Connecting Refugees to TANF Services in Minnesota and Utah

On June 27, 2013, the Office of Refugee Resettlement hosted a Webinar titled Connecting Refugees to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Services in Minnesota and Utah. This Webinar provided an opportunity to hear two States' approaches in connecting refugees to TANF services. Utah representatives discussed the collaboration and co-location between refugee resettlement agencies and the TANF agency that begins when refugees arrive in the State. The presenters discussed intake, translation, benefits, applications, and providing employment services with eleven employment counselors and eleven eligibility counselors working one-on-one with refugees to ensure prompt delivery of services. Presenters from Minnesota discussed their State-funded Minnesota Family Stabilization Services program where refugees receive language assessment, build English skills, take work skills assessments, and secure housing, medical and basic needs services. The presenters also discussed Minnesota's "Community Navigators" who connect refugees to needed services and helping them find the best route to non-subsidized employment.