WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 -- HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced today that the number of families and individuals receiving assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program declined slightly between March and June 2003.
There were 2,032,157 families receiving TANF cash benefits in June 2003, the most recent month for which data are available. The total represents a 0.3 percent decrease from March 2003 and a 54 percent decrease from August 1996, when TANF was enacted. A total of 4,955,479 individuals were receiving TANF benefits in June 2003, 0.6 percent fewer than in March and 60 percent fewer than in August 1996.