State and federal funds can be used to meet any of the four goals of welfare reform. Congress articulated four goals for welfare reform. Welfare reform gives states substantial flexibility in how federal and state funds are used to meet these goals . The principal requirement is that expenditures of federal and counterpart state funds promote the stated objectives of the welfare reform legislation. States can provide assistance in the form of cash, or focus on services.
States can also assist families outside of the traditional welfare system.
In some instances, states can spend available funds without regard to family income. Welfare reform heightened the focus on work. By 2002, at least 50 percent of the number of 1996 welfare recipients must be either at work or off the welfare rolls. This goal has already been achieved in Maryland and in most other states. In addition, the law prohibits families from receiving federally-funded assistance for more than five years.