The resources and services available through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program are critical to ending family homelessness. State and local TANF programs can provide access to critical work opportunities and support services for families experiencing homelessness. This resource from the Heartland Alliance provides an overview of TANF, examples of where state and local TANF programs have been leveraged to support homeless families, and recommendations to ensure that TANF resources are leveraged effectively to support homeless families.

This report from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) summarizes key findings from the implementation of the adapted version of the Reducing the Risk comprehensive sex education program in the Barren River and Lincoln Trail District Health Departments in Kentucky. In both districts, health educators delivered the program in relatively low-income, mostly rural high schools. The report describes the supports established to help health educators as they implemented the curriculum; adherence to the implementation plan; and the level of youth engagement with the curriculum.

In this study, published by the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities, caseworkers provided information regarding a mother’s number and quality of social supports and whether an infant was removed from her care. Analyses indicated that infants were less likely to be removed from the mother’s care when caseworkers viewed maternal social supports as positive. This association was strongest when the caseworker identified only positive supports, with no contacts defined as non-positive. Mothers who were assessed to have no intimate relationship or a low level of commitment were nearly twice as likely to have their children in foster care compared to mothers assessed to be in a mid-to-high level of committed relationship. Results suggest that caseworkers’ distinctions between positive and non-positive social networks influence removal decisions. (author abstract)

The social impact bond (SIB) uses private funds to pay for a social, educational, or health program. Then if the program achieves predetermined results, the government repays investors, plus a return. This paper from MDRC looks at the successes and failures of current SIBs and presents lessons learned for moving forward.

The Brookings Institution released a paper that documents the characteristics of the 46.7 million Americans who were living in poverty in 2014. The authors used data from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement that were collected in March 2015. This data presents information about who lives in poverty, including characteristics of the working-age poor.

This report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities discusses the concept of “churn,” when the periodic review of public benefits eligibility leaves benefits-eligible households without benefits temporarily, and forces them to reapply. Churn costs benefit recipients and state agencies both time and money, so reducing churn is beneficial for all involved parties. The report uses the experience of states involved in the Work Support Strategies project to discuss lessons learned about churn and potential methods for reducing churn.

This report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities discusses how enhanced federal Medicaid matching funds made available because of the Affordable Care Act can be used for technology and services improvements to eligibility systems that are shared between Medicaid and other health and human services programs. The report discusses states that have used this opportunity to make systems improvements, including specific examples of initiatives and discussion of common themes between state efforts. Most states in the report have worked on improving client portals, enhancing call center technology, streamlining document imaging and management, and introducing mobile tools for consumer use.

This webpage from the Urban Institute includes several publications related to the Work Support Strategies (WSS) initiative evaluation. Topics include changes in joint Medicaid/CHIP and SNAP participation rates, using technology to improve delivery of benefits, and using behavioral economics to inform the integration of human services and health programs.

The Urban Institute, in collaboration with the Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, hosted a discussion on how state and federal government can improve access to work support programs for low-income families. Over the past four years, as part of the Work Support Strategies (WSS) initiative, six states have worked to streamline low-income families’ access to benefits, reducing burdens on families and workers, and promoting cross-agency and cross-program integration and coordination. Results show that WSS state agencies improved benefit access and the delivery of benefits through coordination of technology, local office operations, policy, and use of data for management, and relationships between health and human services agencies and between state, county, and local offices.

On June 24, 2016, the Administration for Children and Families announced that it is seeking comments on the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Quarterly Financial Report. This request is for renewal of approval to use the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) 196 form for periodic financial reporting under the TANF program. States participating in the TANF program are required by statute to report financial data on a quarterly basis. This form meets the legal standard and provides essential data on the use of Federal funds. Failure to collect the data would seriously compromise ACF's ability to monitor program expenditures, estimate funding needs, and to prepare budget submissions required by Congress. Financial reporting under the TANF program is governed by 45 CFR part 265. This renewal restores columns for reporting Emergency Contingency Fund Grant expenditures.