Through a partnership with Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) initiatives, the Office of Family Assistance is excited to offer the opportunity to receive compliance support and technical assistance on strengthening employment outcomes for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants by integrating new and effective approaches for meeting various needs of families within the TANF system. This TANF HMRF learning community is a great opportunity to listen and engage with peers and learn new and innovative ways of integrating employment and relational skills into TANF programs. 

The Family Routes Initiative seeks to engage with TANF programs interested in integrating evidence-based HMRF practices. Participants will have access to tools and information for integrating these strategies throughout programs, especially ways to integrate soft skills, goal setting, self-regulation, accountability, and personal responsibility into programs to improve employment outcomes and promote stable families. 

The initiative promotes the dissemination and application of HMRF program research conducted by ACF to other programs that serve fathers, families, and children. By participating in this initiative, participants will learn how to adapt HMRF practices to their unique program context.

 What’s involved?

• Learn, connect, and try out new ideas without funding or reporting requirements
• Apply practical, low- or no-cost adaptations in your program
• Contribute your experiences to guide the development of effective HMRF practices for TANF recipients

Why participate?

• Peer collaboration: join a network of TANF programs to share experiences, challenges, and approaches
• Tailored support: receive guidance and support that fit unique needs (no one-size-fits-all approach)
• Flexible time commitment: participate in monthly virtual group sessions from July to October 2025, with optional additional office hours and one-on-one support

Interested in learning more? Attend an informational webinar on June 26, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET to learn more about the Family Routes Initiative – no preparation or prior commitment is required.

Questions? Contact familyroutes@deloitte.com.

The differences by family structure are substantial. Women who give birth out of wedlock suffer from pervasive disadvantage that cannot be explained by their basic social and demographic attributes. They work less. When they do work, they make less money. A high school or college education provides lower economic returns than it does for married or divorced mothers. Never-married mothers’ incomes increase more slowly with age. Even the impact of children, although modest for all mothers, is less strongly related to income than it is for married and divorced mothers.

This Institute for Family Studies resource uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth’s 1979 cohort to track whether specific individual mothers have bettered themselves economically over time, or instead, if different kinds of women are now becoming single mothers.

Summer jobs can provide early exposure to professional environments, equipping participants with essential skills for the workplace, including communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Summer youth employment programs (SYEPs) are primarily workforce development programs, meaning they are intended to prepare young people, often from families with low incomes, to one day enter the workplace. This MDRC report is the synthesis of conversations with SYEP staff members as well as interviews with policy experts to better understand what makes SYEPs effective. The report represents a practitioner-informed understanding of the practices that are believed to improve youth outcomes in this understudied field.

Studies have shown that literacy levels are strongly positively correlated with earnings and socioeconomic status, with high literacy levels associated with higher earnings. The effect is not limited to only adults in the household. Research highlights the importance of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs investing in adult basic education (ABE) to not only improve the earnings and employment outcomes for adults but also improve future outcomes for children in the household. This Office of Family Assistance brief explains how these investments aligns with TANF purpose two as literacy programming have downstream effects on the entire family and can lead to higher-paying jobs that increase economic independence and reduce benefit churn, where families exit TANF (or other means-tested benefits) only to reapply shortly thereafter. The brief highlights programs that utilized federal or state TANF dollars to provide programming that focuses on increasing literacy levels and skills gain, along with providing supportive services, to lead to better outcomes.

The New York State Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget appropriated $55 million in TANF funds to support the 2024 New York State Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). The SYEP is an important platform to introduce youth into the workforce and help them acquire skills that can be used to improve school performance and become responsible adults. Since many low-income youths face the prospect of a challenging transition to work, constructive workforce experiences can provide great benefits. This Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance resource highlights allocation information and program guidance, including participant eligibility and allowable activities and services such as work subsidies for youth; supportive services such as transportation; case management; incentive payments; and education and training.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) employment and training (E&T) program in Hennepin County, Minnesota, is a state funded, county operated, 50% reimbursement program that works with community-based organizations to deliver services. As the program evolved, Hennepin County created a thorough onboarding training path for the community-based organizations with whom they partner.

SNAP’s Office of Employment and Training hosts a bi-annual national conference to bring state agencies and E&T stakeholders together. Attendees discover innovative ideas for increasing skills and employment among households. This session of the SNAP E&T 2024 National Forum shares Hennepin County’s step-by-step process onboarding guide, including the documents and resources that are utilized.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s Office of Employment and Training hosts a bi-annual national conference to bring state agencies and employment and training (E&T) stakeholders together. Attendees discover innovative ideas for increasing skills and employment among households. This session of the SNAP E&T 2024 National Forum explores how Colorado integrated the Goal4 It! coaching model into its case management approach for SNAP E&T, alongside other programs as part of a state-wide initiative to improve the consistency and quality of workforce development services.

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.