The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the El Paso County Department of Human Services (DHS). Ms. Barbara Drake, Deputy Director, El Paso County DHS, led the planning and carrying out of this site visit. It was intended for site visitors to gain an understanding of El Paso County’s uniquely holistic approach to integrating intake and case management activities for multiple programs including TANF, child welfare, child care, domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, with the CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, hosted a Roundtable entitled Establishing Linkages Between TANF and Child Welfare Programs May 31, 2002 in Sacramento, CA. This Roundtable was attended by representatives from four States (NC, NJ, WI, CO) as well as the State of California and ten of its counties currently working toward improving service coordination.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), assisted the Colorado Works Program, Office of Self Sufficiency, Department of Human Services, in the planning and hosting of this workshop. The purpose of this technical assistance workshop was to explore new and innovative ways to use TANF non-assistance funds to serve low-income populations. The workshop was designed to allow key county social service staff to learn about existing programs outside the State, hear the Federal perspective relating to TANF non-assistance funds, and provide a forum for dialogue with the State social service office. Participants who attended included county commissioners, social service directors, and key administrative staff. Thirty-one county representatives from all over the State were present.

This short report describes the Roundtable entitled Developing Strategies to Address the Child-Only Caseload that was held April 8-9, 2003 in Colorado Springs (El Paso County). The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted discussion with State TANF administrators around the country to assess their current policies and programs designed to meet the needs of the child-only caseload, and to gauge their level of interest in participating a Roundtable on this topic. The full report fully describes the meeting, attended by California, Colorado, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, and includes important highlights and lessons learned.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted discussions with State TANF administrators around the country to assess their current policies around the child-only caseload. These States include Alabama, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As a result, eleven States participated in the first Roundtables entitled Developing Strategies to Address the Child-Only Caseload held April 8-9, 2003, in Colorado Springs (El Paso County), Colorado. In response to the positive feedback received following the first Roundtable, a second Roundtable was held in Trenton, New Jersey, on June 3-4, 2003. Participants at the second Roundtable heard presentations from New Jersey; El Paso County, Colorado; and Alabama about innovative practices in those locations.

During this Roundtable, participants heard presentations from El Paso County, Colorado, and the States of Alabama and New Jersey about innovative practices in those locations. South Carolina shared results of a large-scale research effort regarding the demographics and wellbeing of the TANF child-only caseload. The Roundtable also enjoyed sessions regarding economic security, presented by staff from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the AARP. Thanks to the hospitality of the State of Alabama Department of Human Resources, Roundtable participants were given a tour of Alabama’s Kinship Care (KC) program. Participants in the Roundtable were also able to speak with program specialists, staff, and clients of these child-only services.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored this multi-State Roundtable event on November 19-20, 2003. The Roundtable showcased promising practices from around the country and provided an opportunity for participants to think strategically about how to design and implement these programs, as well as the occasion to learn about and discuss “what works” in serving this at-risk population. Participants included representatives from the States of Colorado, Virginia, and Wyoming. Roundtable speakers included State and local government agencies, service providers, practitioners, Federal personnel, and leaders of national  organizations.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network under contract from the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) coordinated a workshop on the topic of Post-employment Services: Making Job Retention and Post-Employment Services Work. The contractors on the Network are AFYA, Inc. and Caliber Associates. This one day technical assistance event was a multi-state workgroup designed to review the lessons learned from the Post-employment Services Demonstration Project (PESD) and to explore strategies for job retention and post-employment support.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), in collaboration with the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network hosted, a teleconference to discuss strategies, lessons learned, and ideas to develop successful work experience (WEX) sites. The teleconference was a response to several frontier State inquiries regarding the development of WEX sites in both tribal and non-tribal rural areas. Participating Sates included Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Federal ACF and Welfare Peer TA contract staff also participated in the call.

CDHS requested TA regarding innovative and proven strategies for utilizing subsidized employment, supervised work experience and community service to meet work participation rates and increase self-sufficiency outcomes.