Staff from the Montana (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes/Roosevelt County) and Hoopa Valley Tribal TANF (California) met with personnel from various social service providers on the Turtle Mountain Reservation to learn more about innovative substance abuse prevention, job development, community building, and youth development programs currently being used on the Reservation. Both sites requested this visit due to their interest in investigating community/family centered strategies that supported substance abuse prevention and empowered Tribal communities.

The North Dakota Department of Human Services/Career Options Roundtable was held in Bismarck, North Dakota from May 5-6, 2009. Attendees included representatives from seven Rural Communities Initiative sites as well as administrators and case management staff from Career Options, Inc. Based on Career Options’ presentation during the Rural Communities Academy in September 2008, a number of Initiative sites requested follow-up on certain aspects of the programmatic work taking place at the organization. Specifically, sites expressed interest in Career Options’ organizational development model, child care and education programs, and case management strategies for hard-to-serve participants. With these requests in mind, the Roundtable was designed to include a series of in-depth breakout sessions that focused on the unique tools and case management approaches utilized by Career Options. In addition, as a way to show the diversity of Career Options’ caseload, Roundtable attendees participated in a site visit to the Standing Rock Reservation where they visited with case management staff and toured the Reservation. During the close-out session, attendees discussed their next steps for taking strategies from this Roundtable and replicating them in their local areas.

In keeping with the goal of engaging all families and improving employment and self-sufficiency outcomes as well as the goal of increasing collaboration between the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IV, VI and VIII, held a Tri-Regional Technical Assistance Forum, September 23-25, 2008, in Dallas. The theme of the 3-day Forum was titled, “The Power of Partnership.” The forum, in plenary sessions, addressed the interfacing issues of both programs. Separately, State TANF Directors and members of their staff learned about strategies and new resources to help refine implementation of the provisions of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.

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.

At the request of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, Peer TA sponsored this event to assist participants in improving job retention among TANF participants who have relocated to new areas. The Roundtable’s intent was to address systems and resources for providing services to TANF participants residing in rural areas. This Roundtable included participants from the Mississippi Department of Human Services Regional Offices, and representatives from partner programs in Mississippi, Nevada, North Dakota, and Ohio. Features of the Roundtable included interactive dialogue among participants to facilitate action planning for Mississippi to strategize about next steps for necessary programmatic and policy changes, and opportunities for participants to learn from one another and share ideas.

Authored by Walter Hillabrant, Judy Earp, Mack Rhoades, and Nancy Pindus. This report presents findings from a Mathematica study, done under the Welfare to Work evaluation, of economic development initiatives in eight tribes (Cheyenne River Sioux, Citizen Potawatomi, Colville Confederated Tribes, Gila River, Mississippi Choctaw, Navajo Nation, Three Affiliated Tribes, and Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and two Alaska Native corporations (Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Doyon Limited). This report discusses how American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages have embraced the goals, objectives, and programs associated with welfare reform, but the lack of jobs limits the success of tribal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare-to-Work (WtW).

This report summarizes a workshop entitled "Promoting Performance in TANF Programs" that took place on July 29-31, 2003 and was sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The workshop focused on performance and performance considerations in the TANF program.

Authored by Mary Nakashian, this report describes a meeting that took place in Denver, CO, on August 10-12, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was designed to help substance abuse and welfare officials from Region VIII States better integrate substance abuse treatment and employment services for methamphetamine addicts receiving welfare benefits.

This report summarizes a national conference that took place in Arlington, VA, on March 20-21, 2003. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This conference brought together substance abuse treatment agency directors and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) administrators from forty States, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. The conference provided a forum for these policymakers and administrators to share information about their experience and concerns, and their promising strategies used in strengthening the collaboration and partnership of TANF and substance abuse treatment directors.

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.