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Welfare-To-Work Programs In New Mexico Still Paying Out

AlishaV via Flickr

There’s some good news for low-income families in New Mexico. The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program will not be withholding services during the federal government shutdown.

Matt Kennicott, Director of External Affairs for The New Mexico Human Services Department said, “We’ll have to see what happens with the federal government, we’re definitely monitoring it very closely, but we have enough funding to last us through the end of the year.”

The Department of Health and Human Services distributes grants to TANF and Tribal TANF, so that these agencies may implement immediate assistance programs, especially to families. TANF assistance includes a welfare-to-work program providing cash assistance to families with children and helping parents find jobs to get off federal aid.

The Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act instituted in 1996 by then President Bill Clinton provides short-term financial aid with the aim to help people find a job.

According to The Working Poor Families Project, one in three working U.S. families struggle to meet basic needs. In New Mexico, low-income families make up 43 percent of the population.