Authored by Hope Corman, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research; Nancy E. Reichman, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; and Kelly Noonan, Rider University, National Bureau of Economic Research. In this report, the authors estimate the effect of poor child health on the labor supply of mothers post welfare reform, using a national sample of mostly unwed parents and their children-a group at high risk of living in poverty. The researchers address the potential endogeneity of child health and find that having a young child in poor health reduces the mother's probability of working by eight percentage points and her hours of work by three per week when she is employed. These results suggest that children's health problems may diminish their families' capacity to invest in their health.

This article, published from the National Association of Social Workers, investigates the relationship of child sexual abuse, physical and psychological barriers to work, and employment outcomes among former and current welfare recipients. Results showed that childhood sexual abuse was correlated with fewer months worked over a 33-month time frame.

On March 2, 2004, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network hosted its first moderated Online Forum as part of the Child-Only Learning Community. Representatives from eight States logged onto this moderated discussion to engage with Federal resource personnel around the value of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in supporting low-income and TANF families.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the El Paso County Department of Human Services (DHS). Ms. Barbara Drake, Deputy Director, El Paso County DHS, led the planning and carrying out of this site visit. It was intended for site visitors to gain an understanding of El Paso County’s uniquely holistic approach to integrating intake and case management activities for multiple programs including TANF, child welfare, child care, domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, with the CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, hosted a Roundtable entitled Establishing Linkages Between TANF and Child Welfare Programs May 31, 2002 in Sacramento, CA. This Roundtable was attended by representatives from four States (NC, NJ, WI, CO) as well as the State of California and ten of its counties currently working toward improving service coordination.

This short report describes the Roundtable entitled Developing Strategies to Address the Child-Only Caseload that was held April 8-9, 2003 in Colorado Springs (El Paso County). The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted discussion with State TANF administrators around the country to assess their current policies and programs designed to meet the needs of the child-only caseload, and to gauge their level of interest in participating a Roundtable on this topic. The full report fully describes the meeting, attended by California, Colorado, Hawaii, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington, and includes important highlights and lessons learned.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted discussions with State TANF administrators around the country to assess their current policies around the child-only caseload. These States include Alabama, Florida, Idaho, North Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. As a result, eleven States participated in the first Roundtables entitled Developing Strategies to Address the Child-Only Caseload held April 8-9, 2003, in Colorado Springs (El Paso County), Colorado. In response to the positive feedback received following the first Roundtable, a second Roundtable was held in Trenton, New Jersey, on June 3-4, 2003. Participants at the second Roundtable heard presentations from New Jersey; El Paso County, Colorado; and Alabama about innovative practices in those locations.

In response to a request for technical assistance from the Metropolitan Nashville/Davidson County Social Services Department, Welfare Peer TA sponsored a Roundtable event in Nashville, TN April 26-27, 2005. Welfare Peer TA Roundtables are designed to bring together a group of professionals working in similar or complimentary disciplines in a workshop setting to foster peer-to-peer learning through interactive sessions. This Roundtable was attended by individuals representing federal, State and local agencies, and community-based organizations. The goal of this TA effort was to assist the community in developing collaboratives to improve the well-being of children and families in Davidson County, improve relationships with key strategic partners, improve family stability, improve services to struggling families and improve employment and self-sufficiency outcomes.

In order to foster progress in stabilizing and strengthening healthy marriages, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network held a workshop entitled Developing a Marriage Initiative for Your State in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on September 17 and 18, 2002. Workshop participants included individuals primarily representing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child support staffs from nine States. The purpose of this 2-day workshop was to create an interactive dialogue with States around appropriate efforts to develop and implement statewide healthy marriage initiatives.

The U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF), with support from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, sponsored the Uniting Incarcerated Parents and their Families workshop on May 21-22, 2002, in Orlando, FL . Participants included representatives from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), corrections staff, and child care staff from the following States: Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The purpose of this 2-day seminar was two fold: to provide participants with an opportunity to understand how TANF agencies and corrections staff can work together to better serve incarcerated parents and to showcase the Kairos Horizon’s faith-based program around parenting, anger management, conflict resolution, basic skills, and job readiness.