Tell Us About Problems Accessing TANF

James is a single father who has been unable to work since 2004, when he suffered a serious work injury. (James’ story and others are based on actual Shriver Center cases. Names of clients have been changed.) While waiting for his workers’ compensation and social security claims to be decided (a process that can take several years), James applied for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Because James’ injuries required him to undergo surgical procedures, he received a temporary exemption from the TANF work activity requirement. However, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) recently determined that James was well enough to return to work, a decision with which James’ doctors disagreed. James filed an appeal of that decision and asked his caseworker to continue to exempt him from work activities while the appeal was pending. The caseworker refused. She told him that if he could not work 30 hours a week he would have to leave the TANF program.

Joe and his 7-year-old son needed help getting back on their feet when they moved out of a homeless shelter. Joe submitted an application for TANF and, three weeks later, had an appointment with a caseworker to determine his eligibility. At that appointment the caseworker instructed him to return to the IDHS office the next day with 25 job listings. Joe explained that he would be unable to get 25 job listings in such a short time because he needed to pick up his child for school that afternoon and attend a job development class the next morning. The caseworker refused to accommodate his schedule. When Joe returned to the office with the job listings one day late, he was told that his TANF application was denied and that he would have to wait an additional 30 days before he could submit a new TANF application. Joe and his son had to wait months for the assistance to which they were entitled.

Tracy lost her food service job because she could not find a child care center that could accommodate her early morning work schedule. She applied for unemployment insurance but was denied. As a last resort she turned to IDHS. When she asked her caseworker about TANF, the caseworker said that she was not allowed to apply for TANF until after she exhausted her unemployment appeals. Like Joe, Tracy had to wait for several weeks for the TANF assistance her family needed. 

The Shriver Center has received many complaints like these from men and women who are pushed out of the TANF program or discouraged from applying when they are most in need. Do these stories sound familiar to you? We are collecting stories about Illinois residents having problems accessing the TANF program. If you would like to share your story with us, contact Liz Mazur at lizmazur@povertylaw.org or 312.263.3830 ext. 225.