Insight from KU Center for Public Partnerships and Research helps Michigan reimagine anti-poverty strategies

LAWRENCE — A recent partnership between the University of Kansas Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) and the state of Michigan has led to new insights about how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funding is used — and how it might be refined to better serve families facing economic insecurity.   

Launched in 2022, the evaluation was led by Owen Cox, CPPR principal investigator, and Jennifer Welch Buller, research project manager. It was funded by Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) following a recommendation from the Michigan Poverty Task Force — an initiative established by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to drive cross-sector solutions to systemic poverty.   

The project’s central goal was to help Michigan LEO better understand how TANF funds were being used and whether that use aligned with the state’s anti-poverty goals.   

“We weren’t just evaluating how dollars were spent — we were helping the state reflect on whether those investments were meeting the needs of families,” Cox said. “Our goal was to support informed, evidence-based decisions that could lead to more effective outcomes.”   

The project used the ALICE framework — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — to examine the experiences of working households that earn above traditional income thresholds but still struggle to afford basic necessities.   

“This framework allows for a broader conversation about who needs support,” Buller said. “Many families in deep or persistent poverty are working, yet they’re excluded from receiving assistance due to long-standing eligibility rules.”   

To explore how TANF functioned in Michigan, the CPPR team conducted administrative data analysis, policy research, interviews and focus groups. A key strength of the project was its sampling strategy, which prioritized a wide range of participant experiences including those with lived experience.   

“That’s really how we got at the challenges,” said Olivia Landon, an associate researcher who led the qualitative analysis. “We wanted to understand not just why people were or weren’t getting help, but what was happening before they ever completed an application.”   

In addition to participants with lived experience, CPPR spoke with program staff across the state who are responsible for screening applications, monitoring cases and overseeing local offices.   

Within the limited cash assistance component, CPPR identified several barriers that restricted participation in Michigan’s Family Independence Program (FIP), the state’s cash assistance program under TANF. These included outdated eligibility rules, high caseloads and complex application processes. Even for those who qualified, support was limited — the maximum cash assistance for a family of three amounted to less than $500 a month.   

“People often think of TANF as a cash assistance program,” said Buller, “but that’s only a small piece of how the funding is used. Our work helped the state better understand the full picture.”   

Eligibility rules excluded many families in need, with two-thirds of families in poverty and 16% in deep poverty unable to qualify. For those who did qualify, benefits had steadily lost value, dropping 49% since 1996 when adjusted for inflation. In 2022, 97% of all households receiving FIP couldn’t afford basic housing and utility costs, even when combined with other aid like food assistance.    

“We looked at how these systems interact — not just whether someone gets assistance, but how easy it is to access, how long they receive it and whether it meets their needs,” Cox said.   

CPPR delivered three early policy briefs on benefit levels, time limits and sanctioning policies, which helped inform internal state conversations and responses to questions from the governor’s office and legislature.   

The final report was presented in early 2024 and has already helped inform budget proposals and program adjustments. Changes partly grounded in CPPR’s analysis were reflected in Michigan’s FY 2024-2025 budget, which runs through September 2025.    

“We’ve already seen the research used to support budget conversations and proposed changes to benefit levels,” Cox said. “That’s the kind of impact we hope for — practical, grounded in research and responsive to community need.”   

The final report has even been used by a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work to illustrate the real-world impact of policy research.    

“This isn’t just about evaluating programs,” Cox said. “It’s about asking how policies work in practice — and how we can use what we learn to make them work better. Seeing our findings directly impact policies and helping both recipients and staff understand how their work and experiences matter — those are huge wins.”