This blog post from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families details the reasoning behind a recent decision to rescind waivers from TANF work requirements. Strengthening work requirements is not…

The annual conference of the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics (NAWRS) took place from July 30 – August 2, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This year’s theme was: “Moving Forward to Reduce Poverty, Increase Opportunity, and…

On August 17, 2017, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a technical assistance site exchange for Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions to meet with staff from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation’s (DLLR)…

It has been 20 years since the U.S. Congress passed welfare reform, and throughout these two decades, Maryland has provided cash assistance to families whose incomes do not meet their basic needs. In this way, the Temporary Cash Assistance program (…

When TANF became law in 1996, welfare recipients were required to engage in work participation activities, and states were required to have 50 percent of their TANF cases meet these participation requirements. The intention of requiring individuals…

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Post-employment services that align with individual’s interests, strengths, and abilities are necessary to ensure they can maintain or advance in employment. Unfortunately, many TANF participants tend to obtain low-skill/low-wage jobs with little…