Legislation headed to the governor would expand eligibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program for the first time in three decades.

Applications to a federal program that provides financial assistance to families are rarely approved in Indiana. State senators almost unanimously passed a bill to bolster the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program Monday.

As the legislative session came to a close, lawmakers chose not to expand a program aimed at helping the state's most impoverished families.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, is a program where the federal government gives states money to help extremely low-income families. However, states get to make the rules on who is eligible.

Under current Indiana standards, a family of three would have to make almost 90 percent less than current federal poverty guidelines to be eligible. Even then, theyd receive just $288 in assistance each month.

Normally, about 1 in 5 people have state assistance. Applications have increased 75 percent since mid-March, state officials reported Monday.

A state senator wants to expand the number of people who are eligible for welfare.