On March 13-14, 2012, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) convened the Promising Pathways Initiative Innovation Institute in Washington, DC. The Promising Pathways Initiative provides technical assistance to state and local TANF programs and nonprofit organizations to promote successful outcomes for low-income families, and seeks to address the knowledge needs of the TANF field through an evidence-informed practice approach. The Initiative is grounded in the research on evidence-based practices. The Promising Pathways Initiative supported ten selected sites from the ten OFA Regions by building capacity of the sites to identify practice and program components; develop and document evidence; and articulate the resulting “story” about the effectiveness of the program or practice. The Innovation Institute focused on capacity-building for evidence-informed practice through identifying and sharing innovative approaches to service delivery for TANF families and low-income populations. Nine of the ten Promising Pathways sites from Regions I through X participated in the Institute. The goals of the Institute were to: (1) Provide cross-site networking between Promising Pathways sites leading to increased capacity to implement evidence-informed practice; (2) Provide interaction and dialogue between Promising Pathways sites surrounding innovative approaches and supportive technical assistance resulting from participation in the Promising Pathways Initiative; and (3) Discuss and examine processes and tools that can be institutionalized in Promising Pathways sites to support sustainable evidence-informed programming for TANF and low-income populations.

Families across the nation have been hit hard by the recent economic recession and TANF families and other low-income families have disproportionately witnessed increased poverty, unemployment, and underemployment. The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions VI and VIII convened the Improving Families’ Well-Being during Challenging Times: 2011 Bi-Regional TANF and Tribal TANF Directors ’ Conference in Denver, Colorado, on August 1-4, 2011 to discuss the impact on TANF programs and foster peer dialogue around practical solutions to challenges facing TANF programs and recipients. This year’s conference provided State and Tribal TANF Directors from Regions VI and VIII with the opportunity to engage with Federal, State and Tribal partners through interactive sessions and discussions around promising program models and strategies for improving service delivery to families. Over the conference's four days, attendees engaged in a variety of sessions that included specific topic areas such as the impact of the recent recession on low-income families and State policy responses to the recession. The participants also engaged in discussions and informative workshops on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, increased program efficiencies and streamlined services, enhancing career pathways, TANF Flexibility and Reauthorization, effective assessment and service options for domestic violence survivors, Tribal and State TANF child welfare and kinship care, improving State-Tribal relations, preventing fraud, waste and abuse, and Tribal TANF program accountability and implementation.

During Phase 3 of the project (2009-2010), in close partnership with the OFA Federal Project Officer, the project team conducted two-day site visits with each leading organization, which included faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and intermediary partners. The case studies were drafted to isolate key insights about local collaboration and help identify strategic on-the-ground practices for FBCO leaders or TANF practitioners.

The final report is now available! The Administration for Children and Families Regions VI and VIII and the Employment and Training Administration Region IV came together to host the Client Success through Partnership: 2010 TANF and Workforce Meeting in Dallas, Texas from July 25-27, 2010. The meeting contained a series of targeted discussion forums, interactive plenary sessions, and peer-to-peer breakouts coordinated to improve partnership and collaboration among TANF and workforce programs. Over the two and one-half days, attendees were exposed to a variety of sessions presented by more than 20 distinguished experts and peers from the TANF, workforce, social service, and research communities.

Recently, the Colorado Works Program requested Technical Assistance from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (WPTA) Network, specifically on effective strategies for integrating subsidized employment programming into local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. As a result, the WPTA Network hosted two conference calls in August and September for the Colorado Works Program by facilitating a peer-to-peer dialog with the Tennessee Department of Human Services, inquiring about its subsidized employment program, specifically its successful program in Perry County, Tennessee. During these calls, Paul Lefkowitz, Director, Family Assistance Policy, Tennessee Department of Human Services, and Jan McKeel, Executive Director, South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance, provided an overview of a subsidized employment program that began in Perry County, Tennessee, in May 2009, through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009, to the Technical Assistance Requestor—Mary Roberto, Section Manager, Colorado Department of Human Services, Colorado Works Program. Some of the topics of the program discussed on the conference calls include eligibility, working with employers, outreach and marketing, data collection, and replication and lessons learned.

The capstone event for the Rural Communities Initiative was the Rural Leadership Forum that took place in Charleston, South Carolina on September 1-2, 2009. Representatives from the 16 rural TANF sites met to share lessons learned; explore leadership and sustainability plans; and discuss successes garnered and challenges encountered from the implementation of the Rural TANF sites’ TA plans over the past year.

The Rural Communities Academy was the "kick off" event for the 16 selected rural sites and included time for each rural site team (consisting of four/five team members) to participate in information gathering, networking, and action planning. The team members who attended the Academy participated in workshops and plenary sessions, and met with Rural Content Specialists and representatives from other rural communities who shared their insight into strategies being utilized in rural areas with TANF participants.

This presentation was given by the Lewin Group at the Eleventh Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference that is sponsored through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. This research utilized statistical models to determine the effects that the economy and the population had on the size of the Colorado Works caseload from July 1999 to December 2007. Using regression analysis, researchers determined the impact on the caseload and were able to predict how changes might affect caseload size in the future.

In keeping with the goal of engaging all families and improving employment and self-sufficiency outcomes as well as the goal of increasing collaboration between the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IV, VI and VIII, held a Tri-Regional Technical Assistance Forum, September 23-25, 2008, in Dallas. The theme of the 3-day Forum was titled, “The Power of Partnership.” The forum, in plenary sessions, addressed the interfacing issues of both programs. Separately, State TANF Directors and members of their staff learned about strategies and new resources to help refine implementation of the provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sponsored a 3-day conference for Tribal TANF grantees in Regions VI, VIII, and X. The annual meeting was designed to address the needs of grantees who have received funding to operate Tribal TANF programs. A total of 30 Tribal TANF programs were represented at the conference. The objective of the conference was to promote awareness and provide information on effective implementation and service delivery, as well as afford grantees the opportunity to collaborate and communicate with each other.