Third Sector and the American Public Human Services Association will host this webinar on October 15, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. Representatives from the Kentucky Department of Family Support and the Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance (MA DTA) will discuss how they are working to better meet the needs of young parent families through TANF-funded programs. Kentucky Works Program representatives will share how they are working to establish participant and frontline staff “feedback loops” to better understand the needs of young parents and to identify more enhanced, targeted TANF-funded services that promote economic stability. In addition, MA DTA will share its new approach to using TANF funding in flexible and effective ways to support young parents through the Young Parents Program. Examples will include place-based adjustments, cross-agency coordination, and gathering ongoing feedback from participants to inform program improvements.

Trauma can have significant short and long-term effects on individual functioning and family well-being. Many human services agencies have begun to recognize the profound implications this issue has on how agency staff interact with their customers, and how staff themselves are impacted. The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on September 30, 2020 to help TANF sites interested in moving from trauma awareness to practice transformation using evidence-informed strategies.

Webinar speakers reviewed the trauma-informed paradigm’s foundations in the TANF context, and discussed key considerations in moving TANF programs from trauma-informed awareness to evidence-informed practice transformation. Participants heard from the Vermont Department for Children and Families on their experiences developing a Trauma-Informed Evaluative Toolkit for TANF with OFA PeerTA support and their implementation plans.

This brief from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation presents graphics to illustrate variations among state TANF policies that are identified in the Welfare Rules Database. Visual depictions include comparisons on initial eligibility, benefit amounts, work and activity requirements, and ongoing eligibility and time limits for TANF recipients.

This compendium introduces Executive Function (EF) skills and provides resources for additional understanding about these skills and how poverty and stress impact their development. The resources include videos, a guide to Goal, Plan, Do, Review and Revise (an approach used by human service professionals to build EF skills among their clients), applying behavioral science to address chronic scarcity, and links to podcasts.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report assesses and compares the impact of two models offering cash assistance to Michigan’s TANF recipients to find and keep employment: the Michigan Goal Progress Success (MI-GPS) program (enhancement to Michigan’s TANF program) and the two-step program, the Application Eligibility Period (AEP) followed by the “Partnership. Accountability. Training. Hope.” (PATH) program (Michigan’s existing TANF program). The MI-GPS provides goal-oriented coaching as an enhancement, and AEP/PATH focuses on participation in required work activities. The report reviews the two programs’ implementation as well as the differences in the types of services and assistance delivered, and in employment and earnings outcomes.

Traditional TANF benefits are typically provided every month for up to 60 months to support family economic stability, while fostering workforce participation. However, TANF also allows states and tribes to help families without providing such ongoing assistance. Instead, they can design their TANF programs to provide non-recurrent short-term benefits (NRSTs) for families experiencing individual crises that require one-time or brief, targeted aid. State and tribal TANF programs provide NRSTs without a national crisis but relied on them broadly in responding to the 2008 financial crisis, use them to help in the face of natural disasters such as the Northern California wildfires, and now, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) published guidance on flexibilities in the TANF law and regulations that states and tribes might use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the provision of NRSTs to support economically vulnerable families during the pandemic. State and tribal TANF programs are currently providing NRSTs, which are not subject to the TANF requirements associated with "assistance" such as work requirements, to support families who have experienced specific hardships due to the COVID-19 emergency and to help those families continue progress toward economic independence.

In this facilitated webinar on July 28, 2020, presenters provided an overview of NRST benefits and explained how they can be used in the COVID-19 era. Additionally, state representatives shared how they have used NRST benefits in the field to support individuals and families affected by the pandemic. Panelists answered audience questions to assist other state and tribal programs in developing their own TANF responses to COVID-19. 

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a free webinar on understanding how to assess and build executive functioning skills in TANF participants. Executive function and self-regulation skills are the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully. Trouble with executive function can make it hard for individuals to navigate life, including obtaining and retaining employment. TANF case managers with an understanding of executive functioning can better support TANF participants on their pathway to self-sufficiency.

A panel of practitioners and researchers outlined the key principles of executive functioning, provided their perspectives on training caseworkers on executive functioning, and discussed how they are building executive functioning skills in TANF participants. Speakers included Dorothy Hall, Utah Department of Workforce Services; Melanie d'Almada Remedios, Washington State Regional WorkFirst Coordinator; Jessie Hancox, Colorado Works Program Administrator; and Kristen Joyce, Mathematica. They were joined by Jessica R. Kendall and Joe Raymond of ICF.
A video recording is available for viewing.

This brief notes key issues that state TANF agencies can consider when using TANF funds for families impacted by COVID-19. The brief also identifies five examples of program options these agencies might use to implement non-recurrent benefits drawn from current state TANF fund allocations.

This fact sheet shows how a non-recurrent short-term benefit program could operate in Georgia in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of how non-recurrent benefits might address emergency situations are presented and include short-term benefits to make up for lost wages, short-term rental or mortgage assistance, utility and energy assistance, housing search and placement services, and family support services. There is also a brief note about how non-recurrent TANF support during the pandemic might help boost incomes and help families not fall further behind during the ensuing economic dislocations.