The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) is excited to offer the opportunity to receive technical assistance on strengthening employment and relational outcomes for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants by integrating new and effective approaches for meeting the economic and social needs of families. State and Tribal TANF programs and their partner organizations that support TANF purposes are welcome to express interest in receiving technical assistance to strengthen employment and relational outcomes of customers.

The Family Routes Initiative supports the integration of evidence-based Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) practices, approaches that help build and sustain healthy marriages, strengthen positive father-child interactions, and build skills employers seek (e.g., soft skills, goal setting, self-regulation, accountability, and personal responsibility).

What Does the Family Routes Initiative Offer?

Selected participants may receive:

• Tailored assistance aligned to program goals and context
• Support adapting evidence-based HMRF practices for local needs
• Practical tools and resources to strengthen family outcomes

To express interest, please contact: familyroutes@deloitte.com.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced the appointment of Wendy Horman as Director of the Office of Child Care (OCC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, leadership within the OCC is closely connected to TANF’s statutory focus on work preparation, employment, and family economic improvement. Access to stable childcare remains a critical support that enables parents to participate in job search, training, and employment activities. As director, Horman will lead the OCC within the Office of Early Childhood Education and work to strengthen the Child Care Development Fund, the United States’ largest national voucher program, which provides states with funding to help low-income families access childcare. Her work will focus on supporting families and improving child outcomes, empowering states and programs to improve alignment with local approaches to services, and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy to deliver maximum benefit to the families ACF serves.

Low literacy and numeracy are prevalent among TANF participants and can be barriers to pursuing education, job training, and employment. Improving literacy and numeracy may improve employment outcomes as adults with higher literacy levels tend to earn more and experience greater job stability.

This tipsheet provides TANF leaders with practical guidance on why and how to use TANF resources to support basic skills development to improve employment outcomes. By investing in foundational skills, TANF agencies can promote long-term self-sufficiency and reduced dependence on government benefits.

This tipsheet suggests ways TANF leaders can use technology to support program participation and participants’ employment outcomes. By investing in technology solutions, TANF agencies may efficiently deliver services that promote participant self-sufficiency and reduce dependence on government benefits. Technology options discussed in this resource include: 

• Virtual service delivery platforms, including digital service hubs, virtual case management tools, and online learning platforms
• Virtual platforms providing access to data and analytics
• Tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) 

This resource also discusses factors for TANF leaders to consider when evaluating potential technology solutions.

This tipsheet provides examples of strategies that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can use to support family economic security by helping TANF recipients make intentional and healthy decisions about their families. An unintended pregnancy can make it harder for TANF participants to improve their economic well-being and independence. Family-centered services, such as employment coaching, home visiting, mentoring, and access to family planning services, can support TANF participants in making intentional and healthy choices for their families.

In this 2021–2026 Strategic Plan for Adult Education and Literacy, the Texas Workforce Commission outlines the guiding principles and vision for adult education and literacy over the five years with a focus on the Texas workforce customer’s experience.

Literacy provides individuals with the confidence to pursue their goals, support their families, and to achieve success and well-being in work and in life. This Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network study was designed to empower local programs with evidence-based strategies to: 1) more effectively reach and support adults with low literacy, and 2) communicate the value of their work to funders for greater investment and community-level impact.

The need for a tech-savvy, well-prepared workforce continues to rise. This MDRC resource discusses the development of the partnership between NPower and Urban Alliance, which are two national nonprofits working to deliver digital literacy and IT training to high school students. This resource offers lessons for improving cross-organizational partnerships that support youth career pathways. It also describes the two programs developed during the partnership, discusses some of the challenges that the two organizations encountered during the development and implementation of the programs and how they addressed those challenges, and provides additional considerations for future partnerships.

Although a variety of employment programs offer adults with justice involvement support after their release, several challenges can limit participants’ ability to fully engage in services. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief provides strategies that human services programs can use to recruit adults with justice involvement and engage them in project activities. The strategies include understanding and addressing participants’ needs, communicating with participants, and building relationships with local justice agencies.

Jobs for the Future will host a free webinar on January 14, 2026 from 12:30 p.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET, to review the Trump-Vance administration’s workforce development priorities, including their strategic roadmap for workforce development. This event will feature senior leaders in federal agencies unpacking President Trump’s vision for the education and workforce systems and the steps that the administration is undertaking.