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    Cash Assistance

    TANF Caseload Reduction Reports

    The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services is required by federal regulation to submit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Caseload Reduction Report (form ACF-202) in order to secure a Caseload Reduction Credit.

    The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 established mandatory work requirements and minimum annual work participation rate standards for States' TANF programs.  The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 reestablished work requirements.  The minimum overall work participation rate is 50 percent in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026.  This means that 50 percent of all families receiving TANF in Pennsylvania must meet work requirements.  The minimum work participation rate for two-parent families is 90 percent in FY 2026.  This means that 90 percent of two-parent families receiving TANF in Pennsylvania must meet work requirements.

    Federal regulations provide for a reduction in the minimum work participation rate standards if the state's average monthly assistance caseload decreased the previous year compared to the average monthly caseload in FY 2015.  The participation rate is reduced by the number of percentage points the caseload declined.

    For this report to be complete, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services must provide appropriate opportunity for public comment on these estimates and methodologies used to calculate the Caseload Reduction Credit.

    The FY 2026 report will list relevant policy changes, excess Maintenance of Effort, and the Reduction Credit calculation.

    You may review the report:

    Public comments regarding the report may be submitted by email to Ra-oimcomments@pa.gov.  The comment period ends December 20, 2025.