This brief describes the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC), an innovative approach to increasing data analytics capacity at state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies. TDC was part of the TANF Data Innovation project, launched by the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to strengthen agencies’ use of TANF, employment, and other administrative data. The brief shares the TDC framework and guiding principles, as well as the components of a pilot initiative, to inform similar and future efforts.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has published several resources under Project SPARK and Project IMPROVE. Both projects — conducted in close coordination by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) and the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), respectively — supported 17 research-practice partnerships to help TANF agencies design and implement evidence-informed program changes.

These available publications include the Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) practice guide, which outlines LI2, a program improvement approach used by many TANF and human services agencies under Projects SPARK and IMPROVE. Briefs that document the implementation of LI2 feature the Iowa Department of Human Rights (assessing a virtual home visiting program), the New York City Human Resources Administration (redesigning an intake assessment for families receiving cash assistance), and the Baltimore City Health Department (designing and implementing a transitional jobs program).

Also available are briefs on innovative approaches to technology and participant engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic and how to support mental wellness for staff and participants, as well as a podcast about how the pandemic prompted human services agencies to rethink their internal and external operations.

The Office of Family Assistance published data tables which show TANF and Separate State Programs-Maintenance of Effort (SSP-MOE) caseloads separately, as well as combined by state and at the national level from October 2021 through March 2022. The tables are cross-tabbed to include total numbers of recipients, adult recipients, child recipients, families, one-parent families, two-parent families, no parent families, and monthly caseload data.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) PeerTA connects TANF practitioners from across the U.S. to one another with relevant training and technical assistance. To that end, OFA extended an opportunity to State, Local, and Tribal TANF programs to participate in a virtual 3-part roundtable series titled: Work Opportunity Wednesdays (WOW) – Equipping TANF Recipients for Employment in a Post-COVID World.

This highly interactive series brought together TANF practitioners and subject matter experts to discuss current challenges and potential strategies for improving TANF recipient employment outcomes. This series included virtual sessions on Understanding Post-COVID Workforce Challenges, Future of Work Strategies to Improve Outcomes, and Action Planning: Oh…The Places They Can Go!.

Registration for this event is closed.

TANF agencies across the country are preparing to or beginning to reinstate participation requirements that had been waived during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Family Assistance’s Project IMPROVE team moderated a panel of TANF leaders across the country on this topic on July 21, 2022. In this evolving service context, this webinar provided space for TANF leaders and staff across the country to share experiences, challenges, and lessons around participant engagement in TANF work activities. Panelists shared their plans for supporting staff and program participants through the transition to engaging all individuals and families. They responded to questions around challenges, best practices, and lessons learned.

The Administration for Children and Families, along with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, hosted a webinar in April 2022 to highlight contemporary housing challenges impacting families with low incomes. This webinar provided background information on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERA) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program as well as discussed how TANF programs and ERA grantees can build and sustain partnerships to expand housing services. Presenters provided an overview of the ERA funding stream and TANF program, principles for TANF and ERA stakeholders to build partnerships to improve housing stability, and an example of community activities used to build and sustain partnerships.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) PeerTA hosted a “TANF Next Practices: Lessons from COVID-19 Informing Innovation and Modernization” webinar on March 23, 2022. This webinar provided a discussion platform for TANF programs just starting to think about program innovation and modernization, as well as those deep into the journey. PeerTA and the American Public Human Services Association facilitated discussion with three TANF programs at various stages of innovation and modernization that shared their experiences and how COVID-19 has impacted their journey.

In this webinar, participants:
• Became familiar with the history of TANF modernization approaches
• Considered what state and local human services agencies have developed as TANF Modernization Core Principles and Strategies
• Discussed the experiences of different state and local TANF agencies as they innovate and modernize during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Identified next steps in their own TANF innovation and modernization journey
• Understood how to request PeerTA assistance to assist in these efforts