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.

The Tennessee Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Opportunity Act of 2021 set the TANF cash benefit amount at no less than 25 percent of the Consolidated Need Standard, which is the estimated amount of income a family in Tennessee needs to cover basic living expenses. This change increased the monthly cash benefit for a family of three from $277 to $387, a 40 percent increase. The benefit increase was implemented in July 2021 and remains at that amount. This MEF paper examines the effects of this benefit increase on families participating in Tennessee’s TANF program.

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support. TOA also established a rigorous evaluation to inform future policy and programs. The evaluation aimed to create a state-level learning laboratory to produce evidence on program effectiveness and implementation, enabling Tennessee to enhance human services delivery.

This MEF report builds upon the information in the first report, details progress on the evaluation in 2024, and looks towards the upcoming evaluation work.

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support. TOA also established a rigorous evaluation to inform future policy and programs. The evaluation aimed to create a state-level learning laboratory to produce evidence on program effectiveness and implementation, enabling Tennessee to enhance human services delivery.

This MEF report discusses the overall research design, presents each pilot’s program characteristics and impact evaluation design, summarizes the planned data sources and data collection methods, and describes the study participants’ characteristics as of March 2024.

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support.

This MEF and Urban Institute resource describes the demographic and economic context within which the seven pilot programs are operating as of the start of the programs’ implementation. The context described includes demographic information, income measures and poverty rates, employment and education data, safety net program caseloads, and health information.

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support. TOA also established a rigorous evaluation to inform future policy and programs. The evaluation aimed to create a state-level learning laboratory to produce evidence on program effectiveness and implementation, enabling Tennessee to enhance human services delivery.

This MEF resource includes recommendations for a set of outcome measures to more fully describe the impact of services on individual and family capacity for self-sufficiency, as well as use of safety net programs. This resource was a result of nearly 300 sources and input from five experts from the field. While these recommendations were developed to support the TOA pilot evaluations, findings may be applied more broadly to efforts to promote capacity for self-sufficiency among families with low-income.

Jobs for the Future will host a webinar on December 2, 2025 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to show how to thoughtfully integrate artificial intelligence (AI) as a powerful partner in practice. Through real-world examples, guided exercises, and peer-to-peer practice, participants will learn practical strategies to boost their efficiency, tailor support to unique jobseeker needs, and free up more time for human-centric coaching. Whether new to AI or ready to deepen their skills, this session will equip participants with tools to create better outcomes for the people they serve.

Research indicates that mentoring increases employee job satisfaction and strengthens community engagement. As workplaces continue to shift, accessible and replicable strategies are essential.

The National Youth Employment Coalition will host a webinar on December 11, 2025 at 3:30 p.m. ET, where MENTOR National will present best practices for implementing relationship-centered approaches in the workplace and share the labor market insights that guided the creation of their free mentoring toolkits for career readiness, hospitality, and e-commerce. Participants will engage in a practical activity they can apply in their own programs and communities.

Self-regulation skills are the skills needed to finish tasks, stay organized, and control emotions, and they are critical in finding and maintaining employment. Poverty and other chronic stressors can hinder the development and use of these skills, but coaching can promote self-regulation skills and help adults with low incomes become economically secure. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report presents findings from a study of four employment coaching programs conducted as part of the Evaluation of Employment Coaching for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Related Populations. The report presents estimates of impacts of coaching on participants’ self-regulation skills, employment, earnings, self-sufficiency, and other measures of personal and family well-being throughout the 21 months after enrollment.

Non-degree credentials continue to gain attention and investment from workers, employers, and states, making it critical to ensure these credentials lead to good jobs and equitable outcomes. Given the significant role of life circumstances in people’s ability to enroll in and complete postsecondary programs, access to holistic supports, like food, housing, childcare, and emergency aid, along with career and academic coaching, and student-centered, family-friendly campus policies, should be a key component of evaluating the quality of non-degree pathways. The National Skills Coalition (NSC) hosted a Policy Action Lab to focus on expanding holistic support for students pursuing quality non-degree pathways. The event brought together more than sixty postsecondary, workforce, human services, and advocacy leaders from twenty states to examine state progress, innovations, and promising strategies tied to providing holistic supports to students pursuing quality, career-oriented non-degree programs and pathways at community and technical colleges. This NSC resource highlights key themes and considerations, as shared by states.