This brief focuses on the analysis of merged national-level SSI data and TANF data from the 26 states that report to the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) on their full TANF caseload. It found, counter to popular narratives, that the overlap between the two programs was small. It also found that TANF recipients who applied for SSI were not at particularly high risk of losing their TANF benefits. Finally, it found that medical award rates among TANF recipients who applied for SSI were comparable to that of SSI applicants who had not recently received TANF, once important age differences were taken into account. (author abstract)

The OFA Regions VI & VIII TANF Webinar Series: TANF Data Reporting and Analysis Webinar # 3: Using Research to Inform Practice: ACF's Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability Research Consortium (FSSRC), was held on September 12, 2013. The webinar, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Regions VI & VIII, featured Mr. Brendan Kelly, a Senior Social Science Research Analyst and the Dissemination Team Leader in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE); Dr. Michelle Derr, a Senior Researcher at Mathematica Policy Research; and Ms. Kinsey Dinan, the Deputy Director of the New York City Human Resources Administration's Office of Evaluation and Research. Speakers provided an overview of the structure of and opportunities available through the three components of ACF, OPRE, FSSRC including the Scholar's Network, Data Center, and Project AWESOME. The webinar also included a discussion of how State and local program administrators can work with in-house researchers to gain insight into the impact of their programming.

This brief provides an overall summary of the lessons learned from the TANF-SSI Disability Transition Project. It brings together material spread across other documents in a concise format, and it also offers new insights from state-level data analyses that largely back up the conclusions drawn from federal data. (author abstract) 

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation released the HPOG Annual Report to highlight information regarding the program after its second year of operation. The report provides an overview of HPOG grantees, characteristics of participants, activities in which participants were engaged, training and employment outcomes, and how grantee programs continued to evolve in the second year of the program. The report was developed as part of the HPOG Implementation, Systems, and Outcome Project, which is being led by Abt Associates in partnership with the Urban Institute.

The National Center for Children in Poverty released a policy report offering a summary of the various approaches States are taking or propose to take to balance their budget. The report highlights revenue and spending side approaches that are protective of low-income families and endeavor to identify some best practices that other States might adopt. The report closes by drawing some lessons in fiscal management that may help States better weather future downturns without putting their most vulnerable populations at risk.

The Institute for Research on Poverty released an article discussing a new policy being tested in New York City that adopts the conditional cash transfer principle and that is extended to a broader set of family efforts to build human capital. Opportunity NYC-Family Rewards seeks to boost family income in the short-term while building families' capacity to avoid poverty in the long-term without increasing their reliance on government assistance. In this article, a summary of the results of a published random assignment evaluation is provided, showing that the program had more modest effects than had been anticipated.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), Administration for Children and Families released a report outlining their portfolio of research related to welfare and family self-sufficiency projects for the fiscal year 2013. OPRE's research focuses on four major areas: TANF and the Safety Net, Employment and the Labor Market, Education and Training, and other relevant cross-cutting research.

On September 25 and 26, 2012, Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Administrators along with other key stakeholders gathered in San Francisco for the Region IX 2012 Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Workshop. The central purpose of this workshop was to enable attendees to dialogue with one another and hear from field experts on a variety of critical topics pertaining to Tribal TANF program administration. Attendees were also provided with the opportunity to network amongst their peers and share recent successes and challenges. Over the course of the two-day workshop, a number of important topics were addressed, including: case management to achieve successful outcomes; creating opportunities for Tribal TANF participants via partnerships and collaborations; successful work placements for Tribal TANF participants; TANF penalty process; and supporting Tribal TANF participants with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders.

On August 14 and 15, 2012, State and Territory Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Administrators along with other key stakeholders gathered in San Francisco for the Region IX 2012 TANF Innovations in Action Forum. The central purpose of this forum was to enable attendees to discuss critical issues pertaining to TANF program administration and to explore new strategies for improving TANF programs for low-income and working families in their States and Territories. Attendees were also provided with the opportunity to report on the current status of TANF programs at the local level and to receive updates on current TANF policy developments. Over the course of the two-day forum, a number of important topics were addressed, including: work-oriented programs for vulnerable populations and youth; subsidized employment and transitional jobs programs; innovative case management and service coordination models; career pathways and work study programs for TANF participants; and privatization models and call centers.