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Description
Summary
TANF currently uses a tanf_reported short-circuit in policyengine-us (#7400) rather than the modeled-with-takeup pattern used by SNAP, EITC, Medicaid, and SSI. Now that 39 states have TANF implementations, we should add TANF takeup to the data package.
Proposed change
- Add
parameters/take_up/tanf.yamlwith state-level takeup rate priors derived from ACF FY2023 caseload data and Census poverty estimates - Add TANF takeup assignment in
cps.py:add_takeup()following the Medicaid state-specific pattern - Companion PR in policyengine-us to add
takes_up_tanf_if_eligiblevariable and wire it into TANF formulas
Calibration targets
Already exists: tanf: 9e9 in pull_hardcoded_targets.py (line 19) — $9B total TANF cash assistance from HHS/ACF
Proposed additions (for future calibration improvement):
- State-level TANF caseload targets from ACF FY2023 data (826K average monthly families nationally)
- State-level total cash assistance spending from ACF FY2023 financial data ($8.3B nationally on basic assistance)
Takeup rate priors
Using TANF-to-poverty ratios from ACF caseload data / Census ACS poverty estimates, scaled up ~2x to approximate takeup among eligible (since eligible families ≈ 50% of families in poverty due to asset tests, work requirements, time limits). These are priors that will shift during calibration.
National variation is extreme: AR ~3%, TX ~4% to CA ~90%, OR ~60%.
Sources (all primary/gov)
- ACF FY2023 TANF Caseload Data
- ACF FY2023 TANF Financial Data
- Census Bureau 2023 ACS 1-Year Estimates (Table S1702, families in poverty by state)
Related
- Move TANF reported value logic from policy model to data package policyengine-us#7400: Move TANF reported value logic from policy model to data package
- Remove is_in_microsim checks from benefit variables policyengine-us#7331: Remove
is_in_microsimchecks from benefit variables