Substance abuse is recognized as one of the most common barriers facing hard-to-employ TANF recipients. Due to the stringent work requirements and time limits under Federal welfare policy, substance abuse treatment and counseling services are becoming a necessity for any public assistance program attempting to move recipients from welfare to work. Under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Welfare Reform Technical Assistance Project, Caliber Associates produced this document as a reference tool on two specific Federal funding sources - Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare to Work (WtW) funds - which can be targeted at supporting substance abuse treatment services for the welfare population.

A Look at State Welfare Reform Efforts to Address Substance Abuse is an eight-State case study that examines different State and county strategies in serving TANF recipients with substance abuse problems. This year-long comparative case study was commissioned by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) to document efforts underway to address substance abuse as a barrier to employment.

Five years after the passage of the welfare reform law, States have achieved unprecedented declines in their welfare caseloads. However, one of the most prominent roadblocks that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) clients face to a successful transition to employment is substance abuse. This fact sheet provides an overview of of important strategies to building the system infrastructure to address substance abuse issues for TANF recipients.

The Welfare Peer TA completed an analysis of Delaware's strategies for identifying substance abuse among A Better Chance Families. This provides the Executive Summary as well as a set of appendices that include promising practices from other States; a list of resource organizations; and a list of articles related to the topic of substance abuse among TANF families.

This report summarizes the ACF Rapid Response Technical Assistance workshop, Collaborating to Address the Needs of Multi-Barrier Families, held August 29-30, 2001 in Boise, Idaho. The workshop designed to help Idaho move low-income families with substance abuse problems toward recovery and self-sufficiency. The workshop was intended to increase knowledge and understanding of substance abuse and treatment, and to provide opportunities to explore how existing substance abuse treatment systems operate and connect, and how they can be strengthened in the State of Idaho.

Authored by Mary Nakashian, this report describes a meeting that took place in Denver, CO, on August 10-12, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was designed to help substance abuse and welfare officials from Region VIII States better integrate substance abuse treatment and employment services for methamphetamine addicts receiving welfare benefits.

Authored by Amy Brown. This series of reports, as part of the Aspen Institute's Economic Opportunities Program and funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, explore various lessons learned from innovative approaches to EITC campaigns. The series covers pilot projects, financial literacy in the workplace, connecting asset building to Workforce Development One-Stops, market research and asset development strategies, partnering with commercial tax preparation firms, and using technology.

This study explores the relationship between TANF and WIA programs in aiding TANF recipients and achieving the goals of each program. By conducting site visits, the coordination of TANF and WIA was assessed to identify how the low-income population is best served to promote self-sufficiency.

This guidance addresses challenges encountered by Welfare-to-Work (WtW), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Child Support Enforcement (CSE) agencies in the provision of services to WtW participants, and seeks to assist States and local communities to improve WtW program operations and enhance inter-agency collaboration.

Because many welfare recipients reaching time limits face barriers to employment, Minnesota implemented the Minnesota Integrated Service Project (ISP). This project aims at improving service delivery to clients who would benefit from multiple systems working together to address their needs. From the Urban Institute, this article reviews the implementation of integrating services to improve outcomes for low-income families in Minnesota.