9000-1          INTRODUCTION

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORAPersonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act), commonly known as welfare reform, ended the entitlement to welfare cash benefits under the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDCAid to Families with Dependent Children) program and created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families) program.

In addition to establishing a fixed block grant that caps the amount of federal funding available for TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families and creating time limits on assistance, PRWORAPersonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act gives American Indians and certain Alaska Native organizations the authority to design and operate their own TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families programs. Like state agencies, Native organizations are given great latitude in administering TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families, setting eligibility criteria, delivering services, and using federal TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families funds to promote activities that support self-sufficiency.

In Alaska, the authority to operate Tribal TANFTemporary Assistance to Needy Families programs is given to the following Alaska Native organizations:

• Arctic Slope Native Association
• Kawerak, Inc.
• Maniilaq Association
• Association of Village Council Presidents
• Tanana Chiefs Conference
• Cook Inlet Tribal Council
• Bristol Bay Native Association
• Aleutian and Pribilof Islands Association
• Chugachmiut
• Tlingit and Haida Central Council
• Kodiak Area Native Association
• Copper River Native Association
• Metlakatla Indian Community of the Annette Islands Reserve