The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Family Independence (OFI) and the New Hampshire Division of Family Assistance convened a peer-to-peer site exchange funded by the Welfare Peer TA Network in Concord, New Hampshire to (1) provide cross-site networking between the two States; (2) foster dialogue on strategies for improving work participation among TANF participants; (3) discuss strategies for data collection methodologies that improve the calculation of work participation rates; and (4) share dialogue on strategies for integrating education and training opportunities into TANF programming. The site visit included discussions with program, data, and administration staff and a series of site visits to the New Heights Data Management Center and the Combined Services/Community Action Program. During this peer-to-peer exchange, Maine learned about the collection, analysis, and reporting methodologies New Hampshire uses to achieve its work participation rate and to improve the overall data-driven philosophy of their local TANF program.

In December 2011, representatives from the Jefferson County Department of Human Services, Career and Family Support Services, Colorado Works and Child Care Assistance Program contacted the Welfare Peer TA (WPTA) Network for assistance in determining the optimal number of cases each TANF caseworker should maintain, so that an appropriate amount of time and attention can be paid to all participants to assist them in achieving higher levels of economic self-sufficiency. In response to Jefferson County’s TA Request, the WPTA team conducted information gathering outreach to 10 of the largest cities in the country (New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Dallas, Texas; and San Jose, California). This data provided Colorado and other States a greater understanding of optimal caseload sizes for TANF offices, and of caseload sizes per TANF eligibility workers versus case managers. The Technical Assistance Summary associated with this effort provides a high-level overview of TANF caseload sizes among the 10 highlighted metropolitan areas. It also provides insight into staffing structure, caseload size designation, characteristics of staff and participants, caseload manageability, caseload assignments, caseload demographic information, workload and responsibilities of staff, curricula and training, as well as barriers and challenges faced by the TANF programs.

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the "Strategies to Assist Noncustodial Parents in Improving Economic Well-Being" webinar. This webinar showcased several programs making headway in this area. TANF programs and their safety-net partners increasingly understand the importance of engaging noncustodial parents while also holding them accountable for the economic and social growth of their children. Barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, or incarceration can hinder noncustodial parents from providing for their children even when many want to do so. The Webinar featured three programs.

1. North Dakota PRIDE is a partnership between North Dakota's Department of Human Services, Job Service North Dakota, the Child Support Enforcement Division, and eight judicial district courts throughout the state. The program refers parents with unpaid child support obligations to Job Service North Dakota for employment support.

2. Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative is a partnership between Kansas Child Support Services and the state Treasurer's Office to empower noncustodial parents to save money for their children's education. Noncustodial parents open 529 savings accounts for their children and for every dollar they put into the account, the State reduces their child support arrears by two dollars.

3. Couples Advancing Together is a program of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, Maryland that provides employment development, case management services, and healthy relationship skills training to couples with children who currently receive public benefits through the Maryland Department of Social Services. Completion of the Couples Advancing Together program qualifies participants for a 10% reduction in any child support arrears they owe to the State of Maryland, which is helpful to those who are noncustodial parents to children outside their primary family unit.

The Working Poor Families Project released a policy brief that outlines ways that states can encourage two-generation strategies within programs to continue to help adults achieve economic success while maintaining strong, stable families. The brief includes an in-depth history of poverty and two-generation strategies in the United States, and offers specific recommendations to support and stimulate these efforts within states.