The 2011 Annual Region X Tribal TANF Conference was held in Tulalip, Washington at the Tulalip Resort from September 27-29, 2011. The Conference provided Tribal TANF programs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington an opportunity to discuss and strategize methods for improving their programs and services to better serve their families and communities. Best practices and lessons learned were shared throughout the conference on a wide range of topics, including asset building, child care, child welfare, economic development, program evaluation as a method for program enhancement, and subsidized employment.

Acknowledging the needs of Tribal TANF programs in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Region X Office convened the Region X Tribal TANF Fiscal and Data Meeting in Seattle, Washington, on April 26-27, 2011. The meeting was a direct response to requests of Tribal TANF Programs regarding further guidance on data management, processing, reporting, and fiscal procedures.

The economic and social needs in many Tribal communities are substantial. Poverty and related social challenges have long provided American Indian and Alaska Native Nations increased reason to improve economic development while enhancing service delivery for Tribal members. To aid in the development of comprehensive strategies to improve the available services for Tribal TANF participants, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region X hosted the Tribal TANF Conference in Tulalip, Washington on September 27-29, 2010. The 2-and-a-half day conference highlighted a variety of topics including data management, subsidized employment, emergency preparedness, client assessment, responsible fatherhood, domestic violence, self-sufficiency programming, and non-custodial parent services.

On April 29th, 2008, Welfare Peer TA conducted a site visit to the Coeur d’Alene Tribal TANF program in Plummer, Idaho based on the Tribe’s Request for TA. Welfare Peer TA 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 Coeur d’Alene 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) sponsored a 3-day conference for Tribal TANF grantees in Regions VI, VIII, and X. The annual meeting was designed to address the needs of grantees who have received funding to operate Tribal TANF programs. A total of 30 Tribal TANF programs were represented at the conference. The objective of the conference was to promote awareness and provide information on effective implementation and service delivery, as well as afford grantees the opportunity to collaborate and communicate with each other.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored this Roundtable on May 9-10, 2007, in Boise, Idaho. The principal goals of the Roundtable were to build and enhance partnerships statewide between social services providers, Idaho TANF Agency, business leaders, faith-based organizations, etc., with an aim toward helping low wage earning families achieve financial self-sufficiency.

This report summarizes the ACF Rapid Response Technical Assistance workshop, Collaborating to Address the Needs of Multi-Barrier Families, held August 29-30, 2001 in Boise, Idaho. The workshop designed to help Idaho move low-income families with substance abuse problems toward recovery and self-sufficiency. The workshop was intended to increase knowledge and understanding of substance abuse and treatment, and to provide opportunities to explore how existing substance abuse treatment systems operate and connect, and how they can be strengthened in the State of Idaho.

The purpose of this seminar was to provide State representatives the opportunity to join with Federal partners on identifying and sharing information related to service integration efforts. The conference was centered on peer-to-peer learning among participants.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance programs wit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, the nature of public assistance changed from an entitlement program to one that requires individuals to work in order to receive time-limited support. This change in the welfare delivery system was accompanied by an increase in State-level flexibility in program design and operation. Welfare reform required no less than a redefinition of the role of decision makers at the Federal, State and local level, including the role played by front line workers when interacting with welfare recipients. In the journey toward reinventing the social safety net, States have met a variety of formidable challenges. Five years after the passage of welfare reform, this report takes stock of the past and current challenges that States have encountered. This report focuses on the policies and services provided to the hardest-to-serve and on the network of collaborations that States have developed to address the needs of these populations.

The National Healthy Marriage Academy, held January 8 and 9, 2003,  in Arlington, VA, provided an opportunity for representatives from several States to learn more about the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Healthy Marriage Initiative. The Academy afforded States an opportunity to hear presentations from nationally recognized speakers, researchers, and Federal policy makers, as well as from other States with successful Healthy Marriage Initiatives.