This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief provides a graphical overview of some of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy differences across states and territories. It includes information about initial eligibility, benefit amounts, work and activity requirements, and ongoing eligibility and time limits.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance hosted the Regions V-VIII State Technical Assistance Meeting from July 9 to July 11, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. Themed “Reimagining Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Programs through the Lens of Program Participants,” this meeting was designed to inspire, support, and engage TANF program leaders and staff in evidence-driven change that improves programs and positively impacts the lives of the families they serve. Over the course of the meeting, participants engaged in peer-to-peer learning, group discussion and idea generation, and networking among Federal and state colleagues.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a PeerTA webinar on Addressing Intergenerational Trauma among TANF Families on January 26, 2021. Understanding trauma and its transmission among families are critical considerations in human service delivery. Human services programs, including TANF, have a role to play in helping to mitigate and address the negative effects of intergenerational trauma through programming.

During this facilitated webinar, presenters defined intergenerational trauma and explored the ways in which trauma is transferred from parents to their children. Participants learned how TANF programs can minimize the impacts of intergenerational trauma, as well as heard about current research initiatives and from programs that are working to address intergenerational trauma in their communities. Presenters also examined the ways in which COVID-19 exacerbates trauma and strategies for TANF programs to identify and lessen these effects.

Presenters included Dr. Jessica Dym Bartlett and Dr. Dana Thomson, Child Trends; Dr. Mariana Chilton, Drexel University and Center for Hunger-Free Communities; Dr. Marla Conwell and Amber Hoyt, South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA); Alie Huxta, Associate Director of Partnerships and Strategic Planning; and Kevin Thomas, Jr., Associate Director of Operations and Asset Building, Building Wealth & Health Network. Dr. Nicole Bossard from ICF and TGC Consulting, Inc. facilitated the webinar.

Traditional TANF benefits are typically provided every month for up to 60 months to support family economic stability, while fostering workforce participation. However, TANF also allows states and tribes to help families without providing such ongoing assistance. Instead, they can design their TANF programs to provide non-recurrent short-term benefits (NRSTs) for families experiencing individual crises that require one-time or brief, targeted aid. State and tribal TANF programs provide NRSTs without a national crisis but relied on them broadly in responding to the 2008 financial crisis, use them to help in the face of natural disasters such as the Northern California wildfires, and now, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) published guidance on flexibilities in the TANF law and regulations that states and tribes might use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the provision of NRSTs to support economically vulnerable families during the pandemic. State and tribal TANF programs are currently providing NRSTs, which are not subject to the TANF requirements associated with "assistance" such as work requirements, to support families who have experienced specific hardships due to the COVID-19 emergency and to help those families continue progress toward economic independence.

In this facilitated webinar on July 28, 2020, presenters provided an overview of NRST benefits and explained how they can be used in the COVID-19 era. Additionally, state representatives shared how they have used NRST benefits in the field to support individuals and families affected by the pandemic. Panelists answered audience questions to assist other state and tribal programs in developing their own TANF responses to COVID-19. 

Human services and workforce agencies face complex, systemic challenges in serving families receiving TANF and other low-income families. Such challenges include bureaucratic program requirements, program leadership and staff entrenched in a compliance-focused mindset, limited financial and staff resources, and a mismatch between what customers need and what programs can provide. The Office of Family Assistance will host a webinar on March 24, 2020 from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. which will describe the successes, challenges, and opportunities for getting good, evidence-informed interventions to stick in human service and workforce programs.

During the webinar, we will hear from Dr. Michelle Derr, a leading implementation researcher who has studied TANF and workforce programs for more than 20 years. Additional presenters include exceptional program administrators who have rolled out science-informed strategies across programs within their respective service delivery systems who can share their day-to-day experience with getting good interventions to stick!

This webinar provides an overview of the Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) road test process, with examples of how it has helped large and small, urban and rural TANF programs to make targeted improvements and manage change. The presentation was held on March 26, 2018, as part of the IIEESS Coaching for Success series.

OFA PeerTA coordinated a multi-part training series for Tribal TANF programs seeking to improve case management outcomes. The facilitated online training series was delivered to assist frontline staff, client support specialists, lower-level managers, and others who may provide direct services or have direct engagement with participants. The bootcamp also created a small community of learning for participants.

 Webinar Series Details

Overarching Goals for Tribal TANF Programs:

• Enhance the case management skills of Tribal TANF staff to improve employment outcomes;
• Reduce the number of sanctions while improving work participation;
• Develop applicable products and tools to improve case management performance and employment outcomes; and
• Generate continuous dialogue across Tribal TANF programs resulting in long-term peer support and the sharing of best practices that improve employment outcomes

Webinar Topics/Dates: (Note - all times listed are Eastern Time)

• Improving Participant Engagement, Motivation and Participation – February 8, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Using Motivational Interviewing Techniques in Assessment – March 8, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Writing Effective, Efficient Case Notes that Support the Plan – May 3, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Improving Employment Outcomes – June 7, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.