In an ongoing project that seeks to improve a home-visiting programs for teenage mothers, preliminary results suggest some improvements in uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives and lower rates of unprotected sex. Repeated, close-together…

This brief provides a graphical overview of selected state policy differences for TANF cash assistance. The Welfare Rules Database (WRD), a database maintained by the Urban Institute and funded by the OPRE and ACF, provides the information for this…

This National Association of Counties (NACo) report discusses counties’ role in funding and administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. The report also identifies counties’ challenges, including restraints by states…

In accordance with federal interests, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation funded a report on the challenges of and potential solutions for measuring TANF employment outcomes. Creating national standards would be a significant challenge…

A paper from Economic Mobility Pathways discusses the importance of setting high goals and standards when helping families navigate their way out of poverty. Coach-navigator programs that seek to build resiliency and decision making view high…

A seven-year government project that researched ways to strengthen social services using principles from behavioral science, called Behavioral Insights to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS), recently ended and published a case study based on their…

Studying large public social programs can be a challenge for social scientists. Recent technological developments have allowed researchers to use big data — data sets that combine survey and administrative data — to examine how social programs work…

The Urban Institute was contracted by a Washington State housing authority to evaluate its 2013-2016 Student and Family Stability Initiative that provided supportive housing and employment to homeless or vulnerable families with elementary-aged…

This report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation is a required annual report to Congress on indicators and predictors of welfare dependence. The report provides data on benefits provided only by Temporary Assistance…

This report from the Urban Institute shares the experiences of women who have received TANF cash assistance for more than five years in the District of Columbia. Recently, the District changed their policy to do away with the five-year time limit…