As a part of continued support to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and their endeavors to serve individuals and families virtually during the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Family Assistance recorded a PeerTA webinar on June 24, 2020. TANF staff and those they serve had to retool quickly to adapt to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Staff who conduct in-person case management and coaching are looking for ways to continue these needed services virtually in order to protect the health and safety of individuals and families, ensure the health and safety of their own families, and maintain confidentiality by using virtual services that are secure. Luckily, remote case management services are not new concepts, as they are increasingly being used across TANF and other client/student serving organizations to provide efficient and effective support to those they would normally see face-to-face.

This panel webinar discussed virtual TANF case management and coaching strategies considering the risks associated with COVID-19. Information was delivered in a panel format with question and answer dialogue with panelists. Through the panel webinar registration process, registrants had the opportunity to pose questions for the panelists and the field to consider as they make critical decisions about their ongoing operations, including use of virtual tools and processes to conduct coaching/case management sessions.

Speakers included:

• Annette Waters, Ph.D., Social Science Analyst, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)
• DaiJuan Wade, Supervisor -- Special Projects, Operations and Training, District of Columbia Department of Human Services
• Suzie Miller, Workforce Programs Manager, Arapahoe/Douglas Workforce Center 
• Mary Roberto, PeerTA Project Director, Manhattan Strategy Group (Panel Moderator)

This research-to-practice brief identifies programmatic solutions to support reentry for young adults who have been involved in the juvenile justice or criminal justice system as they navigate employment and education pathways. The brief summarizes best practices from nine communities under the three-year U.S. Department of Labor-funded Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC). CRC communities are: Southeast Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; and Albany, New York.

This National Governors Association policy brief examines the lessons learned from the Parents and Children Thriving Together: Two-Generation State Policy Network (PACTT Network). Initially convened in 2016, the PACTT Network is a policy academy that created and implemented two-generation strategies to address intergenerational poverty. The policy academy included state representatives from Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Oregon.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation issue brief examines how two agencies, Alameda County, California and the Colorado Department of Human Services use continuous quality improvement (CQI) in implementing their programs that address youth at risk of homelessness. CQI is a process-oriented evaluation that supports the enhancement of programs and practices through ongoing collection analysis of real-time data to identify and test changes in program implementation. Key components of this brief look at the CQI process design features at these two agencies, how the CQI process affected the operation of the agency’s interventions to prevent homelessness among youth and young adults who have been involved in the child welfare system, and what advice the two agencies have for other entities that may use CQI in their program reviews.

This Aspen Institute toolkit provides practical guidance for employers on how to approach and engage opportunity youth (young people who are neither in school nor working) and design initiatives so they are positioned for current and future economic challenges and jobs. The toolkit also offers resources on how to use labor market research as the basis of conversation between employers and youth. The approach is drawn from insights from Denver, New York, and Seattle pilots.

This brief highlights the collaboration among Mesa County Workforce Center partners to deliver case management and workforce services to TANF and non-TANF clients, under the umbrella of a “Career Development Program.” The Workforce Center has structured its TANF-funded Colorado Works Subsidized Training and Employment Program (CW STEP) to mirror WIOA and provide more employment services to clients. With clients’ needs and teamwork in mind, Mesa County has also redesigned its case management spaces and prioritized cross-program collaboration with joint staff training and goal-oriented accountability tools.

Sections of the brief discuss joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.