On Tuesday, March 15, 2016 the Office of Family Assistance hosted an Affinity Call Webinar for the TANF/WIOA Peer Exchange Initiative sites. The webinar focused on data sharing and integration, and highlighted Mississippi’s partnership with the National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center to build a system that facilitates data sharing between TANF, WIOA, and other partners. The presenters provided information on what it takes to build a collaborative commitment, strategies for meeting different programmatic needs, and an overview of their common intake form and electronic referral system.

This guide from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) provides an introduction to labor market information (LMI) for TANF administrators. It includes uses for LMI data, distinctions among types of data, and explains how TANF practitioners can work with staff in state departments of labor to help their clients find good jobs.

The Office of Family Assistance held a Webinar on Introduction to Social Capital on April 27, 2016 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT. Traditionally, attention has been focused on the human capital (education level; technical expertise; soft skills; hard skills) of TANF participants in order to improve their connection to and success in the labor market. Additional focus has been paid to an individual’s social capital (education, faith-based, neighborhood, cultural, and social networks; access to information and institutions; interpersonal interactions) and the important role it plays in improving employment and economic stability. Research has demonstrated that social capital provides valuable assets for families as they move out of poverty. Increasing a person’s potential for upward economic mobility involves strengthening three forms of capital that a person needs to possess: financial, human, and social. This webinar built upon the September 2015 Gateway to Opportunity: Improving Parental Employment and Family Well-Being Outcomes plenary session in Washington, D.C. 

Presenters for the Introduction Webinar on April 27th included: Dr. Natasha Pilkauskas, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan; and Andrew Freed, TANF Senior Manager, Cook Inlet Tribal Council.

In Utah, all financial assistance applicants are required to take the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) prior to issuance of benefits. It is a condition of eligibility to take the SASSI, but the results are not taken into consideration until after the financial benefits are issued. All customers who score a "high probability for a substance abuse disorder" on the SASSI are required to participate in a random drug screen after issuance of their first benefit. If a customer is positive, the results are confirmed by a laboratory. If confirmed positive, the customer must participate in mandatory weekly drug treatment for a minimum of 60 days in order to continue to be eligible for financial assistance. If a customer is on a prescription medication and provides proof of this, they can be exempt as a "false positive."

This resource from the Utah Department of Workforce Services includes an FAQ, business process documents, and the legislation on drug testing policies for TANF benefits.

As states release draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans for public comment, advocates and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to offer suggestions for improvement. CLASP is offering this list of questions to help review the plans with a focus on how WIOA can improve economic and career success for low-income youth and adults.

The Office of Family Assistance held a Webinar on Integrating Two-Generation Strategies into TANF Programs on Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT. The two-generation approach to serving low-income or disadvantaged families has seen renewed interest in recent years, with models focused on combining comprehensive, career-focused employment and training opportunities for parents with educational and enrichment opportunities for their children. However, state, territory, and tribal TANF program leadership and staff have suggested a need for more targeted TA and information around two-generation approaches and TANF integration and implementation strategies. In this facilitated webinar, presenters provided an overview of the policy components of an intentional two-generation approach and offered tools and resources that may be applicable to the audience’s TANF programs, wherever they lie on the two-generation continuum. Through a “Town Hall” format, presenters also provided planning, policy, and implementation strategies and lessons learned from their own experiences with two-generation integration.

Presenters included Dr. Monica Barczak, Senior Advisor, Administration for Children and Families; Peter Palermino, Program Manager, Economic Security Unit, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services; Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Children; Sisifo Taatiti, TANF Program Manager, Utah Department of Workforce Services; Tracy Gruber, Director of the Office of Child Care and Senior Advisor of the Intergenerational Poverty Initiative, Utah Department of Workforce Services; and Dr. Sharon McGroder, Program Director, Economic, Human Services & Workforce Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association.

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, this guide features a collection of resources for TANF administrators and other practitioners on career exploration and assessment, career pathways and sector strategies, and labor market information. These resources may be helpful for those working with TANF recipients and low-income families in connecting their clients to jobs with wages that support self-sufficiency. There are four types of resources included in the guide: 

• Research Studies
• Technical Assistance Resources
• Client Assessments
• Data Sets Related To Education And Employment. (author abstract)