This report was prepared as part of a collaboration between ACF, Caliber Associates, and Howard University School of Social Work. Responding to concerns about the overrepresentation of minority children in the child welfare system, particularly African-American children, this exploratory, qualitative study was initiated to gain insight into the issue of overrepresentation (or racial disproportionality) from the perspective of the child welfare community, including agency administrators, supervisors, and direct service workers. The study was conducted through a series of site visits to nine child welfare agencies to talk with agency administrators, supervisors, and workers, among others, about their perceptions and attitudes about the causes and consequences of racial disproportionalities. The site visits also documented information about the types of programs, practices, and strategies that are being implemented to meet the needs of children and families of color, particularly African-American children and families.

This issue brief from the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago and the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison reviews a study of 1,075 TANF applicants in Milwaukee County agencies between March and August 1999. Unlike recent TANF leavers studies, this study tracked the progress and outcomes for TANF applicants specifically.

This newsletter, from the North Carolina Department of Social Services and the Family and Children's Resource program, gives guidance on best practices to serving families. The article focuses on fatherhood involvement in child welfare and strategies for improving engagement among fathers.

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) and Emergency Assistance programs wit the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Under TANF, the nature of public assistance changed from an entitlement program to one that requires individuals to work in order to receive time-limited support. This change in the welfare delivery system was accompanied by an increase in State-level flexibility in program design and operation. Welfare reform required no less than a redefinition of the role of decision makers at the Federal, State and local level, including the role played by front line workers when interacting with welfare recipients. In the journey toward reinventing the social safety net, States have met a variety of formidable challenges. Five years after the passage of welfare reform, this report takes stock of the past and current challenges that States have encountered. This report focuses on the policies and services provided to the hardest-to-serve and on the network of collaborations that States have developed to address the needs of these populations.

This article, based on research from the Center for Law and Social Policy, summarizes how teen parents are doing since the welfare reform of 1996. Overall, the results show that teen parents on welfare are undercounted, untracked, oversanctioned, and underserved.

The National Healthy Marriage Academy, held January 8 and 9, 2003,  in Arlington, VA, provided an opportunity for representatives from several States to learn more about the Administration for Children and Families' (ACF) Healthy Marriage Initiative. The Academy afforded States an opportunity to hear presentations from nationally recognized speakers, researchers, and Federal policy makers, as well as from other States with successful Healthy Marriage Initiatives.

This policy brief explores the question of creating policies to encourage marriage in terms of TANF. The general agreement is made that federal and state policies should not penalize marriage. It explores the effect of TANF program rules on family formation decisions.

This report describes a meeting that took place in Charleston, WV, on November 3, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was a follow-up to a a Healthy Marriage Forum that took place in Charleston, WV, on June 9, 2004.

This resource reviews the Administration for Children and Families' Healthy Marriage Initiative, which was designed to support President Bush's goal of increasing healthy marriages by focusing attention and action on strengthening marriages and preparing interested individuals and couples for healthy marriages. This publication showcases some of the programs that organizations have developed using ACF grants and demonstrates how these programs are helping to create successful marital partnerships. This publication also provides insight into some of the lessons learned along the way that other agencies and organizations can use to promote healthy marriages in their communities.

Under contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of the Compassion Capital Fund (CCF), Caliber Associates is evaluating the pre- and post-release effects of the faith-based Kairos Horizon program. Among the goals of the faith-based residential rehabilitation program are to increase personal and family responsibility, and employability among prisoners and ex-prisoners. In addition to the evaluation, Caliber is contracted to draft a series of policy-relevant issue briefs that discuss trends in corrections, the role of religion in reentry, and results of current research. This first issue brief entitled “Prisoner Reentry, Religion and Research” points out that the faith community is perhaps an invaluable partner in prisoner reentry - promoting public safety via the provision of services to support the successful reintegration of returning prisoners.