Annual Reports to Congress

Record Description
This report brings together national and state evidence that provides progress updates on the critical goal to move families from welfare to work.

Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996

Record Description
This statute ended the Aid to Families with Dependent Children welfare entitlement program, replacing it with the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant program, which provides cash assistance to needy families and requires families to make verifiable work efforts to leave welfare. It also allowed funds to be used to encourage the maintenance and formation of two-parent families. A second block grant under the statute provided funds to states to subsidize child care for low-income families.
Record Type
Combined Date
2014-07-14T11:33:48
Source
Region
City/County

Colorado Works TANF Funded Project Resource Book

Record Description

The Colorado Department of Human Services released a resource book that shares information about many of the programs that have been supported through Colorado's TANF program. Resources range from prenatal care facilities, juvenile assessment centers, and refugee assistance programs, to mental health resources and fatherhood organizations.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2012-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2013-01-01
Upload Files

The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, State Reporting on Policies and Practices to Prevent Use of TANF Funds in Electronic Benefit Transfer Transactions

Record Description

On February 19, 2014, The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance hosted "The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program, State Reporting on Policies and Practices to Prevent Use of TANF Funds in Electronic Benefit Transfer Transactions" webinar. This webinar provided participants with a summary of the NPRM and the comment process. The webinar presenters presented a summary of the legislation and requirements, the contents of the NPRM, specifically, the proposed definitions, proposed acceptable policies and practices to be in compliance, proposed elements of a complete report, the penalty, and next steps.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-02-19T09:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-02-01
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Transcript 385.98 KB
PPT Presentation 255.43 KB

Joint Letter: DOL, DOE, AND HHS, Encouraging Partnerships To Help Transition Students From High School Graduation To Postsecondary Education and the Workforce

Record Description

The Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services released a joint letter that encourages local school systems across the United States to partner with American Job Centers, human service agencies, and the private sector to encourage students to pursue postsecondary education and join the workforce after high school. Examples of how to develop these partnerships are provided in the letter.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-05-31T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-06-01

State Supervised/County Administered TANF Programs Roundtable

Record Description

In response to a technical assistance request from the Minnesota Department of Human Services pertaining to gaining a more clear understanding of the different state supervised/county administered models, the Peer Technical Assistance Network organized a peer-to-peer roundtable in Chicago, Illinois on July 18-19, 2012 with directors and staff from state supervised/county administered Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. This report describes the technical assistance request and response, as well as the overall findings from the roundtable event and lays out potential recommendations for future discussions about the state supervised/county administered structure.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2012-06-30T20:00:00
Source
City/County
Publication Date
2012-07-01
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Final Report 1012.2 KB

Understanding the dynamics of disconnection from employment and assistance: Final report

Record Description

Since the creation of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in 1996, there has been concern about low-income individuals who may be eligible for TANF cash assistance but are neither receiving TANF nor working. These individuals are often referred to as “disconnected.” This study, Understanding the Dynamics of Disconnection from Employment and Assistance, uses interview data from a sample of 51 disconnected, unmarried mothers from Southeast Michigan and Los Angeles, California, to learn more about their experiences related to work, benefit receipt, and material hardship, the economic coping strategies they use to manage, and their overall well-being. (author abstract) 

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2013-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-01-01

Proposed Revisions to TANF Financial Reporting: Implementing the ACF-196R

Record Description

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) held a 2-part webinar series on Proposed Revisions to TANF Financial Reporting: Implementing the ACF-196R:

  • Part 1: Overview took place on Monday, September 23, 2013; and
  • Part 2: Technical took place on Thursday, October 24, 2013.

The webinars provided participants with an overview of the Federal Register Notice and the Information Memorandum (IM) that were published on proposed changes to TANF financial data reporting. Topics covered include discussions of expenditure categories, definitions, changes to the accounting methods, and walk-through of detailed Excel examples that illustrate functionality and interaction across years in various reports. Included below are links to the combined summary of the webinar series, along with the presentation materials.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2013-09-23T10:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2013-09-23
Innovative Programs

Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance

Mission/Goal of Program

The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) Tribal TANF program is known as the Athabascan Self-Sufficiency Assistance Partnership (ASAP) and is part of the TCC's P.L. 102-477 program. The Tribal TANF service area is the largest in the country and the program faces particular challenges because it includes 37 Tribes, many remote areas, as well as a large urban population in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is located in Fairbanks, Alaska and 37 federally recognized Interior Alaska Tribes, covering a total of 235,000 square miles of Alaska. To meet the urban needs, TCC has developed a "one-stop" where participants can access most social services in one building. The center operates under a "front office/back office" model in which families are helped directly in the front office and Tribal staff manage the administrative issues and combined funding streams to meet customer's needs in the back office. TCC has arranged staff according to function, not program, and has created open air work environments, which display the collaboration between programs. In each of the 37 remote villages, TCC has created a half-time position called a Tribal Workforce Development Specialist (TWDS). The TWDS represents the single point of contact for all social service programs provided by TCC and the State (TANF, SNAP, General Assistance, Energy Assistance, etc.). TWDS are trained through on-site, intensive internships at the TCC central office in Fairbanks upon employment.

Programs/Services Offered

This program provides a variety of financial assistance, including:

  • General Assistance: The program provides some financial assistance to help pay for shelter, utilities, food and clothing costs during the months when there are few employment opportunities. 
  • Burial Assistance: Burial assistance provides financial assistance to help with funeral costs up to $2,500.00 which $400 can be used for potlatch supplies.
  • Emergency Assistance: Emergency assistance provides $1000 per household in the event that someone’s home has been damaged by flood or fire.

Each year, TCC organizes a region-wide event that TCC calls GILA "(Let's GO!)," which brings all of TCC's TANF participants together to one location in Fairbanks for employment workshops and resume updates, and to participate in a job fair in a motivational and exciting atmosphere. Though this is expensive, most participants leave the "GILA" with subsidized employment. The "GILA" is financed by program cost savings throughout the year. Additionally, TCC maintains a good working relationship with the State. The programs work together to co-train staff from each organization. Additional support for TANF participants who earn subsidized employment occurs through deployment of contracted Job Coaches who motivate and mentor participants.

TCC helps many participants find employment, some full-time and some seasonal. Even if a participant is employed seasonally, TCC creates a financial boost for their family. If TCC helps participants find seasonal employment for three months, the program saves money by not spending it on cash assistance for those three months. The cost savings are used to provide an expanded level of supportive services and to finance the subsidized employment aspect of the program.

Start Date
Thursday, October 1, 1998
Type of Agency/Organization
Other
City
Fairbanks
State
Alaska
Geographic Reach
Multisite
Clientele/Population Served
Tribal TANF participants (Income eligible families in which the head of household is a member of, or eligible for membership in a federally recognized Tribe and resides in the service area).
Topics/Subtopics
TANF Program Administration
Tribal TANF
Employment
Innovative Programs

LINCWorks

Mission/Goal of Program

The Local Investment Commission (LINC) is a citizen-driven community collaborative involving efforts by the State of Missouri to work with neighborhood leaders, citizens, business, civic and labor leaders to improve the lives of children and families in Kansas City and area counties. LINC’s mission is to provide leadership and influence to engage the Kansas City community in creating the best service delivery system to support and strengthen children, families and individuals, holding that system accountable, and changing public attitudes towards the system. Current initiatives include welfare to work, child welfare, early childhood education, school-based services, aging and neighborhood governance.

LINC has been involved in welfare to work since it was created in 1992 by the Missouri Department of Social Services at the behest of citizen leaders.  LINCWorks locations are open in Jackson, Clay, Platte and Ray counties.  Through its “community partnership” approach, LINC brings together state agencies, local human services organizations, citizen leaders and program participants to continually evaluate and modify the local welfare-to-work system. LINC leverages this community knowledge to inform LINCWorks, a program that is participant-driven, non-duplicative, and focused on moving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants to full-time, unsubsidized employment.

Programs/Services Offered

The LINCWorks initiative provides TANF participants with help on the path from welfare to skills and work. Services provided by LINCWorks include placement in countable work activity, ongoing case management, assistance with transportation and work-related expenses, and referral to partner organizations for job training, employment placement, childcare, warrant relief, trauma counseling and education assistance. LINCWorks also refers clients to services offered at more than 60 LINC Caring Communities sites. Through the Caring Communities initiative, LINC places a site coordinator at a school or neighborhood site to work with parents, neighbors and school staff to develop services in support of children, parents and neighborhoods. Services range from afterschool programs to emergency assistance to financial literacy and more. Specific services vary from site to site and are based on need as determined by citizen-led site councils. Because LINC Caring Communities sites are located primarily at schools in low-income neighborhoods, there is a significant number of LINCWorks clients with children who attend those schools. LINCWorks case managers and LINC Caring Communities site coordinators can work together to ensure TANF participants are able to access the full array of services on offer.

LINC improves client access to and quality of childcare through two early childhood education initiatives. The LINC Educare initiative provides childcare provider training on child development, safety, first aid, business development and other topics. The LINC Subsidy Services initiative provides registered childcare providers with payment agreements, payment processing and technical assistance. Collecting, converting, and disseminating data to the community also drives much of LINC's work. LINC develops data systems to monitor performance and progress, case manager efficiency, and outcomes of participants and the organization. Ensuring that information is useful and easy to comprehend and holding individuals accountable for the work they do with this data, are critical components of LINC's operations.

Start Date
Wednesday, January 1, 1992
Type of Agency/Organization
Other
City
Kansas City
State
Missouri
Geographic Reach
Multisite
Clientele/Population Served
Low-income families in Jackson, Clay and Platte counties, Missouri.
Topics/Subtopics
TANF Program Administration
Collaborations and Partnerships
Services Integration