This resource by Chapin Hall takes a closer look at how adoption systems can better support children and the families who step in to care for them. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs—which often work with relative caregivers and families connected to the child welfare system—this resource offers useful perspective on where families tend to encounter barriers and what more effective support can look like. It highlights opportunities to improve coordination and reduce confusion during what is often a complex and emotional process. TANF practitioners can use this information to better guide caregivers, strengthen collaboration with child welfare partners, and ensure families have access to both financial assistance and the broader supports that help foster placements remain stable over time.

The Heritage Foundation will host a webinar on April 30, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. ET to explore how family stability connects to broader economic and social outcomes. This presentation will help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs to better understand how strengthening family relationships and supports can complement employment and income-focused services, producing stable families that achieve more sustainable outcomes.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) will host the National Fatherhood Summit from August 3 to August 5, 2026, providing a forum for stakeholders interested in sharing and discovering ways to support and promote responsible fatherhood. OFA encourages stakeholders from a variety of vocations and walks of life to help shape the Summit agenda by submitting workshop proposals that align with the Summit theme, “The Fatherhood Mandate: Building Families, Building America,” and one of their five concurrent Summit learning tracks:

1. Strengthening Marriage and Family Stability in the Context of Fatherhood
2. Fathers, Child Welfare, and the Path Beyond Foster Care
3. Workforce Readiness and Economic Mobility for Fathers
4. Fathers as Leaders in Faith-Based and Civic Institutions in Their Communities
5. Data-Driven Fatherhood Programming

If you are interested in presenting, OFA is welcoming submissions until April 24, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

For more information on participating as an attendee, please check out The 2026 National Fatherhood Summit webpage. 

This resource explains how state and federal policies may create “marriage penalties” (financial disincentives to marry) or “marriage bonuses” (financial incentives to marry) for low-income families. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this highlights a key challenge: families may face tradeoffs between financial stability and forming or maintaining two-parent households.

This report can be a useful tool for practitioners to better understand why clients may hesitate to report household changes or pursue marriage. The report helps staff have targeted conversations about program impacts and the benefits of marriage, anticipate barriers, and think through ways to better align TANF services with family stability goals.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance released Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 state work participation rate data, providing updated insight into how states are engaging Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in work and work-related activities. These data reflect state performance in meeting federal participation requirements and highlight variation in engagement across states and family types.

Work participation rates remain a key accountability measure for TANF programs, capturing the extent to which work-eligible individuals are involved in activities such as employment, job search, education, and training. The FY2024 data builds on prior years’ trends and continues to underscore the role of caseload reduction credits and program design choices in shaping state outcomes.

The American Public Human Services Association will host a webinar on May 7, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. to explore how childcare systems and TANF programs can better align in a shifting policy and operational environment. TANF programs can use these insights to strengthen partnerships with childcare administrators, improve access to subsidized care, and better support work participation and family stability.

New federal efforts like A Home for Every Child, updated CFSRs, and emerging performance dashboards signal a shift in direction that raises new questions about how systems can better support children, families, and the workforce. At the center of the conversation is a shared goal: helping every child grow up in a safe, stable home. The American Public Human Services Association will host a webinar on April 9, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. ET to discuss what this evolving landscape means in practice.

This factsheet overviews the Executive Order by the Trump-Vance administration to create the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, which will advise the President and coordinate government-wide efforts to combat widespread fraud, waste, and abuse in Federal benefit programs.