This report, co-authored by the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices and Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) is based largely on a roundtable meeting conducted in April 2000 by both organizations to discuss expanding postsecondary opportunities for low-income working parents and welfare recipients.

Examining federal, state, and institutional programs, the paper presents a framework for understanding challenges to securing comprehensive financial assistance for low-income working students. The paper identifies promising approaches for supplementing student financial aid based on a range of programs implemented in the past and planned for the future. It also raises issues that bear consideration in designing a program that would be both effective in ways that can be measured through random assignment studies and replicable.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) studied TANF applicants taking part in a post-secondary education program through a local non-profit while on the TANF caseload. By interviewing students, this study explored the challenges and rewards of the program experiences of low-income mothers.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Administration for Children and Families, and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in conjunction with the National Organization of Black County Officials (NOBCO) convened a two day workshop in Jackson, Mississippi, to disseminate information to county officials in a seven state area about the advantages of participating in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program.

Since the establishment of TANF, welfare cases declined by 52 percent nationally. However, child-only cases declined by only 25 percent. Half of the child-only are currently residing with a relative. There is little information on these children and if they are receiving benefits. This publication explores this population and gives information on the well-being of these children and their needs.

In July 2005, Louisiana Department of Social Services held a planning meeting to build on the success of the EITC campaign to prepare for the 2005 tax year. However, with the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the target population for EITC/CTC outreach relocated outside of the State. Due to the change in target population, this Roundtable was convened to update and amend program strategies in response to Katrina, to assess the capacity of community organizations to provide free tax assistance services, and to determine how to provide critical outreach to displaced families in the 2006 tax season.

This is a November 2003 Newsletter generated by the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network on how TANF and Child Support Enforcement can partner to better serve families.

Authored by Lynne Fender and Jen Bernstein. This Urban Institute report was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. This study describes policies and practices in Connecticut, Minnesota, and Texas designed to coordinate the child support enforcement program, Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to secure and sustain appropriate health care coverage for child support-eligible children. Based on site visits to the 3 States, the report documents both successes in cross-program coordination as well as challenges to effective coordination.

From the Rockefeller Institute on Government, this report provides information on a policy forum held on performance management in New York State. The forum included presentations on Federal, State, and local performance management strategies. Specifically, the New York City Human Resources Administration highlighted the JobStat system, which is used to monitor 26 job centers in New York City for welfare and human services.

Authored by Kristin S. Seefeldt and Sean M. Orzol. In 1996, welfare reform legislation imposed a 60-month lifetime limit on TANF benefits. The authors use four waves of data from the Women's Employment Study to determine which personal characteristics are associated with accumulating months on TANF at low (less than 20 months of receipt), medium (20 to 39 months), and high (40 to 60 months) levels. They find that many of the same factors are associated with being in both the medium and high accumulation groups, relative to the low group. However, demographic variables, such as the presence of a partner, race, and the number of children seem to matter more in determining whether someone will accumulate a low as opposed to a medium amount of time on TANF. The presence of human capital problems, as well as persistent personal and family challenges--such as children with health problems, domestic violence, and drug use--all greatly increase the likelihood of accumulating many months toward the 60-month time limit.