Legislative Brief
Senate Bill 608: Revise Various Laws / Work First Cash Assistance
Improves the state’s Work First benefits
SB 608 Summary: Changes the state’s Work First program to provide more adequate income support, reach pregnant women, remove limits on assets that families need to stay connected to work, and align the program’s time limits with federal law.
Connecting income support to measures of hardship would ensure NC keeps up with the rising cost of the basics
- North Carolina’s Work First (our state’s Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF) program provides a maximum benefit of $272 a month. This amount hasn’t changed since 1996 and has lost nearly half of its purchasing power since then.[1] SB 608 would increase benefit amounts automatically each year to reflect rising costs.
- As of 2023, North Carolina ranked 48th in the benefit amount it provides to families. These benefits total just 15 percent of the federal poverty level.[2] By increasing the benefit level, North Carolina would join 21 states and the District of Columbia in bringing benefit levels closer to reflecting the costs of basic needs.
Ensuring pregnant women can access cash assistance gives a critical boost to the well-being of infants and mothers
- By including pregnant women in the definition of family, this bill gives families access to prenatal and postnatal supports that are proven to improve health outcomes and financial stability for young families. Two-thirds of states currently provide pregnant women with access to TANF.[3]
More about SB 608
- Changes North Carolina’s Work First/TANF program to:
- Include pregnant women in the definition of family
- Connect eligibility and benefit amounts to the federal poverty level at 75 percent and 40 percent of poverty, respectively
- Establish an asset limit of $5,000 that exempts one vehicle per family
- Align time limits for assistance with federal law
[1] https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/continued-increases-in-tanf-benefit-levels-are-critical-to-helping
[2] Ibid.
[3] https://www.cbpp.org/research/income-security/economic-security-programs-should-support-pregnant-people-and-their
