Up to 74% of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants report recent experiences of domestic violence, compared to 30% of the general population, according to 2013 data. Survivors are often isolated from family, friends, and financial resources as a result of a perpetrator’s tactics to maximize the survivor’s level of dependency on them and decrease the likelihood that the survivor can gain self-sufficiency. TANF and other public assistance programs have a unique opportunity to provide necessary financial assistance and access to critical resources that can help survivors and their children move toward greater independence and self-sufficiency. In recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, this facilitated webinar shared key findings about the economic toll intimate partner violence takes on survivors, and strategies for best supporting survivors who are accessing public assistance programs. This webinar took place on October 31 between 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. EDT.

This report from Prosperity Now provides information about why creating savings penalties towards welfare programs such as SNAP and SSI actually harm families instead of aiding them. Studies have shown that low-income families with savings are able to more easily handle financial shocks. Most states are in the process of eliminating savings penalties due to the fact that eliminating them reduces administrative costs and caseloads.

This brief provides a graphical overview of selected state policy differences for TANF cash assistance. The Welfare Rules Database (WRD), a database maintained by the Urban Institute and funded by the OPRE and ACF, provides the information for this brief. The paper discusses policies related to initial eligibility, benefit amounts, and ongoing eligibility. Additional information about the resources the WRD offers is also included.

This practice brief from Mathematica Policy Research and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation offers a different approach for human service programs to test new service approaches. Traditionally, programs will conduct a pilot program before launching a full initiative, but this brief offers an alternative approach called a "road test." The brief explains the difference between the two approaches and how to conduct a road test and offers an example from a county that used the approach.

This blog post from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) provides an overview of conversations about ACF priorities that staff had at the recent American Public Human Services Association’s 2018 National Health and Human Services Summit. The main theme of the conversations was how to best engage all families served via ACF programs.

This brief, circulated by ASPE, details the methodology used in the report Substance Use, the Opioid Epidemic, and Child Welfare Caseloads: A Mixed Methods Study. Methods utilized included statistical modeling, geospatial analysis, and qualitative interviewing and analysis. Research centered on six questions, including exploring the relationship between substance use prevalence and child welfare caseloads, how parental substance misuse affects caseloads and outcomes, and whether opioid misuse impacts welfare differently than other types of substance use.

This resource from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse highlights a rural community partnership between a fatherhood program and local child support agency. In this case study, authors describe the development of a partnership in Merced County, California and lessons learned.