A representative from the Montana Department of Public Health & Human Services is interested in learning how other States have re-designed their TANF programs to streamline the variety of social support and job placement services available for TANF participants?

A representative from the Kansas Department for Children and Families (KDCF) stated that Kansas recently passed suspicion-based drug testing requirements for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applicants and recipients. Any adult who demonstrates substance abuse symptoms is required to be tested for controlled substances. This statute is to be implemented by January 1, 2014. If any State has a position description and/or flowchart of their process that they can share, please contact Judy Kennedy, TANF Program Manager at judy.kennedy@dcf.ks.gov. Questions that they have include:

Pre-testing
-What determines if and when a person gets tested in your State?
-Would you be willing to share the criteria used to determine your referral for testing?
-Who monitors the referrals for drug testing, if anyone?
Testing
-What type of test does your State utilize to determine if a person is abusing drugs?
-Do you have a contract with a vendor to administer and monitor the results, or is the drug testing done by existing staff?
-What substances does your State test for?
-What type of testing do you administer and where is testing administered?
-How do you test when an individual lives in an isolated or rural area when drug testing sites are not readily available?
-Have you experienced many false positives test results due to prescription drugs used for medical purposes?
-Have you encountered or had to address any HIPPA issues with regards to a person's medical information?
Treatment
-If substance abuse treatment is part of the eligibility requirement for TANF in your State, who is responsible to pay for this?
-Does your State set a defined time period for which an individual must undergo treatment prior to regaining eligibility for TANF? If so, what is it? If not, how do you determine or "define" when an individual has completed treatment.
-In addition to treatment, are individuals who test positive required to complete any additional requirements prior to regaining eligibility for TANF?

A representative from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families would like to know if any states provide cash incentives to noncustodial parents (NCP's) as a component of TANF employment programs?

A representative from the Nevada Division of Welfare & Supportive Services is seeking information about document management systems in other States that satisfy all of their outgoing program correspondence needs and meets the following minimum criteria:

• SOFTWARE CRITERIA: The software must run on AIX or Windows servers and must provide API's that can be called in Java or EGL code. We need one solution that will work for mainframe and server applications. The software must be able to convert all our existing Adobe forms. The software must include support for IBM mainframe printers (see attached example). The marks in the margin are required for mainframe printing to indicate how many pages must be grouped and stuffed into a single envelope. The software should include SOA support so that it can be called as a service. The software must support PDF files. The software must support the use of all special characters, so Spanish forms can be developed.
• SYSTEM CRITERIA: The system must allow for forms to be modified without requiring each form be initiated manually (i.e. the form should be generated automatically unless the user chooses to review and/or modify the form first). The system must make the form instantly available for review and/or modification. The system must allow for selection of either a Spanish or English version of a form on demand

The Peer TA Network is curious to know what strategies States and/or counties use to provide services that don't count as assistance/do not impact the Work Participation Rate (WPR), but do allow enough flexibility to provide specialized services to minor parents living with a responsible adult. What are the specific strategies your location is using to provide services with Separate State Program, Maintenance of Effort, or non-assistance TANF dollars? What partners (if any) are you working with to provide the services, what are the results on the youth, and what impact has this approach had on your overall program and your WPR?

A representative from the Michigan Department of Human Services is interested in others States' experience using online tools with TANF populations. What are States using, and how is it working?

A representative from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services would like to hear from States that are utilizing, "Providing Child Care for An Individual Who Is Participating in Community Service" as an actual work activity. Do any States have materials on this activity that they are willing to share?

A representative from the New Hampshire Department Health and Human Services would like to know how other States are managing the required income/resource verifications when a client receives their benefit or pay via the bank card. Both public agencies (such as SSA) and private employers (such as Wal-Mart) are increasing their use of rechargeable bank cards to transfer their monthly benefit/payment to clients. These clients are applying for TANF, but ifmay not have access to a computer and cannot produce verification of the benefit in the month received (since it is income in the month received, resource the following month).

A representative from the Colorado Department of Human Services is interested in better understanding what an optimal caseload size and composition for TANF programming may be for other counties and States. For example, what is the average caseload size for your TANF eligibility workers versus case managers? Do your eligibility TANF workers also manage SNAP, Medicaid, and other services for their offices? What proportion of your TANF workers time is strictly devoted to TANF participants? On average, what proportion of each workers job is strictly devoted to TANF case management activities (e.g., client assessment, barrier reduction planning, service coordination, client monitoring, and outcome evaluation)?

A representative from the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare/Bureau of Employment and Training Programs would like to know what other States expect of TANF recipients who claim to have a medical exemption that prevents them from participation in work activities. For example, what forms do States use for medical assessment? Can the clients family doctor complete the form, or is the form completed by an independent exam? What activities and hourly requirements are expected?