TANF and WIOA programs in Tulare County, California are working together to coordinate employment services for CalWORKs (TANF) and work-eligible clients. Strategies include co-enrollment in programs—including WIOA career services, TANF supportive services, and a subsidized employment program—as well as shared spaces, cross-program workgroups, and a common database to exchange performance outcomes. This site also has a special focus on serving migrants and seasonal workers in rural areas.

Sections of the brief discuss joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore job center and its partners have streamlined TANF and WIOA assessment and referral processes, as well as sharing staff, spaces, and resources across programs, to improve service delivery to TANF customers. Job center partners aim to match job seekers with employers through opportunities such as a “reverse job fair,” a job search database, and a regional job developer to specifically work with customers. Maryland also focuses on serving rural populations, with transportation subsidies and a mobile job center that delivers select WIOA services to TANF clients in rural areas.

This brief is organized into sections on joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

This case statement highlights the collaboration between American Job Centers (called WorkSource) and TANF agencies in Spokane, Washington. WorkSource and partners have restructured staffing, resource allocation, and approaches to workforce development services with a customer-centered design. Leaders are also investing in organizational change through staff training, cross-program communication, and building support among staff at all levels.

This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations. Sections of the brief describe joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and the management of collaborative activities. Readers, especially TANF programs looking to scale or replicate the practices, may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources.

Many families in the TANF system face complex challenges that make it difficult for them to attain economic security. Some have disabilities or struggle with substance abuse or physical or mental health issues. Others do not have the skills or experiences needed for available jobs. Still others cannot secure a job because of a criminal record or failed drug test. Many face several of these employment barriers at the same time. 

An Office of Family Assistance (OFA)-sponsored webinar on May 29, 2019 shared the experiences of two TANF programs which have developed innovative approaches to serving families with complex family needs. The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance is partnering with the state vocational rehabilitation agency to pilot the Individualized Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment for a set of TANF customers who had previously been exempt from work requirements due to a limiting physical or mental condition. Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions partnered with a number of community partners to provide Families Achieving Success Today (FAST), an initiative designed to improve employment outcomes for TANF recipients with work limitations and/or disabilities and to reduce racial disparities in employment outcomes. A representative from Project IMPROVE informed attendees about support that may be available through OFA to design and test approaches to serving families with complex family needs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held the Policy Academy for Innovative Employment Strategies (PAIES) Kickoff Meeting in Arlington, Virginia on January 7-9, 2019. Through PAIES, state teams receive 18 months of coaching and technical assistance to help design, plan, and implement innovative and comprehensive approaches to increase employment outcomes for TANF participants through coaching and career pathways. Working with ACF staff, local evaluators, and other partners, coaching teams work to move from traditional case management models to coaching models in local TANF programs, and career pathways teams strive to improve career pathways through the provision of training, work experience, and support services.  

The PAIES kickoff meeting provided an in-person opportunity for coaching and career pathways teams from across the U.S. to meet with each other, their coaches, subject matter experts, and federal and contract staff. Objectives of the meeting were to: share promising and research-informed practices in coaching, career pathways, organizational culture, and change management; discuss key levers and processes to implement, evaluate, and monitor PAIES activities; support dedicated team times, peer exchanges, and expert consultations to inform action planning; and lay the foundation for team work over the course of PAIES with coaching, expert consultation, and other supports.

 

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) presents a set of 14 videos which profile participants who completed training programs and have moved into economic independence from public assistance to employment. These success stories demonstrate that OFA programs are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives across the country.

Strong partnerships between TANF programs and employers can lead to better long-term employment outcomes for TANF participants. By developing a partnership with employers, TANF programs gain direct access to information about potential and existing job openings, current occupational and skill needs, and anticipated changes within the organization that may impact jobs. In return, employers benefit by having access to a large pool of work-ready job applicants who have been pre-screened to fit the employer’s need, receive job supports that improve the likelihood of workplace success such as transportation and child care, and have access to education and training resources that help participants continue to build their skills. In these partnerships, TANF programs can work with employers to balance an employer’s need for productive employees and a TANF program’s need for job placements.

 

In this facilitated webinar, presenters shared how they leverage stable, long-term relationships with employers to increase employment opportunities for TANF participants. Additionally, presenters highlighted lessons learned and strategies for making such partnerships work. This webinar was held on August 22, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. EDT.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IV through VIII hosted the 2018 OFA Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on July 17-18, 2018 at the Mystic Lake Center in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives with an opportunity to discuss promising strategies for serving low-income families, share challenges, and gather with peers. Attendees participated in presentations from program administrators and experts, heard from practitioners who serve low-income populations, and learned about technical assistance opportunities.

This webinar explored promising practices and programs from TANF programs and Department of Labor grantees that help TANF recipients with a disability move toward employment. The webinar examined opportunities and challenges in providing supports and services as well as strategies and approaches, such as customized employment being used to help recipients with a disability secure and maintain employment. It explored opportunities for partnerships between TANF and disability and workforce programs to promote employment outcomes and:

• Provided a context for the connection between disability, TANF, and intergenerational poverty.
• Shared information on evidence-based approaches that offer universal design strategies for youth on TANF and/or in families receiving TANF support.
• Provided information on different user-friendly strategies for implementing Customized Employment, another universal design evidence-based approach to employment that better ensures a successful job match with higher retention rates.
• Highlighted states that are implementing successful practices to engage and support people with disabilities that promote employment outcomes.
• Provided links to resources that can assist TANF program staff in designing programs and providing services that promote employment outcomes for youth and adults with disabilities.

This webinar was held on Thursday, July 12, 2018 from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. EDT. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IX and X held the OFA Regions IX-X Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Meeting at the Suquamish Clearwater Resort in Suquamish, Washington on August 21-23, 2018. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives with the opportunity to learn about promising practices, discuss shared challenges faced by Tribal TANF and NEW programs, and share ideas with peers on how to respond to the needs of tribal families. Attendees listened to presentations from program administrators and experts, heard from practitioners who work with tribes, learned about technical assistance opportunities, and shared lessons from their own programs.