This updated and expanded report from the Congressional Research Service provides a summary of TANF block grant information and addresses frequently asked questions. The report covers TANF funding and expenditures, TANF caseload data, level of TANF cash benefits, and TANF work participation standards.

More than half the caseload of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program consists of child-only cases, in which a child receives TANF cash assistance but the parent or caregiver does not. The most common type of child-only case is a nonparent caregiver case, consisting of children being cared for by someone other than their parents, often a grandparent. Research suggests that nonparent caregiver cases are often vulnerable with many unmet needs and that the children in these cases share characteristics with children living in foster care: mental health conditions, school-related problems, and experience with trauma. Kinship navigator programs can be an important tool for supporting these families. Most states are developing or expanding these programs, and the federal government has provided funding in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 to state and eligible tribal child welfare agencies to develop, enhance, or evaluate kinship navigator programs. The Family First Prevention Services Act amended the Social Security Act to allow title IV-E agencies to receive funding for kinship navigator programs that meet certain evidence-based criteria; see ACYF-CB-PI-18-11 for program requirements.

On July 16, 2019, the Office of Family Assistance, in collaboration with the Children’s Bureau, sponsored a webinar that featured kinship navigator programs operating in three states and the services they offer to nonparent caregivers. Arizona Kinship Support Services connects kinship families to government benefits, links them to legal services, and helps them navigate existing community support systems. California’s UWCA-211-iFoster Kinship Navigator Collaborative provides an online, self-service resource portal for kinship families that coordinates public and private resources based on the families’ individual needs and preferences. The New York State Kinship Navigator provides an information and referral network for kinship caregivers statewide. In addition to these three states, the webinar featured a representative from the Children’s Bureau who discussed the federal funding available for kinship navigator programs and a representative from the Assisting Special Populations to Improve Readiness and Engagement (ASPIRE) study team who shared information on TANF child-only cases.

The blogpost, co-authored by the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families and the Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) at the U.S. Department of Justice, highlights the partnering efforts between both federal agencies to reduce the frequency and impact of child abuse and neglect. Key highlights in this post are the Children’s Bureau’s and OJJDP’s resources, including an information memorandum, resource guides and tip sheets, and toolkits, as well as collaborative efforts to engage child welfare and law enforcement professionals.

This updated and expanded report from the Congressional Research Service provides a summary of TANF block grant information and addresses frequently asked questions. The report covers TANF funding and expenditures, TANF caseload data, level of TANF cash benefits, and TANF work participation standards.

This short entry in the Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development presents literature and survey results of the effects of community violence on child development. Surveys estimate that more than 50% of children and youth have experienced some level of community violence exposure. This experience has been shown to impact development negatively, leading to increased emotional, social, and behavioral problems. The authors conclude that “the effects of violence exposure are particularly problematic for young children and have been shown to adversely impact brain development.” There are many prevention and intervention strategies that communities and parents can use to reduce violence, including limiting children’s exposure to violent video games, movies, and television.

The National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families published this 2016 research brief to familiarize people with the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and how the abuse affects exposed children across the country. The brief addresses the dynamics of perpetuated IPV and the impacts on children in a physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and behavioral sense. This brief is meant to serve as a resource in preventative and aftercare methods, including information on “red flags” and post-abuse therapists and hotlines.

This report, produced by the University of Maryland, examines characteristics of adults who receive Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) for children. Maryland’s TCA focuses on the economic stability of entire families by focusing both on child academic success and earning potential of caregivers. However, TCA services differ. Some families qualify for benefits for both themselves and their children, while other adults receive benefits only for children. This report evaluates the different sociodemographic characteristics between recipient and non-recipient adults, and assesses whether these different strategies affect the children under their care. Promoting the well-being of all children – regardless whether a caregiver is a recipient – is an important component of multiple-generation programs.

This report from Generations United identifies key state laws and policies specifically designed to address barriers and better support grandparents and other relatives raising children. According to the report, almost 65 percent of children living in grandfamilies, or kinship care, are in states that have half or fewer of these key laws and policies. The report provides recommendations to aid the development of supportive federal and State policies and services for grandfamilies.

This brief explores kinship families and the importance of TANF to those families, the two types of TANF grants a relative caregiver may receive (child-only and family), and a Kinship TANF Model that draws from different state and county efforts to stabilize and support kinship families. Additionally, the brief recommends separate kinship policies, programs, and practices that are designed to help kinship families specifically.

The Office of Family Assistance held a webinar on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 from 2:00-3:30 pm EST on Service Options for Relative Caregivers in Child-Only Cases. Today almost half of the national TANF caseload consists of child-only cases, where the child is the only individual in the household receiving cash assistance. In a significant portion of these cases, a relative is caring for the child. There has been limited literature, however, on the strengths, barriers and needs of these children and their relative caregivers. There has also been limited information about the supportive services they may receive through TANF or other human services programs. In this facilitated webinar, presenters provided a descriptive and demographic overview of the relative child-only caseload, as well as the policies and practices that support them. It included examples from a kinship navigator program, as well as a TANF and child welfare system collaboration initiative.

In this webinar participants were able to:

• Understand the importance and prevalence of, as well as the strengths, barriers, and outcomes related to, relative caregivers and children in TANF child-only cases.
• Hear experiences and lessons learned from a kinship navigator program that is providing supportive services to relatives and children in child-only cases.
• Learn about collaborations between TANF and Child Welfare systems to share data and provide services to relative caregivers and children.

For users interested in the transcript of the webinar, the webinar recording is closed-captioned.