Many human services providers struggle with recruiting and retaining staff due to work-related stress, burnout, low salaries, and lack of benefits. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief describes approaches to overcoming challenges with hiring and retaining staff for human services programs. Leaders of human services programs may find it helpful for strengthening their talent pool.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report explores how employer engagement and job development can be mutually beneficial for programs, participants, and employers. The report provides practical examples and lessons learned about strategies for engaging employers in job development. This resource is written for leaders and staff of employment programs that work with people who face complex challenges to employment.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes promising strategies used to hire and support peer support staff. Leaders of human services programs may find it helpful to draw on this information as they are considering hiring peer support staff.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) requires states and territories to report secondary school attainment outcomes for TANF recipients. Although this information may be available from administrative data sources, some states or recipients may find it necessary to gather data through surveys. This resource offers helpful guidelines and tips to improve survey response rates.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) includes several key changes to TANF, including a reset of the base year for the caseload reduction credit (CRC) component of the work participation rate (WPR) calculation. Additionally, the law requires HHS to exclude from the WPR calculations certain cases that receive benefits of less than $35 per month. Both changes go into effect October 1, 2025.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a virtual information-sharing session with federal program staff on August 6, 2025. They provided a presentation on Sections 301 and 303 of the FRA and the impact each may have on TANF programs. State TANF program officials were encouraged to participate in this forum to receive guidance on meeting the requirements of Sections 301 and 303.

The Office of Family Assistance’s TANF Outcomes Technical Assistance and Logistics (TOTAL) team delivers training and technical assistance to state TANF programs and partners responding to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA). The team hosted their July office hours on July 31, 2025 to review the best practices and tools for collecting education outcome data for FRA reporting. The discussion included data collection through self-attestation and how TANF programs may implement this method for reporting on secondary school outcomes of TANF recipients and exiters.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released the new request for applications for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pilot. The pilot will select up to five states to test innovative approaches aimed at promoting work and reducing government dependency.

The pilot is authorized under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and reflects the Administration’s commitment to reshaping welfare programs to encourage employment, personal responsibility, and strong, stable two-parent families. States are encouraged to propose alternative performance measures to the work participation rate that prioritize rapid employment outcomes, earnings progression, and reduced dependency on TANF, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and other welfare. 

ACF encourages all states and territories to apply. The application period will close at 11:59 PM ET on August 15, 2025. The pilot program for the selected states will begin on October 1, 2025.

Further information on the TANF pilot program can be found on the Office of Family Assistance Fiscal Responsibility Act implementation page. If questions remain, please contact TANFquestions@acf.hhs.gov. 

As the TANF program nears its 30th year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to reinforcing the program’s core values of personal responsibility and work as a pathway to reduced dependency and family self-sufficiency. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) authorized a new opportunity for states to pilot program performance and accountability measures in TANF. Pub. L. No. 118-5, § 302. The pilot can play a pivotal role in the design of modern approaches to moving work-eligible individuals into the labor force, while providing critical insights on ways to operationalize personal responsibility. To align with Trump Administration priorities, ACF is issuing a new request for pilot proposals and encourages all states and territories, including members of the prior cohort of applicants, to submit a proposal. The up to five pilot states will focus on moving TANF recipients from dependency to independence by promoting work, personal responsibility, and strong, stable families as the foundations of self-sufficiency. This draft request for proposals is available for public comment. Email any comments on the proposed collection of information to infocollection@acf.hhs.gov for consideration by ACF.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) published a Federal Register Notice seeking public comment by June 20, 2025, on a proposed information collection for the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) TANF Pilot Program. This reissued request reflects a shift in federal priorities toward promoting work and reducing dependency. Up to five states will be selected for a six-year pilot that replaces traditional Work Participation Rate (WPR) requirements with work and family stability outcome-based performance measures. During the 30-day comment period, stakeholders should review the Draft Request for Proposals to understand and comment on the pilot’s goals, eligibility, and accountability framework. Alternatively, a copy can be obtained by sending an email to infocollection@acf.hhs.gov; all requests should be identified by the title of the information collection.