The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted this webinar that highlights the redesigned OFA PeerTA (PeerTA) website. PeerTA facilitates information sharing between states, counties, localities, tribal organizations, and community-based organizations working with TANF participants and families. The PeerTA website functions as the communications vehicle for the PeerTA model by facilitating dialogue at the state, county, local, and tribal level. In this brief webinar, we provided a demo of the key features of the PeerTA website and how the website can support TANF stakeholders in their work with families.

This update to Maryland’s legislatively-mandated Life after Welfare research study describes the characteristics and post-welfare outcomes of 9,788 families who left Maryland’s welfare program, Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA), for at least one full month between January 2004 and March 2014. The report presents information on clients and their cases at time of exit, tracks employment outcomes and welfare utilization over time, and analyzes the use of work supports.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) developed this ACF Confidentiality Toolkit to help jurisdictions successfully navigate the delicate balance between privacy and security with the delivery of efficient and effective services. The ACF Confidentiality Toolkit analyzes, explains, and aids states and local jurisdictions in the navigation of a number of federal laws that impact the implementation of human services. Embedded throughout are sample documents from across the country from which jurisdictions using the Toolkit can borrow freely.

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII hosted a webinar, "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Other Child-Only Issues" on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. This webinar was the second in the 2014 Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal TANF webinar series "Addressing the Needs of Children." The Webinar provided strategies for addressing the needs of the growing population of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, particularly those with child-only, TANF-eligible grandchildren. The speakers provided strategies and resources that were relevant to both social service providers and grandparents.

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII hosted a webinar, "TANF Children Endangered by Drug Use" on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. This webinar was the first in the 2014 Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal TANF webinar series: "Addressing the Needs of Children." It addressed the growing issue of protecting children in environments of increasing drug use. Key topics included: identifying when a child is exposed to drug use in his/her home; implementing processes for addressing the needs of drug endangered children; and strategies for keeping a child's life stable when his/her family is unstable.

On June 24, 2014, the Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar that explored the promise and potential of career pathways practices tailored for TANF participants and other low-income, low-skilled individuals and those with barriers to employment. This webinar, "Program Flexibility, Career Pathways, and Improving Employment Outcomes for TANF Participants" featured experts from the field and TANF program representatives who highlighted how to maximize regulatory flexibility to implement career pathways, while strengthening the employment opportunities of participants.

A recent study initiated by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) focused on the supports, strategies, and considerations influencing coordination across TANF and WIA programs in the U.S. This report highlights promising practices from eight states and 11 localities regarding the coordination of TANF and WIA services. It also provides readers with 12 strategies used by the study sites, which fall under the following components: administration and management, funding, policies and procedures, program missions and knowledge, services for customers, and accountability and performance measurement.