Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs play a critical role in helping families move toward employment, stability, and long-term economic mobility, including through the use of career pathways, which are connected sequences of education, training, and work experiences that help individuals progress through chosen fields. STAR has created a catalog of career pathway toolkits to help TANF programs plan career pathway initiatives. 

To accompany the Career Pathways Toolkit Catalog, these Starter Pathways are designed to help TANF administrators and staff navigate the toolkits more efficiently and intentionally. 

Users can begin with Starter Pathways to identify where to start planning based on their role and quickly access the most relevant toolkit sections based on their career pathways goals.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs play a critical role in helping families move toward employment, stability, and long-term economic mobility, including through the use of career pathways, which are connected sequences of education, training, and work experiences that help individuals progress through chosen fields. STAR has created a catalog of career pathway toolkits to help TANF programs plan career pathway initiatives. 

To accompany the Career Pathways Toolkit Catalog, these Guided Use Cases offer short, practical explainers that show how TANF programs can apply selected tools to common implementation challenges. TANF administrators and staff can use these Guided Use Cases to quickly identify which tools are most relevant, when to use them, and how they can support TANF program goals.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) is excited to offer the opportunity to receive technical assistance on strengthening employment and relational outcomes for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants by integrating new and effective approaches for meeting the economic and social needs of families. State and Tribal TANF programs and their partner organizations that support TANF purposes are welcome to express interest in receiving technical assistance to strengthen employment and relational outcomes of customers.

The Family Routes Initiative supports the integration of evidence-based Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) practices, approaches that help build and sustain healthy marriages, strengthen positive father-child interactions, and build skills employers seek (e.g., soft skills, goal setting, self-regulation, accountability, and personal responsibility).

What Does the Family Routes Initiative Offer?

Selected participants may receive:

• Tailored assistance aligned to program goals and context
• Support adapting evidence-based HMRF practices for local needs
• Practical tools and resources to strengthen family outcomes

To express interest, please contact: familyroutes@deloitte.com.

This report outlines trends in declining marriage and fertility, critiques existing policies considered to discourage family formation, and proposes policy changes, including eliminating “marriage penalties” in welfare and tax programs and offering new tax credits to support married couples with children, to encourage stable, two parent families. The report frames these ideas as long term strategies for reversing demographic and cultural shifts and fostering economic and social resilience.

This California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation guide provides practical tips for couples on managing money together. It covers how to communicate about finances, set shared goals, create a budget, and decide whether to combine or separate accounts. TANF programs can share this resource with participants to help strengthen financial communication, planning, and teamwork in households to support family stability and long-term economic security.

These episodes from the Made for Love podcast explore how faith and financial decision‑making intersect: from personal money management to how couples and families navigate budgeting, communication, and shared goals through a spiritual lens. Part 1 focuses on the role of faith in financial perspectives and habits, while Part 2 connects that conversation to family life and long‑term planning.

For TANF programs partnering with faith‑ and community‑based organizations, these discussions can be great conversation starters or supplemental content for financial coaching, workshops, or support groups. Sharing them with participants who value faith‑based insights can deepen engagement around budgeting, planning, and family goal‑setting in ways that resonate with their values and community supports.

This resource shares ten principles for managing money in marriage, covering topics like communication, shared goal-setting, debt management, and long-term financial planning. TANF programs can partner with faith- and community-based organizations to use these principles in workshops or coaching sessions, helping participants explore values-driven financial practices while strengthening family stability. By integrating faith-informed guidance with TANF services, programs can offer participants practical tools for budgeting, planning, and shared decision-making in ways that resonate with their beliefs and community supports.

This website offers a range of free tools couples can use to strengthen their relationships. TANF programs can share them with participants who are in committed relationships or working toward family stability. These tools can help support communication, trust, and connection, which are often tied to broader economic and social wellbeing for families.

This toolkit from National Marriage Week offers free downloadable materials to help communities highlight healthy, committed relationships. It includes promotional graphics, sample social media posts, print ads, radio scripts, and a guide with ideas for community events and awareness building activities. These resources can be a helpful addition for programs that incorporate relationship skills, family support, or partner engagement into case management or workshops, giving staff approachable tools to encourage strong interpersonal connections that contribute to family stability and economic wellbeing.

This companion guide to Your Money, Your Goals offers financial tools and approaches tailored for Native communities. Created by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, it highlights strengths, values, and financial practices rooted in Indigenous cultures while offering practical worksheets on budgeting, planning, savings, and goal setting. For Tribal TANF or TANF programs working with Native participants and families, this guide can help make financial education more relevant used one on one in case management or shared in group workshops.