The purpose of these meetings was to collaborate on federal assistance programs, to encourage use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and to promote self-sufficiency among needy families. It provided information to inform clients on asset-building strategies for families. By promoting job preparation, work, and marriage, dependency on government programs would be reduced.

The following report describes the Urban Partnerships for Welfare Reform Academy that took place in Dallas, Texas from February 2-4, 2003 at the Fairmont Hotel-Dallas.

The following report describes the Urban Partnerships for Welfare Reform Academy III that took place in St. Louis, Missouri from March 8-11, 2005 to foster collaboration to improve administration and delivery of services to TANF families.

The Urban Partnerships Initiative was designed by the Administration for Children and Families to support the work of TANF stakeholders in urban environments by promoting shared learning, enhancing cities' performance management, and developing strategies to improve services to families so that they may achieve and maintain self-sufficiency. The following report describes the Urban Partnerships for Welfare Reform Leadership Forum that took place in Baltimore, Maryland.

This presentation was made at the PARIS Conference by Deputy Director of OFA, Mr. Grant E. Collins, II. The PowerPoint describes the importance of the National Directory of New Hires to tracking employment accurately.

Face to face contact with children in foster care by caseworkers is a key element to maintaining child wellbeing. The Administration for Children and Families reviewed all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico between 2001 and 2004 to determine whether the frequency of caseworker visits was sufficient to meet the child's needs. This article reviews the written standards States have implemented for frequency of caseworker visits with children in foster care, the extent to which States can provide automated reports on the frequency of caseworker visits, and the extent to which statewide reports indicate that children were visited.

Face-to-face contact with children in foster care by caseworkers is a key element to maintaining child well-being. The Administration for Children and Families reviewed all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico between 2001 and 2004 to determine whether the frequency of caseworker visits was sufficient to meet the child's needs. This article reviews the written standards that some States have implemented for caseworker visits with children in foster care and the practices of States without written standards.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance programs wit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, the nature of public assistance changed from an entitlement program to one that requires individuals to work in order to receive time-limited support. This change in the welfare delivery system was accompanied by an increase in State-level flexibility in program design and operation. Welfare reform required no less than a redefinition of the role of decision makers at the Federal, State and local level, including the role played by front line workers when interacting with welfare recipients. In the journey toward reinventing the social safety net, States have met a variety of formidable challenges. Five years after the passage of welfare reform, this report takes stock of the past and current challenges that States have encountered. This report focuses on the policies and services provided to the hardest-to-serve and on the network of collaborations that States have developed to address the needs of these populations.

The National Healthy Marriage Academy, held January 8 and 9, 2003,  in Arlington, VA, provided an opportunity for representatives from several States to learn more about the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Healthy Marriage Initiative. The Academy afforded States an opportunity to hear presentations from nationally recognized speakers, researchers, and Federal policy makers, as well as from other States with successful Healthy Marriage Initiatives.

This report describes a meeting that took place in Charleston, WV, on November 3, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was a follow-up to a a Healthy Marriage Forum that took place in Charleston, WV, on June 9, 2004.