Jesus said we will always have poor people in our midst. Unfortunately, in spite of America's history of charitable giving and government welfare programs, the number of poor in deep poverty who make 50 percent below the poverty line has grown significantly, from 12.6 million in 2000 to more than 20 million people today.

When Congress created the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant through the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, it sought to end the old cash welfare entitlement program under Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replace it with a system that had imposed time limits on cash assistance and sanctions for recipients who fail to participate in mandated work activities. Under TANF, states operate their own programs using federal government funding provided annually as a block grant.

TANF initially made inroads in getting welfare recipients into the workforce and off welfare rolls during the late '90s when unemployment was low, but TANF's record over the last 16 years shows that its role as a safety net has sharply declined. In 1996, 68 families received TANF cash assistance for every 100 families with children in poverty; by 2011, only 27 poor families with children out of 100 received TANF cash assistance.

A comparison between TANF and AFDC in a recent report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows that AFDC lifted out of deep poverty 62 percent of the children who otherwise would have been below half of the poverty line while this figure for TANF was just 21 percent by 2005.

In California, the recent recession erased all of the employment gains that single mothers made following the mid-’90s implementation of welfare reform imposing strict work requirements and lifetime limits on cash assistance at both state and federal levels, per a recent study by the California Budget Project.

Congress has extended TANF many times and has authorized it through September, 2013. Without a reauthorization that includes improvements to TANF, we can count on growing numbers of poor in our midst.

Earlier this year, the Census Bureau reported that the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) combined to lift more than 4.9 million children out of poverty, making these two programs the most potent tools the government has for fighting child poverty.

As part of the year-end agreement to avert the "fiscal cliff," Congress extended the credits for five more years. As a result, these powerful antipoverty initiatives will continue to deliver critical income support for millions of employees in low-wage jobs. Claiming these tax credits can put an eligible worker on the path to securing better housing, pursuing higher education, obtaining dependable transportation, covering out-of-pocket health care costs, or paying for quality child care.

Working families may be eligible for an EITC worth up to $5,891, a Child Tax Credit worth up to $1,000 for each qualifying child under the age of 17. For more information and free tax assistance, find a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site near you or call 800-906-9887.

WASHINGTON—Catholic institutions rely on the charitable deduction to feed, house, clothe, educate, and care for millions of people around the world,” said the bishops who oversee the domestic and international justice and peace efforts of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and should be protected in any final agreement to avoid the “fiscal cliff.”

In a December 14 letter to Congress, Bishop Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, and Bishop Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, called the tax system an “important tool” for raising adequate revenue and fulfilling the responsibility of ensuring basic human needs, such as food, clothing, health care, work and education, are accessible to all people.

 “One way our tax system attempts to accomplish this is with the charitable deduction, which encourages taxpayers to support private charity, religion, and education,” the bishops wrote.

 In their letter, Bishop Blaire and Bishop Pates also noted the importance of protecting the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit, Emergency Unemployment Compensation, poverty-focused international assistance, and other programs that “help guarantee basic human rights for millions of people.”