In partnership with the American Public Human Services Association/National Association of State TANF Administrators (NASTA), the Welfare Peer TA Network designed a Roundtable session at the NASTA Annual Meeting in Charleston, South Carolina on September 13, 2010. This Roundtable was designed to engage State TANF Directors in dialogue and information exchange around their subsidized employment programs and their plans for continuing this work after funding was scheduled to cease on September 30, 2010 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The Roundtable brought together a panel of researchers and practitioner experts from across the country to discuss their subsidized employment program1 impacts and outcomes. Speakers included Dr. LaDonna Pavetti, Director of the Welfare Reform and Income Support Division, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; Ms. Linda Martin, Director, Division of Family Assistance, South Carolina Department of Social Services; Mr. Trent Rhorer, Executive Director, San Francisco Human Services Agency; and Mr. Robert Krebs, Executive Officer, Iowa Department of Human Services.

ACF Region I held a TANF Emergency Funds: Strategies for Maximizing Federal and State Resources for Families Meeting on January 14, 2010. There were representatives from each of the ACF Region I States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Representatives from the central and regional offices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ACF Office of Family Assistance (OFA), the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), the Child Care Bureau (CCB), and the regional offices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA), were in attendance. This meeting explored how States could utilize the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 which included the TANF Emergency Contingency Funds, and appropriated $5 billion for the provision of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program for creating/enhancing subsidized employment programs, providing basic assistance (cash grants to low-income families), and providing non-recurrent short-term payments (e.g. four months of rental assistance for homeless families, security deposit and first month’s rent, utility assistance). In order to assist States in developing and implementing innovative initiatives to respond to rising caseloads and/or rising expenditures, ACF Region I held this meeting for States to discuss and share subsidized employment programs, on-the-job training, and non-recurrent short term benefits programs and to work together to determine next steps.

The Occupational Information Network (O*NET) is being developed under the sponsorship of the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA) through a grant to the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. The O*NET program is the nation's primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors. The database, which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation. Information from this database forms the heart of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database also provides the basis for their Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers.

With unemployment across the country around 10 percent, states have been implementing innovative programs to help individuals find jobs. This special segment aired on PBS on the Mississippi STEPS program, which is a subsidized employment program funded through the TANF Emergency Fund.

From the Kids Count Data Center, data just released shows that in 2008, 27 percent of children nationally are living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment. The Data Center provides data for all 50 States and selected cities.

From the Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, this report presents federal, state, and city workforce development programs within the City of Chicago. Authors summarize workforce development public policy and offer descriptions of the types of services, program eligibility, and funding supporting the programs. This report will continue to be updated by Chapin Hall for changes in programs, policies, and program administration.

The final report is now available! The Administration for Children and Families Regions VI and VIII and the Employment and Training Administration Region IV came together to host the Client Success through Partnership: 2010 TANF and Workforce Meeting in Dallas, Texas from July 25-27, 2010. The meeting contained a series of targeted discussion forums, interactive plenary sessions, and peer-to-peer breakouts coordinated to improve partnership and collaboration among TANF and workforce programs. Over the two and one-half days, attendees were exposed to a variety of sessions presented by more than 20 distinguished experts and peers from the TANF, workforce, social service, and research communities.

The Government Accountability Office convened a forum earlier this year to investigate policy options to assist adults with disabilities with a current or past work history to improve their participation in the labor market. This report includes an overview of the forum and policy options that arose out of the forum and other comments collected by the GAO. In summary, the GAO agrees with forum participants that strong Federal leadership is essential for achieving the level of coordination required to effectively leverage resources to improve work participation for Americans with disabilities.

This is part of a new series of issue briefs from the Urban Institute and Georgetown University, and offers information for utilizing Federal expenditures to reduce high unemployment over the next three to five years. High unemployment can lead to long-term problems for children and youth, decrease State funding for education and social services, and further harm the United States economy. Authors provide recommendations on anti-poverty efforts to help provide jobs, income supports, and services for the low-income and unemployed population.

This report was authored by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center), and provides information on a model to help states work collaboratively with industry, community colleges and each other to provide opportunities for workers to build their skill sets. This report highlights industries that will play a key role in the global economy and how to train workers to fulfill these labor market opportunities, such as the green energy and health care fields.