The Welfare Peer TA Network hosted a broadcast call titled, “Welfare Reform and Housing—Asset Building and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)” on August 2, 2000. The purpose of the call was to review the asset building and IDA program concepts, present examples of cooperation between State TANF agencies and asset building programs, and identify issues related to asset building and IDAs that are likely to arise for State TANF agencies.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), coordinated this workshop involving select representatives from fourteen States (representing eleven human services offices, and nine community partners), from across five ACF Regions, and three federal agencies. Nationally recognized private sector organizations that contributed to this workshop included representatives from the Center for Social Development (CSD) at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) in Washington, DC.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Division. The purpose of this two-day workshop was to assemble a collection of varying levels of expertise from all over the nation among the Individual Development Account (IDA) field to promote information sharing and fact finding. This workshop built on the successes of two previous IDA workshops that were hosted by the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network during this past year. The program for this workshop was similar to the other two workshops with the additional component of focusing on the flexibility available in using Welfare to Work funds for IDA programs.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, coordinated two-day site visits at the request of several Regional and State Department of Health and Human Services Offices. States were invited to participate based on findings resulting from the Network’s national needs assessment regarding the challenges and successes of implementation of State welfare reform initiatives. Ms. Vesta Kimble, Deputy Director of the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services, led the site visit. Ms. Kimble provided an in-depth description of Anne Arundel County’s Family Investment Program. This technical assistance event afforded participants an opportunity to observe Anne Arundel’s welfare service delivery system first hand.

This document details a recent review of Nebraska’s new Employment First Screening and Assessment Form (“Screening Form”) and Guide, conducted by the staff of the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network. This review involved a document analysis of the Screening Form and the Guide, as well as interviews with an Employment First Program Specialist and two Employment First caseworkers.

In order to foster progress in stabilizing and strengthening healthy marriages, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network held a workshop entitled Developing a Marriage Initiative for Your State in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 17 and 18, 2002. Workshop participants included individuals primarily representing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child support staffs from nine States. The purpose of this 2-day workshop was to create an interactive dialogue with States around appropriate efforts to develop and implement statewide healthy marriage initiatives.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network sponsored a multi-State TA event on July 15-16, 2003, in Oklahoma City, OK. This event was co-coordinated with Public Strategies, the public relations firm that manages the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative. The Administration for Children and Families' region VI, VII, and IX offices provided additional supports, ensuring this event met State informational needs. The following short summary reports on this Workshop.