After Labor Day, Congress will return to Capitol Hill to try once again to pass legislation that will help to move the economy forward. One piece of unfinished business is the extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Fund. The TANF Emergency Fund was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and provided $5 billion to help states serve families seeking employment and requiring additional work supports during these difficult economic times. The fund will expire on September 30th if Congress doesn't act before then to extend it.    
 
One of the particularly innovative ways states have used these funds is in the development of subsidized jobs programs. Nationwide, more than 240,000 jobs have been created.

In North Carolina, TANF Emergency Funds were used to place more than 1,000 individuals in jobs while also providing critical funding to support work for many more North Carolina families.

The TANF Emergency Fund provided North Carolina with critical funding to child care subsidies ($23.6 million), More at Four ($30.5 million), Work First family assistance ($9.7 million) and to the subsidized jobs program ($11.4 million). Taken together, these programs served to support working families and provide job opportunities for low-income adults.
 
"Studies show that wage subsidy programs can create jobs and connect workers to employment opportunities, creating wealth and spurring business," said Alexandra Forter Sirota, a policy analyst with the NC Budget & Tax Center. "North Carolina needs more of this, not less."
 
The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Emergency Fund provided North Carolina with critical funding to child care subsidies ($23.6 million), More at Four ($30.5 million), Work First family assistance ($9.7 million) and to the subsidized jobs program ($11.4 million). Taken together, these programs served to support working families and provide job opportunities for low-income adults.
 
"Ending this program will cost North Carolina jobs, remove much-needed income from local economies, adversely affect local businesses, and make it impossible for many low-income parents to cover basic expenses," writes Sirota. "This is the opposite of what the nation needs at a time when the economic recovery remains precarious."

You can read the full NC Budget & Tax Center report online at: http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=node/589.