Through secondary analysis, this study examines which benefits and financial supports low-income families access, with a particular focus on child support. The aim is to explore how families create their own economic safety net package from among the existing benefit programs. It was found that higher levels of child support receipt corresponded with higher levels of work, however that child support did not replace any type of welfare benefit but rather, complements it.

Child support has steadily evolved over the decades from a welfare cost-recovery model to a major family support program in a technologically savvy environment.

This presentation from Kathy Deserly of the National Resource Center for Tribes was given at the Region X Tribal TANF Conference in September of 2011. The presentation focuses on the different types of kinship care, how it is used in the child welfare and TANF systems, and advantages and challenges of kinship care. Ms. Deserly highlights characteristics of child-only cases within the TANF caseload and makes suggestions for addressing the specific and unique needs of this population.

This report highlights the funding efforts of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families in fiscal year 2012. Of particular note to TANF and Tribal TANF programs are the Family Connections Grants which fund seven programs designed to increase collaboration between TANF and child welfare agencies and increase awareness about Kinship Navigator programs. Kinship Navigator programs provide information and direction to relatives (often grandparents) who are caring for a child about programs and services that may be available to assist the family. The programs funded through the Family Connections Grants will last a period of three years.

On August 14 and 15, 2012, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII convened the 2012 Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal TANF Workshop in St. Paul, Minnesota. Designed to bring together Tribal TANF program directors and other key stakeholders, this workshop focused on the dual issues of effectively providing services to Tribal families in a recovering economy and helping TANF participants achieve self-sufficiency. Workshop attendees were provided with opportunities to strategically engage with their peers in order to share promising practices and the latest research, as well as to plan ways to improve TANF programming for low-income families. Over the course of the day and a half workshop a number of specific topics were covered including: Dialogue with the OFA Division of Tribal TANF Management; Youth Programming and Summer Youth Employment; Subsidized Employment Programs and Employer Engagement; Use of Skill-Building Activities; Audits, Financial and Grants Management, and Data Reporting; Collaboration with Child Support Enforcement and Child Welfare; and Financial Literacy and Asset Building. The wide reach of the workshop was evident with 24 Tribes represented from four OFA Regions. During the workshop, Tribal TANF program representatives also spent time networking and dialoguing on their program strengths, challenges, partnerships, and program policies/integrity, to garner new and innovative ideas from others for serving their TANF participants.

Child Welfare Information Gateway published "Online Resources for State Child Welfare Law and Policy" to provide web addresses for State statutes that are accessible online. These addresses list part of the code for each State and territory that contains the laws addressing child protection, adoption, child welfare, legal guardianship, and services for youth. It also provides web addresses for States' regulation and policy sites, State court rules, Tribal codes, and judicial resources. Information for each State and territory can be accessed on the State Statutes Search page.

The "Annual Statistical Report on Children in Foster Homes and Children in Families Receiving Payments in Excess of the Poverty Income Level from a State Program (Funded Under Part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act)" is now available for fiscal year 2012 through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance. This information can be identified by State and/or territory. This report is required annually of all State agencies administering or supervising administration of TANF and child welfare programs.

States and jurisdictions work with Tribes on child welfare issues in many different ways. In some cases, Tribes run their own child welfare systems; in other instances, Tribes receive different degrees of funding and services from the State or counties. In all cases, workers from non-Tribal cultural backgrounds will benefit from learning about Indian history, relevant Federal laws, and cultural considerations. This resource page from the Child Welfare Information Gateway is designed to help non-Indian child welfare workers and agencies find resources on issues relevant to working with American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) released a research brief from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) entitled "Instability and Early Life Changes among Children in the Child Welfare System." This is one in a series of briefs based on data from NSCAW, a nationally representative, longitudinal survey focusing on children who come to the attention of the child welfare system through investigation by child protective services. The survey is being conducted through a contract to RTI. The brief describes the placement histories and changes in living situations of infants who come to the attention of Child Protective Services.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network is a federally funded initiative through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance.  The objective of the Welfare Peer TA Network is to facilitate the sharing of information between and among states and to establish linkages between organizations serving the needs of welfare recipients. 

The U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF), with support from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, sponsored the Addressing the Needs of Non-Custodial Parents in TANF Families Workshop on January 18-19, 2001, in Tallahassee, Florida.  Participants included representatives from State Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Child Support Enforcement, local fatherhood providers, and Federal participants from the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services.  The purpose of the workshop was to promote collaboration between State TANF and OCSE agencies, and to encourage the sharing of information about initiatives to address the needs of non-custodial parents.