At the end of Clinton’s second term as president, in 2000, fewer than 40% of American households in poverty receive cash assistance from TANF — down from the 1979 peak of AFDC, when over 80% of families in poverty received benefits.
On April 18, 2002, Linda Taylor dies of a heart attack at age 76. That year, average monthly welfare payments to American households reach an all-time low. The “Welfare Queen” is dead. For most Americans, so is welfare.
Welfare dwindles in Washington state
Washington is where Taylor’s lifelong tussle with the criminal justice system began. It’s also a state where her legacy is seen most sharply.
TANF was
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