FAST-LC held a virtual event in February 2024, “Road Maps and Road Tests: Strategies to Strengthen Your FAST-LC Initiatives.” The FAST-LC site teams were in the process of designing and implementing new strategies to advance their FAST-LC initiative goals. Drawing on the Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) framework introduced at the October Initial Convening, this session introduced site teams to two key strategies to support the design and pilot testing of new strategies. The session also featured a practitioner alum from the Leveraging America’s Social and Economic Resilience TANF Learning Community, who shared about their site’s experience with road mapping and road testing.

FAST-LC held a virtual event in April 2024, “Sharing Is Caring: Challenges and Solutions to Integrating TANF and Child Welfare Data for Prevention.” FAST-LC site teams were at varying stages of integration when it came to the working relationships and processes between TANF and Child Welfare program teams. Some teams are housed within the same agency or division whereas others are organized under separate departments. The organizational structure had some bearing on the extent to which data sharing exists between TANF and Child Welfare as well as the possibilities for further interagency sharing of such data. Yet, most FAST-LC teams have identified the topic of data sharing and integration as an area of focus and need for support. This event was designed to (1) offer guidance and tips in response to top-of-mind issues and questions related to TANF-Child Welfare data sharing and (2) share two novel case studies from the field.

FAST-LC held a virtual event in May 2024, “Strategic Communication and Messaging: Shaping the Prevention Narrative.” During the FAST-LC Initial Convening, several site teams expressed an interest in and a need for support on how to strategically communicate with internal and external audiences about their prevention initiatives. The issue continued to be a priority over the course of the FAST-LC. This event explored the role that TANF and Child Welfare leaders can play as strategic communicators, specifically in service of their prevention initiatives. The session applied the lens of the Learn, Innovate, Improve (LI2) framework, considering specific opportunities for strengthening teams’ approach to communicating with one key audience.

The FAST-LC Capstone Convening was hosted on August 20-21, 2024 in Bethesda, Maryland. This convening brought teams from all the participating sites together to discuss their experiences and learn from one another. The session, Sustaining Your Work to Make a Difference, was presented by keynote speaker Linda Spears. Spears delivered motivating remarks about the sustainability of the FAST-LC work and offered principles and practical considerations for ensuring that site initiatives do not lose momentum and continue beyond the life of federal TA support. Following the presentation, OFA facilitated an audience Q&A.

The FAST-LC Capstone Convening was hosted on August 20-21, 2024 in Bethesda, Maryland. This convening brought teams from all the participating sites together to discuss their experiences and learn from one another. Day one ended with time for attendees to share their insights, closing thoughts, and reflections on their Gallery Walk experience, wherein the FAST-LC participating sites were able to review posters from all the sites describing their initiative, their next steps, and the lessons they learned from participating in the FAST-LC. This session was led by OFA Deputy Director La Sherra Ayala. After this interactive debrief, closing remarks were provided by Deputy Commissioner Cheri Hoffman of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families.

The Resilient Families Hub is a new initiative of the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) and exists to understand the role of direct cash transfers in advancing economic stability and mobility in the United States. This initiative works with federal, state, and local governments and community-based organizations to provide subject matter expertise, research findings and evidence-based policies and practices around the targeted use of direct cash. Resilient Families’ publications and learning series will be published on this OFA webpage as they become available.

The Office for Family Assistance partnered with Children’s Bureau to develop the Families Are Stronger Together Learning Community (FAST-LC), which focused on preventing family involvement in the child welfare system through developing, implementing, and enhancing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)-Child Welfare partnerships and innovations. FAST-LC was a one-year initiative that involved eight state and two tribal TANF-Child Welfare partnerships. The FAST-LC launched in September 2023 and concluded in September 2024. OFA published the webpage that highlights various resources, including a journey recap for each participating site and research briefs.

The ways child welfare supervisors interact and supervise their teams are correlated with staff wellness, retention rates and job satisfaction, program operations, service delivery, and client outcomes. A key to engaging in trauma-informed supervisory practices in tribal child welfare is to make sure there are trauma-responsive practices in place to meet the needs of all staff. When staff are supported through the professional hazard of trauma exposure, they are better able to deliver responsive and quality services to our relatives and communities. This Center for Tribes resource highlights programmatic and supervisory tips that align with the six principles of a trauma-informed approach: safety, trust, culture and history, empowerment, peer support, and collaboration.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families continue to be impacted by social policies and social work practices that seldom include their diverse cultural values, knowledge, and norms. This National Child Welfare Workforce Institute guide provides a curricular framework based upon the Council on Social Work Education’s 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, focusing on knowledge, skills, values, and evidence-based practices that social workers and social work students must apply when working with AI/AN children and families.

The Center for Native Child and Family Resilience (CNCFR) worked alongside a group of experts in cultural resilience, Tribal child welfare, and trauma-informed practice to review the current trauma-informed care literature and existing programs with the intention of creating a trauma-informed training specifically for use in Tribal child welfare (TCW) programs. Through discussions on their research, the group noted many trauma-informed programs and practices were already in place. The workgroup decided that instead of centering on trauma, they wanted to create a training that centers and builds upon the resilience in the community. This CNCFR training promotes and centers the healing and wellness of individuals, families, and communities—and encourages the community to build their own vision for a resilience-oriented TCW organization.