Supporting Families After Welfare Reform (ACF Audio Conference Summary)

This audio conference was coordinated by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) as part of its Family Independence Forum series available to ACF Regional offices and State social service offices. The Supporting Families After Welfare Reform program is a new $6.8 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The purpose of the program is to help States and large counties address problems in eligibility processes that make it difficult for low-income families (particularly families moving from Welfare to Work) to access and retain Medicaid, the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), or Food Stamps. The program includes technical assistance for States and counties developing and using eligibility and enrollment data to improve their systems; workshops on the barriers in State and local eligibility and enrollment processes; and resources to implement proposed solutions. This new initiative will provide technical assistance and grants for up to twenty-two States and large counties to improve their enrollment and redetermination processes for Medicaid, SCHIP, and Food Stamps.