Seven years ago, the revelation that Tennessee had stockpiled $732 million earmarked for low-income Tennessee families drew a near-universal outcry that united fiscal conservatives and progressive advocates in questioning the state’s spending decisions.
On Wednesday, leaders of the Tennessee Department of Human Services told lawmakers that the state’s reserve for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families now stands at $305 million with a plan in place to expend the excess funds.
The aid is offered under a federal program that delivers dollars to each state to provide temporary financial assistance and programs such as job training and child care to families that have fallen on hard times. Tennessee receives $191 million annually.
After years of underspending the funding, Tennessee had accrued the $732 million balance, exceeding nearly every other state in the nation and prompting lawmakers to enact legislation requiring expenditures of the funding by the end of 2026. The legislature also enacted a law setting a ceiling of $191 million for reserves.
Clarence Carter, who leads the Tennessee Department of Human Services, told lawmakers the state had successfully implemented a plan to spend down the funds after distributing millions to seven community based organizations that implemented pilot projects intended to break generational cycles of poverty.