What most thought was a “work first” welfare program turned out to be a slush fund for state governments. Michigan, for instance, uses far of its block grant to fund college scholarships (whose recipients include kids) than to provide cash aid to very poor families. Many states have become completely dependent on TANF dollars to plug holes in their budgets across numerous programs.

H. Luke Shaefer and Kathryn J. Edin, “How to End Extreme Child Poverty”