This roadmap infographic depicts how the alignment of economic and concrete supports can increase family well-being and prevent child welfare involvement. The roadmap is based on the growing body of evidence that shows that families do better when they have access to concrete services and can achieve economic stability. Economic and concrete supports are “protective factors” – factors that prevent families from becoming involved in the child welfare system. The evidence indicates that increasing access to these supports may be an effective strategy to prevent child maltreatment, keep families together, and address racial inequities. Accompanying this infographic are a one-page brief on this alignment, a reference list of the current research, and a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation that synthesizes this research.

Leaders in TANF and related programs operate in a complex, rapidly changing service environment. In fall 2022, OFA’s Project IMPROVE launched a nationwide Leadership Initiative to support leaders and emerging leaders from state, local, and Tribal TANF and related programs. The Leadership Initiative covered strategic and visionary leadership, tools for managing change and continuous improvement, operational management, supporting and advancing leaders of color, developmental supervision, and changing culture and practice. This brief summarizes the Initiative and links to slides of the content sessions.

These Office of Family Assistance practice briefs and tip sheets focus on trauma-informed practices in TANF programs. Each resource has been informed by State and Tribal TANF staff and former customers and provides practical tips to TANF staff on supporting and implementing trauma-informed practices to improve collaboration between staff and with customers:

• Brief #1: Laying the Foundation: Trauma-Informed Practices in TANF Programs. This brief is for TANF leadership and administrators to support programs in designing and implementing trauma-informed practices.
• Brief #2: Applying Trauma-Informed Practices in Case Management and Supervision. This brief is for TANF case managers and supervisors to design and implement trauma-informed practices when working with customers.
• Tip Sheet: Applying Trauma-Informed Practices for TANF Eligibility Workers. This tip sheet is for TANF eligibility workers engaging directly with customers.
• Tip Sheet: Applying Trauma-Informed Practices for TANF Case Workers. This tip sheet is for TANF case workers engaging directly with customers.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) held the 2022 OFA Regions IX and X State and Territory TANF Technical Assistance Virtual Meeting: Reorient, Reset, and Rise on August 2-4, 2022. This virtual event provided TANF program representatives an opportunity to hear from programs in OFA Regions IX and X about each program’s TANF structure, significant insight, and priorities. Also featured were sessions on State TANF essentials and how programs are using technology to further human-centered design in social services. An inspirational speaker concluded the meeting, delivering insights, guidance, and actionable strategies for thriving in the unfolding of the future of work.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) held the 2022 Regions V-VIII State TANF Virtual Meeting on July 19-21, 2022. This virtual event brought together TANF program representatives from OFA Regions V-VIII and focused on how programs can best address the needs of families beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting included sessions on TANF fundamentals and updates, how the shift to the virtual world has impacted TANF customers and agencies, and changes programs can make to improve their support of customers throughout their TANF journey.

Also, participants chose from concurrent peer-to-peer sessions to attend based on their role within their state (case management, data personnel, or administrative/leadership) to discuss topics including eligibility and work requirements, TANF essentials, the new normal, and refocusing the customer.

This guide complements federal efforts (such as the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s From Theory to Practice Project) to expand the use of administrative data for building evidence and is a resource to assist program evaluation teams in assessing the feasibility and potential value of examining long-term outcomes. The guide describes common steps for linking evaluation data and administrative data. Examples and case studies throughout the guide highlight efforts to research long-term economic outcomes such as participant employment and earnings, but the concepts presented should be applicable to a variety of social policy research contexts.

It is crucial for TANF agencies to use their data to understand how programs are working for the families they serve and how to improve those programs. Yet it is often difficult for agencies to prioritize and implement data use and analytics for program improvement. This brief discusses accessible and attainable strategies to increase data use and the dissemination of analyses, with the goal of supporting more evidence-based policymaking and improving programs for children and families participating in TANF.

The State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services Administration (DSHSA), Community Services Division (CSD), Office of Programs and Policy (OPP) is seeking a WorkFirst and TANF Cash Programs Policy Administrator to join their team. WorkFirst is Washington’s employment and training program for parents receiving TANF cash assistance. DSHSA is providing a gradual transition into full responsibility for management of this important and complex program. The selected candidate will collaborate with, be trained by, and learn the position from the outgoing Administrator until January 1, 2023, and then assume full supervisor and management responsibilities.

Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?

This brief, which was prepared in conjunction with PeerTA Podcast Episode 2: Combatting Compassion Fatigue, focuses on emerging issues related to compassion fatigue within the context of managing teams. The brief addresses the following questions: What is compassion fatigue and how may it affect the teams I manage? What are the factors that lead to compassion fatigue? How might I recognize compassion fatigue within my teams? As a manager, what steps can I take to help mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue? What can I learn from other TANF programs that implemented strategies to address issues associated with compassion fatigue?

<p>Research suggests that evidence capacity shows up in five key areas: leadership, organizational culture, organizational infrastructure, staff capabilities, and organizational engagement and communication. This set of five guides is designed to help practitioners of TANF and related human services programs work through a process for strengthening their organization’s capacity to use and build evidence in one or more of these areas. Each guide outlines a four-step process for reflecting on and assessing the evidence capacity domain, narrowing a focus for potential change, defining the desired change, and checking success. The guides are designed to be used by organizations themselves or in collaboration with a research and evaluation technical assistance provider.</p>