This Administration for Children and Families announcement highlights $6 million in funding for 10 jurisdictions to advance the use of predictive risk modeling in child welfare. These jurisdictions will pilot technology aimed at using data to help child welfare agencies identify patterns and potentially recognize situations where families may benefit from earlier or more targeted support.

This announcement is useful for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) leaders and staff who are thinking about how to strengthen coordination across systems and improve early intervention efforts. The announcement may encourage practitioners to consider how data can support human judgment, relationship-building, and direct engagement with families. Ultimately, it offers a window into how child welfare systems are evolving and what that may mean for the broader network of services that support family stability.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly finding its way into government programs and everyday agency work, but many public agencies are still figuring out how to use these tools responsibly. Govloop will host a webinar on August 20 at 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss a key challenge for government leaders: how to benefit from AI while protecting sensitive information, maintaining security, and preserving public trust.

This webinar will focus on that challenge and will help leaders think through what responsible AI use looks like in practice. It will highlight concerns like “shadow AI,” where staff may use AI tools without clear guidance or oversight, and will emphasize the importance of simple, practical rules so agencies know how AI is being used across their systems.

For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, this resource is especially important because TANF programs collect sensitive personal and financial information to make decisions that directly affect families’ stability. The webinar may help staff and leaders start conversations about when AI might be helpful, what safeguards need to be in place, and how to ensure decisions remain fair, transparent, and accountable. It can provide support for TANF agencies in exploring innovation in a thoughtful way—so new tools improve service delivery without putting client trust, privacy, or program integrity at risk.

In April 2026, the Office of Family Assistance launched the TANF Program Integrity Office Hours: a series of topical peer learning sessions where state agencies can share what's working, explore real challenges, and walk away with practical strategies they can use. This landing page hosts session recordings with companion tools, lessons learned, and helpful resources.

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) announces funds for a National Center for Native Training and Technical Assistance (the Center). The Center will be ANA's primary provider of training and technical assistance (TTA). The goal is to build the capacity of ANA applicants and recipients to implement successful strategies and facilitate sustainable and successful outcomes that strengthen Native American communities. The beneficiaries of TTA are tribes and Native American communities, including American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native Pacific Islander organizations and their partners. 

The Center will assist applicants and recipients to plan, develop, and implement community-driven projects aligned with ANA's goals. The Center will also train communities on leveraging additional resources, complying with federal requirements, and sustaining projects past ANA funding. ANA expects the Center to use innovative and user-friendly solutions for providing TTA in both virtual and in-person formats. The Center will also focus on collecting data to better understand how beneficiaries interact with ANA's TTA and how to improve the success of funded projects. Submissions are due August 27, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) non-assistance funds flow through workforce boards, employment program providers, and community partners—but data about service delivery often lives in separate systems. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified this as a core program integrity challenge: without cross-agency data infrastructure, TANF agencies struggle to assess provider performance, identify service gaps, and connect spending to participant outcomes.

As a result, the Office of Family Assistance’s State and Tribal Technical Assistance and Resources (STAR) team developed the TANF Program Integrity Office Hours as a series of topical peer learning sessions where TANF agencies can share what's working, explore real challenges, and walk away with practical strategies they can use to address the challenge identified by GAO.

This recording includes key takeaways from the June session, highlights from peer discussions, and an overview of how to use and navigate the companion resource, which can help TANF programs assess and strengthen their own provider contracts and accountability structures.

In April 2026, the Office of Family Assistance launched the TANF Program Integrity Office Hours: a series of topical peer learning sessions where state agencies can share what's working, explore real challenges, and walk away with practical strategies they can use. This webpage hosts session recordings with companion tools, lessons learned, and helpful resources.

Accurate reporting is essential for understanding program performance and meeting federal reporting requirements. This Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Feedback Report from the TANF Data Portal Knowledge Center explains how to use three key feedback reports to review the completeness and accuracy of program data and better understand how a Tribe's Work Participation Rate is calculated. Tribal TANF staff can use these reports to identify missing or inconsistent data, pinpoint reporting trends throughout the year, and address issues that may affect participation rate calculations. By helping Tribal TANF programs strengthen data quality and make informed improvements, this guide supports more accurate reporting and stronger program management.

This Administration for Children and Families policy guidance webpage addresses common challenges in how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs count and verify participation hours. For TANF practitioners, this is a practical tool for resolving day-to-day questions that arise in case management, particularly around what qualifies as countable activity and how to document it consistently. It supports more uniform decision-making across TANF staff, reduces ambiguity in case processing, and helps ensure families are treated consistently regardless of which staff member is handling their case.

The Office of Management and Budget information collection outlines how states are required to collect and report work participation data. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families practitioners, the work participation rate is more than a reporting requirement; it shapes how program performance is measured and understood at the federal level. These resources can help staff understand what data matters, why accuracy is critical, and how reporting practices influence funding accountability and program evaluation. The collection is particularly relevant for teams responsible for data systems, reporting, and program integrity.

Data can help Tribal programs better understand community needs, measure outcomes, and make informed decisions that strengthen services for families. The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis will host the virtual 2026 Center for Indian Country Development Data Summit on August 18–19, 2026, bringing together Tribal leaders, practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to explore how data can support Tribal sovereignty and community development. For Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, the virtual event offers valuable insights into data-informed planning, program evaluation, and decision-making that can improve service delivery and outcomes. Tribal TANF practitioners can use the information and peer connections gained through the summit to identify strategies that support stronger programs and better serve Tribal families and communities. This summit will be open to the public and is free.