This brief presents six considerations for practitioners who want to try using text message reminders to increase participation at the first session of a voluntary program and regular attendance thereafter. The considerations are drawn from a recent study assessing the effectiveness of text message reminders in promoting couples’ attendance at a voluntary healthy marriage and relationship education workshop in Florida. The study was conducted as part of the Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services evaluation for the Administration for Children and Families.

Millions of Americans have had their driver’s licenses suspended at some point because they have not paid legal fines and fees. Having one’s license suspended can make it harder to find and keep a job, can increase one’s exposure to the criminal legal system, and can generally place great strain on one’s life and the life of one’s family. This issue brief examines the causes, consequences, and scope of the practice of suspending driver’s licenses due to unpaid fines or fees. It focuses on the impact of license suspension on employment, while also examining the larger structural factors that facilitate the widespread use of legal fines and fees to generate revenue for municipalities. The brief also highlights He Got Up!, a program based in Florida that works to address the challenges of people affected by this practice.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is a case study of how the University of Florida’s ELEVATE program transitioned from a five-session, in-person Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education program to virtual delivery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers how the shift impacted staff training, participant recruitment and enrollment, program facilitation, participant retention strategies, and staff supervision and support.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is investing $7.3 million in 10 states to strengthen the systems and services that help families address challenges before they lead to foster care entry. The Prevention Accelerator Grants will support activities such as improving referral pathways, training staff in Motivational Interviewing, strengthening data and claiming systems, and expanding evidence-based family supports.

For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, this ACF announcement offers a useful look at how states are building stronger prevention systems around families. The announcement outlines the 10 jurisdictions’ plans to improve their services, including better referrals, shared data, and sustainable funding structures that can help families connect with the right support earlier. TANF programs can draw lessons from these approaches when considering partnerships with child welfare, community providers, and other family-serving programs.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) gives states broad flexibility to design cash assistance programs, but that same flexibility means safeguarding public funds depends heavily on how states choose to restrict where and how benefits are spent. This issue brief, co-written by Office of Family Assistance Director David Swegle and Assistant Secretary of Administration for Children and Families Alex Adams, examines the federal restrictions on TANF Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) transactions and the options states have to strengthen them.

It explains the mandatory federal floor prohibiting EBT transactions at liquor stores, casinos and gaming establishments, and adult-oriented entertainment venues; the penalty for state noncompliance; and the distinction between location-based and purchase-based restrictions, illustrated with examples of how Georgia, Texas, and Florida have expanded their own safeguards. TANF leaders and administrators can use this resource to assess whether their state's current policies meet the federal minimum and to consider whether additional restrictions would better protect taxpayer dollars and align assistance with program purposes.

States across the country are finding new ways to connect child support participants with employment opportunities. This federal webpage highlights child support-led employment programs operating across the country and the services they provide to help parents find and keep jobs. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can use these examples to identify promising practices, strengthen partnerships with child support agencies, and expand employment supports for families.

The National Center for Children in Poverty’s Basic Needs Budget Calculator breaks down what it actually costs to meet essential needs like housing, food, childcare, and transportation. It highlights gaps between wages, benefits, and real household expenses. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners can use it to support budgeting work that feels concrete and locally relevant, helping families understand what stability requires in practical terms.

Research from SmartAsset explores what it takes financially for one parent to stay home and the other to support the household. It adds context to the tradeoffs families face when making caregiving and work decisions. Within Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services, it can support more realistic financial planning discussions and help families think through how income choices affect stability, caregiving roles, and long-term goals.

The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates the income families need to cover basic expenses based on where they live and family size. It helps clarify a common disconnect in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work—employment alone does not always equal economic stability. Practitioners can use it to ground conversations about self-sufficiency in local reality, making it easier to connect job planning and financial goals to actual household needs and improve family stability.

A resource from the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network highlights how agencies are prioritizing placement with relatives or trusted caregivers when children cannot remain with their parents. These approaches help maintain family connections, reduce disruptions, and support more stable caregiving arrangements.

TANF programs can support this work by reinforcing care in the home or with relatives, including efforts that help stabilize caregiving arrangements, reduce placement changes, and support caregivers in meeting the day-to-day needs of children. This may also include coordinating with partner systems and aligning services to strengthen family-based care and promote continuity.