This practice guide, used in partnership with a research or technical assistance support team, can help program leaders make evidence-driven decisions as they manage change. The guide targets individuals thinking about or implementing a program change, including those operating TANF or workforce programs. The guide supports use of Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2), an evidence-driven framework and process to address common practice challenges and improve programs. This practice guide was developed by Mathematica and The Adjacent Possible under the Office of Family Assistance’s Project IMPROVE initiative.

This Office of Family Assistance brief discusses the potential for the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund (PEAF) to support needy families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and by unusually high heating costs this winter. The brief is presented in a question and answer format and addresses:

• Why are energy costs higher than normal? 

• How has COVID-19 impacted energy security for low-income families?

• How can the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund help?

• How can PEAF be used to help families with energy costs? and

• How can grantees strategically use remaining PEAF allocations along with other federal funds?

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 2020 through June 2021. 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) and the Office of Community Services (OCS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have recently announced the COVID and Safety Net Innovation (CASI) TA Initiative. This new endeavor will delve into the resiliency of the safety net, exploring new approaches that support the economic and social needs of vulnerable families, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the COVID and Safety Net Innovation TA Initiative, partnerships between federally funded state, local, or tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) eligible entities or CSBG Direct Funded Tribal recipients will receive Technical Assistance (TA) to develop strategic and targeted action and implementation plans related to a specific safety net concern.

The deadline to nominate or self-nominate to participate in CASI is Tuesday, December 21, 2021. To receive further information about CASI, including instructions for the short nomination process, please email CASIsites@blhtech.com.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this plenary session, attendees heard first-hand from ACF leadership about the collaborative efforts across ACF agencies to maximize American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to meet the needs of vulnerable families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this plenary, OFA officials began with a refresher on a range of TANF program policies, particularly those related to work requirements. Following this refresher, officials answered TANF policy questions from attendees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this workshop, presenters included two economic mobility leaders in Georgia and Massachusetts who have changed the way they do business to better serve young parents and engage them in TANF, with the explicit goals of helping participants achieve greater economic mobility outcomes. The workshop also included interactive components where participants could consider how they might adjust some of their own operations in service of economic mobility.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. This Innovation Station video highlighted Coaching for Success—a free 14-module eLearning Curriculum that OFA made available to all State and Tribal TANF agencies and Native Employment Works (NEW) programs. The purpose of the curriculum is to train employment case managers in how to leverage coaching techniques to improve their case management skills. The adapted video gives a brief overview of the first eight modules and features Module 4 which focuses on active listening and eliminating distractions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this innovation station presentation, the speaker showcased Workforce 1 Connect (WF1), a communication tool created by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). WF1 Connect is a pilot application that participants receiving TANF, SNAP E&T, Childcare Assistance, and DEED Employment and Training Programs such as Blind and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, can download to their phone or tablet. It is a participant-driven tool that can be used to communicate with both county and tribal staff.

The Office of Family Assistance has released tables that provide demographic data on the age, gender, and race/ethnicity of adults and children in TANF, Separate State Program-Maintenance-of-Effort active families, and closed cases, as well as data on the financial circumstances of TANF cash assistance recipients for Federal fiscal year 2020. The data is presented for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.