The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar entitled “Opioid Use Disorder, Treatment, and Barriers to Employment Among TANF Recipients” on March 29, 2018. Opioid use disorder in the United States has skyrocketed since 2010, yet little contemporary research has been conducted on this surge’s effects on the TANF population. Existing research about the opioid crisis primarily focuses on its impact on the general population, while TANF-centered studies almost exclusively examine general substance use. Moreover, research shows opioid and substance use disorders pose significant barriers to employment for low-income individuals. Such an information gap makes it difficult to properly address TANF recipients’ needs for effective opioid use treatment. This interactive webinar explored how opioid use disorder affects TANF recipients and TANF-eligible individuals, as well as emerging strategies for assessing and treating these populations.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held the 2017 National Tribal Summit at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia on August 16-18, 2017. Sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), the 2017 National Tribal TANF Summit brought together program administrators, stakeholders, and leaders. The event provided attendees with opportunities to interact with peers, hear from experts in the field, and share best practices and the latest self-sufficiency research, with the common goal of improving Tribal TANF programming to benefit families in need.

To help the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) better understand what is needed for organizations to successfully embed two-generation approaches in their service delivery, OFA created a year-long Community of Learning (COL) initiative to support 11 interested program teams from across the United States. Invited to participate were Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, Tribal TANF/Child Welfare Collaboration (TTCW) grantees, Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) programs, and Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) programs. To mark the end of the year for the two-generation COL, OFA held the Two-Generation Community of Learning Capstone Event at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland on September 18-20, 2017. This capstone and closeout of the COL brought together two-gen COL participants and provided them the opportunity to reflect on, celebrate, and acknowledge the progress that teams have made in implementing their whole family focus visions and strategies, as well as their next steps.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held the Linking Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Families to Employment and Economic Opportunities Meeting at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia on August 14-16, 2017. This meeting allowed Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program representatives from around the country the opportunity to learn about promising practices and actionable implementation strategies to improve employment outcomes and economic independence among TANF families. Over the course of the meeting, attendees attended presentations from experts and program administrators, and participated in peer-moderated InfoSessions, OFA Regional breakout discussions, and a sharing session with OFA leadership. Almost 300 TANF representatives, State and Territory Human Service Commissioners, and federal partners attended the meeting.

On August 17, 2017, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsored a technical assistance site exchange for Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions to meet with staff from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation’s (DLLR) Division of Workforce Development and Adult Learning, and Maryland Department of Human Services’ Office of Workforce Development to discuss service delivery methods. During the site exchange, Ramsey County shared materials that reflect their approach to adopting and implementing a comprehensive, strengths-based, service delivery model, including how they built staff capacity through training on coaching, motivational interviewing, and executive functioning skills. (When using these materials, Mathematica, Goodwill Easter Seals of Minnesota, and Ramsey County Workforce Solutions should be credited.)

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is the first federal legislative reform of the public workforce system in over 16 years. It presents unique opportunities to increase the economic opportunities and stability of disadvantaged jobseekers. The state of Maryland became one of only 29 states and 2 territories that opted to develop a Combined State Plan which aligns its workforce and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs across the state, requiring its 12 Local Workforce Areas to design distinct implementation plans responsive to the population needs in each of Maryland’s 24 counties (and Baltimore City). This report, developed through the Office of Family Assistance, details Maryland’s TANF/WIOA Alignment Process.

Social capital refers to the resources and support that people can access by virtue of their networks – from family, friends, and neighbors, to teachers, colleagues, and social services staff. Greater social capital is associated with greater mobility and wellbeing, through access to information, support, and reinforcement of positive norms. It has also been associated with greater resilience, the capacity to adapt positively to risk or adversity. Research indicates that organizations can be a source for helping individuals build social capital through opportunities for peer networking and assuming leadership roles, which may heighten motivation to persist in achieving education and employment goals (Sabol & Chase-Lansdale, 2014). OFA sponsored a webinar that explored how TANF and other social service programs can be a source to help participants build social capital that will support their journey to self-sufficiency.

This practice brief highlights the efforts of four Office of Family Assistance, Systems to Family Stability National Policy Academy teams that redesigned their TANF case management systems to support client coaching and motivational interviewing strategies. The Academy was an 18-month initiative that supported TANF programs in designing and creating collaborative systems across agencies to improve family economic security.

Project IMPROVE, which is funded by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), is a training and technical assistance resource for TANF programs interested in improving outcomes for low-income families. Under contract with OFA, Mathematica Policy Research works in partnership with state and local TANF agencies using the Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) process to execute collaborative, evidence-informed program change. LI2 was developed by Mathematica in partnership with the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University with support from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. This process has been or is being used in dozens of TANF and workforce agencies across the country to design, implement, and test innovative strategies to improve program performance and client outcomes.

This OFA-sponsored webinar on October 26th from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. EST provided an overview of the LI2 process, drawing upon recent examples of how it has helped large and small, urban and rural TANF programs make targeted improvements and manage change. We highlighted innovations that have emerged from TANF programs using this process. Presenters included Michelle Derr and Jonathan McCay from Mathematica Policy Research, Dena Jardine from the Larimer County Workforce Center in Colorado, and Noelle Simmons from the San Francisco Human Services Agency.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (HHS/ACF/OFA) Regions V and VII hosted the TANF Technical Assistance Meeting, Innovations in TANF: Setting the Stage for the Next 20 Years on June 22-24, 2016, at the Bolling Federal Building in Kansas City Missouri. The meeting brought together TANF program administrators and other key stakeholders to engage with peers on innovative strategies and collaborations to promote economic and social well-being for individuals, families, and communities. Meeting attendees were provided with opportunities to discuss best practices and latest research, as well as to plan ways to improve TANF programming for low-income families in their jurisdictions.