to low-income families with children. Since the transition to TANF
federal block grant funding, the number of families receiving direct cash assistance has waned
significantly even among eligible populations, and currently, the majority of TANF funds are
allocated for indirect methods of assisting families.10
The Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) program is Florida’s direct cash assistance program for
needy families. The TCA program is one of several Florida programs funded with the TANF
block grant. Through the TCA program, families who meet specific technical, income, and asset
requirements11 may receive cash assistance. The cash assistance is provided in the form of
monthly payments deposited into an electronic benefits transfer (EBT) account.12
TCA is administered by several state agencies through a series of contracts and memoranda of
understanding. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) receives federal TANF block
grant funds, processes applications, determines initial eligibility, monitors ongoing eligibility,
and disburses benefits to recipients. The Florida Department of Commerce13 is responsible for
financial and performance reporting to ensure compliance with federal and state measures and
for providing training and technical assistance to local workforce development boards (LWDBs).
LWDBs provide information about available jobs, on-the-job training, and education and
training services within their respective areas and contract with one-stop career centers.14
CareerSource Florida has planning and oversight responsibilities for all workforce-related
programs and contracts with the LWDBs on a performance-basis.15
The number of families receiving TCA dramatically increased during the COVID-19 pandemic,
peaking at more than 50,000 families receiving TCA payments in July 2020.16 While TCA
caseloads have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, they have decreased steadily since July
2020. In November 2023, a total of 34,015 families, including 44,309 children, received TCA.17
10
Public cash assistance to needy families has its origin in the early 1900s; state and local entities financed “mother’s
pension” programs that provided support to single, often widowed, mothers so that children could be raised in their family
homes rather than be institutionalized. See Congressional Research Service, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: The
Decline in Assistance Receipt Among Eligible Individuals, available at https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47503
(last visited February 1, 2024).
11
Children must be under the age of 18, or under age 19 if they are full-time secondary school students. Parents, children,
and minor siblings who live together must apply together. Additionally, pregnant women may also receive TCA, either in the
third trimester of pregnancy if unable to work, or in the ninth month of pregnancy. See DCF, Temporary Cash Assistance
(TCA), available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/public-assistance/temporary-cash-assistance (last visited February
1, 2024).
12
DCF, Temporary Cash Assistance Fact Sheet, available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2022-
10/tcafactsheet_0.pdf (last visited February 1, 2024).
13
Florida’s Department of Commerce, formerly known as the Department of Economic Opportunity, was renamed as such in
the 2023 Legislative session. See Ron DeSantis, Governor DeSantis Signs Legislation to Streamline Economic Development
in Florida, available at https://www.flgov.com/2023/05/31/governor-desantis-signs-legislation-to-streamline-economic-
development-in-florida/ (last visited February 1, 2024).
14
Florida Department of Commerce, CareerSource Florida, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Annual Statewide
Performance Report, available at https://careersourceflorida.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2022-23-WIOA-Annual-
Performance-Report.pdf (last visited February 1, 2024).
15
Id.
16
DCF, ESS Standard Reports: Caseload Report, available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/public-
assistance/additional-resources-and-services/ess-standard (last visited February 1, 2024).
17
DCF, ESS Standard Reports: Flash Points, available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/public-
assistance/additional-resources-and-services/ess-standard (last visited February 1, 2024).
BILL: CS/SB 776 Page 4
TCA Eligibility
States have broad discretion in determining who is eligible for cash assistance. Florida’s TCA
program requires applicants to meet all of the following criteria to be eligible:18
Be a U.S. citizen or qualified noncitizen19;
Be a legal resident of Florida;
Have a minor child residing with a custodial parent or relative caregiver, or be a pregnant
woman in the ninth month of pregnancy;
Have a gross income of 185 percent or less of the federal poverty level;20
Have liquid or nonliquid resources, of all members of the family, valued at less than
$2,000;21
Register for work with the local workforce development board (LWDB), unless an applicant
qualifies for an exemption.
Florida imposes a lifetime limit of 48 cumulative months for an adult to be eligible for and
receive cash assistance. Current law outlines specific, limited circumstances under which a
person may be exempt from the time limitation; 22 however, most households receive TCA for
fewer than six months.
TCA Work Requirements
To be eligible for full-family TCA, work-eligible adult family members must participate in work
activities in accordance with s. 445.024, F.S., unless they qualify for an exemption.23 Individuals
who fail to comply with the work requirements may be sanctioned.24 Individuals are required to
participate in work activities for the maximum number of hours allowable under federal law.25
The number of required work or activity hours is determined by calculating the value of the cash
benefits and then dividing that number by the hourly minimum wage amount.
18
DCF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – State Plan Renewal, available at
https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2022-10/TANF-Plan.pdf (last visited February 1, 2024).
19
Section 414.095(3), F.S. A qualified noncitizen includes an individual who is admitted to the United States as a refugee or
who is granted asylum, a Cuban or Haitian entrant, or a noncitizen who has been admitted as a permanent resident. It also
includes an individual who, or an individual whose children or parent, has been battered or subject to extreme cruelty in the
U.S. by a spouse, a parent, or other household member, and has applied for or received protection under the federal Violence
Against Women Act, if certain criteria are met.
20
Gross income cannot exceed 185% of the federal poverty level, and a family’s countable income cannot exceed the
payment standard for the family size. There is a $90 deduction on earned income per individual. See Florida Department of
Children and Families, Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/services/public-
assistance/temporary-cash-assistance (last visited January 25, 2024).
21
Licensed vehicles with a combined value of not more than $8,500 are excluded if a family includes individuals subject to
the work requirement, or if the vehicle is necessary to transport a disabled family member and the vehicle has been specially
equipped to transport the disabled person. See s. 414.075, F.S.
22
Section 414.105, F.S.
23
Section 414.095(1), F.S. A person may be exempt from the work requirement if they receive benefits under the
Supplemental Security Income Program or the Security Disability Program, is a single parent of a child under three months of
age (parenting preparation activities may be alternatively required), is exempt from the TCA time limitation due to hardship,
or not considered work-eligible under federal policy. See also DCF, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families – State Plan
Renewal, available at https://www.myflfamilies.com/sites/default/files/2022-10/TANF-Plan.pdf (last visited February 1,
2024).
24
Section 414.065, F.S.
25
Section 445.024(2), F.S.
BILL: CS/SB 776 Page 5
Work Participation Requirements
Family Composition Required Work Participation Hours
Single parent with a child under age 6 20 hours weekly of “core” work activities
Single parent with a child over 6, or two-parent 30 hours weekly with at least 20 hours of “core”
families where one parent is disabled work activities
Married teen or teen head of household under Maintains satisfactory attendance at secondary
age 20 school or the equivalent, or participates in
education related directly to employment for at
least 20 hours weekly
Two-parent families who do not receive 35 hours weekly with at least 30 hours of “core”
subsidized child care work activities, combined between both parents
Two-parent families who receive subsidized child 55 hours weekly with at least 50 hours in “core”
care activities, combined between both parents
Pursuant to state and federal law, there are 12 distinct types of work activities which can be used
to satisfy a TCA recipient’s work requirement.26 The 12 activities are categorized as either
“core” or “supplemental” activities; such categorization impacts how the activity is counted
toward a TCA recipient’s work requirement.
Work Activities
“Core” Activities “Supplemental” Activities
Unsubsidized employment Job skills training directly related to
Subsidized private-sector employment employment
Subsidized public-sector employment Education directly related to employment
Work experience Completion of a secondary school program
On-the-job training
Job search and job readiness assistance
Community service programs
Vocational educational training
Providing child care services to an individual