This Jobs for the Future guide provides actionable tips and resources to initiate discussion and potential partnership with your local workforce development board. It was developed within the context of California’s public workforce system.

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program plays a key role in promoting strength and stability for families experiencing poverty. By helping families to meet their basic needs, obtain employment, and nurture healthy family relationships, TANF programs can foster long-term family wellbeing and economic independence. States have significant flexibility to use TANF funds to address unique family needs and accomplish any of the four purposes of TANF.

The Office of Family Assistance released a series of briefs that highlight innovative and strategic ways that states are leveraging TANF funds to strengthen families and communities by building capacity for self-sufficiency and economic independence. This brief explains the gap between Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and TANF participation and suggests that there is room to increase support for families in need. The brief highlights how state TANF agencies could work to increase participation in WIC to fulfill the TANF purpose one.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have a shared goal of helping individuals/families achieve economic independence through employment. Coordinating SNAP E&T and TANF programs can enhance service delivery and improve employment outcomes for families with low incomes.

Generally, States cannot provide TANF cash assistance and SNAP E&T services to families simultaneously. However, four state agencies—Colorado, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin—are authorized under 7 CFR 273.7(d)(1)(ii)(H) to use SNAP E&T funds to support individuals who receive TANF cash assistance. This fact sheet highlights the work of Utah and Washington as well as explains how the integration of program administration, funding, and service delivery can enhance efficiency and may improve outcomes for participants.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse resource provides tips for fatherhood programs to:

1. Plan Strategically;
2. Develop and Maintain Solid Partnerships;
3. Document and Evaluate;
4. Tell Their Story;
5. Respond to Changing Social Contexts;
6. Develop Multiple Funding Sources; and
7. Lead Systems Change.

This Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services webpage highlights faith and community partnerships, including services ranging from faith-focused counseling, family programming, faith-based programming, and more.

Ron Desantis’ Faith and Community Initiative was launched in August 2019 to support those on the front lines of serving Floridians. The resources highlighted on their webpage aid faith institutions and community organizations with tools to support and enhance their work to serve their community.

Nearly twenty years ago, the Office of Family Assistance hosted the Faith-based and Community Organizations (FBCO) Initiative to better understand and enhance the partnerships between Federal, State, or local governments and FBCOs to provide employment and self-sufficiency services to TANF participants and other low-income populations. While this initiative has since ended, the promising work of the public sector and FBCO collaborations has not. This PeerTA webpage provides resources intended to help identify, establish, maintain, and strengthen partnerships between TANF agencies and FBCOs.

At the 2024 National Fatherhood Summit, participants learned how TANF funding can support fatherhood programs. Attendees learned how fatherhood programming fits into the purposes of TANF, how some states are using their TANF funds to support fathers, and how cross-agency partnerships can support and encourage responsible fatherhood. The presenters also shared promising practices for recruiting, serving, retaining, and engaging fathers.

This Department of Homeland Security guide explains a seven-step process for effectively engaging faith-based and community organizations developed, refined, and validated by the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives in collaboration with emergency managers in several jurisdictions, faith-based leaders, community leaders, and subject-matter experts in religious literacy and cultural competency. The seven steps are: 1. Engagement; 2. Assessment; 3. Self-Guided and Group Training; 4. Technical Assistance; 5. Participation in Scenarios/Exercises; 6. Affiliation; and 7. Integration.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Partnership Center exists to engage and communicate with faith communities and grassroots organizations, ensuring that local institutions, which hold community trust, have up-to-date information regarding health and human service activities and resources in their area.