The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Region IX hosted representatives from Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, and Nevada at the 2013 Region IX TANF Peer Collaboration and Technical Assistance Workshop in American Canyon, California on September 10-11, 2013. State and territory representatives shared strategies they are utilizing to improve program performance and outcomes for TANF participants. Experts from the field added to the discussions with presentations on the role of TANF in resolving homelessness; engaging non-custodial parents as a strategy to facilitating family self-sufficiency; utilizing peer mentor approaches to improve client engagement; and emerging research opportunities in the TANF field.

Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Policy Development, Evaluation and Research by The Center for Youth and Communities and the Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, this report details the implementation of the Recovery Act summer youth employment initiative in four communities. Researchers conducted interviews and site visits in Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana; and Phoenix and Maricopa County, Arizona. Authors provide information on implementation, innovation utilized by the sites, and best practices for future program development.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Region IX hosted six Tribes from Arizona, community stakeholders and topical experts at the 2011 Tribal TANF Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 8th and 9th, 2011. The conference agenda featured experts and presenters who helped Tribal TANF representatives strategize to develop stronger programs that would better serve their participants. Tribes were provided with ideas and models for handling data management, working with domestic violence survivors, implementing programs that respond to TANF Purposes 3 and 4 and ensuring that fraud is detected. The conference was designed to provide an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning to enhance Tribal TANF programs and create opportunities for self-sufficiency while maintaining each Tribes’ individual culture and traditions.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded a study to determine how local management of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs has adapted practices to address changing needs and improve program results. To understand these local adaptations, the research team—which included staff from the Lewin Group and the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government—visited five local TANF offices to interview staff and collect data. The sites selected were among locations where field research was conducted several years ago in order to gauge changes since the early years of TANF implementation. The five sites were in Phoenix, Arizona; Macon, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Newark, New Jersey; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Site visits were conducted between February and July 2006. This report presents major findings from the site visits. Several cross-cutting findings emerged from the study: (author abstract)

For many years Tribal communities throughout Arizona have been challenged to meet the economic needs of low-income residents. Many Tribal communities suffer from high unemployment and low educational attainment and are hampered economically by low-income levels. On September 1-2, 2010, to respond to the ongoing and specific needs of Tribes in Arizona, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region IX hosted a Tribal TANF meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. The meeting focused on comprehensive case management for Tribal TANF participants, administrative guidance, job creation, data management, and program development. As requested by the participants of the 2009 Tribal TANF meetings in ACF Region IX all care was used to develop a more interactive session between presenters and participants. As a result, the 2010 ACF Region IX Tribal TANF meetings were developed as discussion forums and there are no additional printed resources available at this time. For any additional information on these meetings, please contact ACF Region IX.

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 Initiative conducted a Site Visit to the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program based on their request for TA. Rural Communities Initiative staff partnered with consultants from the U.C. Davis Extension at the University of California to provide the Tribe with an in-depth needs assessment in order to strategize on developing solutions for programmatic improvement. The consultants, Julie Gondry and Dr. Geni Cowan, are Tribal TANF subject matter experts with program based skills in training, case management, and data reporting. Based upon the assessment results, the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program will receive valuable recommendations to further enhance aspects of their program’s structure and administration to reach the end goal of self-sufficiency for their TANF participants.

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 study was completed through the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, and explores how local management of TANF programs has adapted practices to address changing needs of the TANF population in the local areas. This study was conducted in five sites across the country, including Phoenix, Arizona; Macon, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Newark, New Jersey and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Findings conclude that the implementation of TANF varies across the sites, and that programs will have upcoming changes in response to the Deficit Reduction Act.

Authored by Carole Trippe, Liz Schott, Nancy Wemmerus, and Andrew Berwick. This study examines the experiences of four States--Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, and Ohio--that use the simplified reporting option of the Food Stamp Program; Arizona also uses the transitional benefit option. States reported reduced staff workload, improved client access, and reduced quality control errors with simplified reporting but faced some operational challenges that made realizing the option's full potential difficult.