The economic shocks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic along with social distancing and stay-at-home orders have dramatically reshaped the approach social service programs are taking to support employment for low-income populations. The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) will sponsor a webinar on October 28, 2020 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET featuring leaders from three employment and training programs (Climb Wyoming, Rhode Island Works, and Community Action Organization of Scioto County). The speakers will describe their approaches to continuing training programs and other employment services during the pandemic. These programs participated in OPRE’s State TANF Case Studies project to explore different approaches to providing employment-related and supportive services to TANF recipients and other low-income populations. The panelists will discuss the operational implications of the pandemic for their programs; how participants of their services are balancing participation in employment services with competing life demands and suspension of supportive services, such as child care; and the implications of shifting labor market conditions.

The 2016 Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Region I (Boston), Region II (New York), Region III (Philadelphia), and Region IV (Atlanta) East Coast TANF Directors Meeting was held on July 12‐14, 2016, in Providence, Rhode Island. The theme, Reflecting on the Past: Looking Forward to the Future, was an opportunity for TANF program directors and other key stakeholders to engage with peers about innovative ideas, strategies, and collaborations that promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and communities. Meeting participants engaged with OFA leadership, their peers, and experts in the field to discuss some of the pressing challenges facing TANF participants and low‐income, vulnerable families today and ways that TANF programs can serve as a comprehensive support system for these families. Sessions focused on two‐generation approaches to breaking the cycle of poverty, TANF/WIOA coordination and implementation, career pathways and apprenticeships, targeting the hard‐to‐serve and executive functioning, and additional opportunities for TANF programs in 2016 and beyond. The context of these discussions was grounded in using data to measure program effectiveness and drive decision‐making.