A new question and answer has been posted to the Office of Family Assistance Web site (see Question two of the Q & A: Drug Convictions). This item responds to the question as to whether or not an individual with a felony drug conviction can receive TANF non-assistance services.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a report discussing the importance of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). They stated that SNAP is the cornerstone of the nation's safety net and nutrition assistance programs, and has achieved impressive results in meeting the needs of low-income Americans. SNAP currently provides over 47 million participants in over 23 million low-income households with debit cards that can be used to purchase food each month. This report addresses four topic areas: SNAP's effective response to the recession; SNAP's recent temporary growth in spending; SNAP reaching a high share of eligible people; and SNAP's payment accuracy reaching an all-time high.

Child support has steadily evolved over the decades from a welfare cost-recovery model to a major family support program in a technologically savvy environment.

In March of 2012, the WPTA Network collaborated with CLIMB Wyoming to learn more about their program's sustainability and successes with working with low-income single mothers through tailored job trainings and wraparound services.

CLIMB Wyoming engages participants using a comprehensive wraparound service that includes job training, wage reimbursement during on-the-job training, work tools, mental health counseling, life and parental skills classes, and ongoing support after job placement. This podcast highlights CLIMB Wyoming's job training, subsidized employment and wraparound services for TANF participants. Staff from CLIMB Wyoming describe the job training services offered to low-income single mothers to prepare them for entry into high-demand, high-skill, and high-wage positions, as well as how CLIMB coordinates their various funding streams and partners to leverage the appropriate resources to support their program operations.

In March of 2012, the WPTA Network collaborated with Supporting Employment Empowerment (SEE) Hawaii Work and the Hawaii Department of Human Services to learn more about their private-public partnerships between their working participants and local employers.
 
This podcast highlights SEE Hawaii Work (SEE), which is a program that assists Hawaii's employers with their labor market needs, while placing work-eligible Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants into subsidized job-training programs. Staff from the State of Hawaii Department of Human Services provide an overview of key components and activities in the SEE Hawaii program model, discuss how the program engages, markets and conducts outreach to businesses and employers, as well as provide information on how data is collected within the program.

This report highlights the funding efforts of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families in fiscal year 2012. Of particular note to TANF and Tribal TANF programs are the Family Connections Grants which fund seven programs designed to increase collaboration between TANF and child welfare agencies and increase awareness about Kinship Navigator programs. Kinship Navigator programs provide information and direction to relatives (often grandparents) who are caring for a child about programs and services that may be available to assist the family. The programs funded through the Family Connections Grants will last a period of three years.

Using microdata from the American Dream Demonstration, this study examines factors associated with savings and savings goal achievement (indicated by a matched withdrawal) among participants of individual development account (IDA) programs. Results show that hours of participation in financial education programs, higher matched caps, prior use of a savings account, and greater educational attainment are each associated with a greater likelihood of savings and savings goal achievement. IDA programs need to maximize available resources, particularly financial education, to assist participants in achieving savings goals.

The Center for Studying Disability Policy released an issue brief discussing the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD). This study analyzes the interim findings of the YTD project evaluation, and the impact the project evaluation had on paid employment and earnings of youth with disabilities. The study identifies key components of the YTD project and further provides insight into the project for young people with disabilities.

The Office of Family Assistance, Division of Tribal TANF has posted National Tribal TANF characteristics data for fiscal years (FY) 2008, 2009, and 2010. The characteristics data has been produced for the following categories of information:

• Number of individuals participating in Tribal TANF work activities, by activity,
• Adults by work participation status,
• Adults by relationship to head of household,
• Types of families receiving assistance (e.g., one-parent, two-parent, child-only), and
• Families by the number of children in the family.

Mathematica Policy Research prepared the "Effective Case Management: Key Elements and Practices from the Field" brief for the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. This brief provides examples of key elements and practices for effective case management in the workforce system. Examples of State and local tools, processes, and policies designed to create or improve case management are given. An annotated list of resources is also included.