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Is the “welfare loophole” about kids under 7 accurate?
It’s complicated. Most families are limited to a lifetime benefit of 60 months, or five years, of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) benefits. Individual states can issue extensions based on hardship.
According to Congress.gov, the federal government has general requirements for TANF that are applied at the state level. One requirement is that 90% of dual-parent families must be “engaged in work” to get benefits. They have the option to exclude single parents caring for an infant, but this is limited to 12 months in a person’s lifetime.
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States can sanction adults who don’t meet work requirements, and they can decide who is exempt or has good cause for not meeting them. They can also decide the sanction amount and can choose to reduce or end benefits for noncomplying individuals.
It does say that states cannot sanction a single parent with a child under six if he/she cannot find affordable child care. Although it’s unclear whether the woman in the video is single, let’s assume this would apply to her. She has six children now. Let’s pretend she has a seventh child, and her state allows her to avoid being sanctioned for not meeting work requirements until the child reaches age seven.
Benefit amounts vary by state. In California, for example, a single parent with seven children could hypothetically receive a maximum of $2,669 a month of TANF benefits, given they don’t have deductions based on property they own, or other savings or income.
The average price of a three-bedroom apartment in California is $3,341/month in 2026, according to Apartments.com. The average price of a two-bedroom apartment is $2,656/month.
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