Persistent Oversight Gaps Discovered in HHS Monitoring of Temporary Assistance Program

A federal watchdog report has identified significant oversight shortcomings in the Department of Health and Human Services’ monitoring of state audits related to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that dozens of audit findings related to TANF spending have gone unresolved for years, including some dating back over a decade, raising concerns about the effectiveness of federal oversight and the potential for misused funds.

The GAO reviewed audit reports from 37 states and found a total of 162 deficiencies tied to TANF funds, which amount to $16.5 billion in annual federal spending. Of these, 56 were categorized as material weaknesses—the most serious type of audit issue. In one example, a state failed to report required information for grants awarded with federal funds. More than 100 of the identified deficiencies were either repeated from previous years or shared similarities with past findings, highlighting ongoing issues with internal controls over how the program is managed at the state level.

HHS’s Administration for Children and Families (ACF), the body responsible for administering TANF, has not updated its procedures to evaluate its efforts in helping states resolve audit findings. In addition, the agency has fallen short in providing timely decisions to states on how to correct the reported issues. These management decisions are essential for ensuring compliance and guiding corrective actions. Without timely responses, the risk of mismanagement and improper payments grows, undermining the program’s goal of supporting low-income families with children.

GAO’s review concluded that HHS also lacks adequate procedures for enforcing compliance when states fail to meet program requirements. This includes both the timely imposition of penalties and securing corrective action plans. To address these problems, GAO issued three recommendations: updating audit resolution procedures, implementing a strategy to improve timeliness in management decisions, and creating a framework for timely enforcement actions. While HHS agreed with two of the recommendations, it expressed disagreement with the need to update certain procedures. GAO clarified its stance but maintained the recommendation.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) press release GAO-25-107291

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