As many of you know, every year DPA launches an EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) campaign to help raise awareness of the benefits of the EITC as well as the Advance EITC. As in the past, we will once again focus our marketing efforts toward informing Public Assistance recipients of tax credit opportunities.

National totals for fiscal year 2002 show recipient caseloads ended the year at 4,995,719 -- decline of 6.2 percent since the end of previous fiscal year and a decline of 59.2 percent since August of 1996, when the TANF law went into effect. Additionally, families receiving TANF benefits declined 3.9 percent to 2,024,691 since the end of the previous fiscal year. Overall, since the TANF legislation was enacted in August of 1996, the number of families receiving TANF assistance has dropped by 54.1 percent, according to statistics from HHS' Administration for Children and Families (ACF).

As noted in Jim Dalman

Full report: TANF Fifth Annual Report to Congress
HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the release of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Fifth Annual Report to Congress. The report, covering fiscal year 2001, highlights the status of the TANF caseloads, work participation rates, state expenditures, characteristics of TANF recipients, and other state policies.

DHSS Commissioner Names Three Division Directors
(Juneau)