The COVID-19 pandemic created sudden and substantial hardships for many families with low incomes and also created unprecedented challenges for the operation of benefit programs. States were able to use the TANF program’s existing flexibility to modify their policies if they felt such changes would better support families. This brief provides a graphical overview of selected TANF policy changes states made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It includes information about changes to work and activity requirements, sanctions, time limits, and treatment of unemployment insurance benefits.

The Administration for Children and Families will host a webinar on March 14, 2022 from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET which will discuss approaches to supporting, growing, and strengthening the early childhood workforce in tribal communities. Tribal communities seek to ensure that early childhood program staff have the language, cultural, and community knowledge to implement culturally grounded programs that meet the needs of American Indian/Alaska Native children and families. They also have a strong interest in “growing their own” workforce by supporting members of the community, including former program participants, to become early childhood professionals. In the webinar, participants will hear an overview of issues related to supporting and strengthening the early childhood workforce in tribal communities, followed by a panel highlighting innovations and promising practices. Additionally, participants will be able to learn more about and discuss highlighted strategies with peers and hear about resources they can use in their own communities.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the Using the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund webinar on March 8 and 9, 2022. Separate sessions were held for states, tribes, and territories that administer PEAF funds. Established by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, PEAF provides funding to states, tribes administering a TANF program, and all five U.S. territories to assist needy families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to use funds to provide certain non-recurrent, short term benefits.

During these webinars, OFA shared its newly developed brief, Responding to Winter Utility Needs: Using the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund and discussed how PEAF grantees can blend and braid PEAF allocations with other federal funds to help families with high utility costs. Current PEAF grantees also shared their PEAF experiences, and the webinar concluded with a facilitated discussion.

In this webinar, participants:

• Learned different approaches for distributing PEAF-funded cash assistance.
• Explored how COVID-19 impacted energy security for low-income families and how the Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund can help.
• Heard from PEAF grantees who have allocated resources to help low-income families with utility assistance and other needs.

Each webinar was tailored to states, tribes, and territories administering PEAF resources.

Please note: Webinar recording for territories is unavailable. Please review the PowerPoint slides and/or watch the recording of the state webinar (see link below).

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting applications for the Fiscal Year 2022 Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Grant Program. Funding is intended for tribal entities that do not have prior experience with implementing evidence-based home visiting models, performance measurement systems, and continuous quality improvement activities.

Grant funds will support 63-month grants between ACF and federally-recognized Indian tribes (or a consortium of Indian tribes), tribal organizations, or urban Indian organizations. The grants will support activities including conducting needs assessments, developing infrastructure, providing home visiting programs, and strengthening early childhood systems of support. The anticipated project start date is July 1, 2022. Applications are due April 15, 2022.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation research-to-practice brief highlights key findings from the final report of the five-year evaluation of the Tribal HPOG 2.0 Program. The brief describes how the Tribal HPOG 2.0 grantees implemented the career pathways framework for their HPOG programs. It also presents program and participant outcomes from the five-year evaluation.

This Child Welfare Information Gateway podcast offers insights from the National Native Children's Trauma Center for caseworkers and agencies that are working or will work with Indigenous communities to support children and families. It also covers why Indian Child Welfare Act provisions cannot be implemented the same way for every tribe or nation with which state and local child welfare professionals work, how historical trauma within Native and tribal communities is strongly connected to intergenerational trauma, and what guidance state and local child welfare caseworkers and agencies can use when engaging with Native families and communities. Additional resources are provided for reference.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) and the Office of Community Services (OCS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have recently announced the COVID and Safety Net Innovation (CASI) TA Initiative. This new endeavor will delve into the resiliency of the safety net, exploring new approaches that support the economic and social needs of vulnerable families, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the COVID and Safety Net Innovation TA Initiative, partnerships between federally funded state, local, or tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) eligible entities or CSBG Direct Funded Tribal recipients will receive Technical Assistance (TA) to develop strategic and targeted action and implementation plans related to a specific safety net concern.

The deadline to nominate or self-nominate to participate in CASI is Tuesday, December 21, 2021. To receive further information about CASI, including instructions for the short nomination process, please email CASIsites@blhtech.com.

This U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance toolkit helps tribal justice system practitioners create or enhance reentry programs for American Indians and Alaska Natives returning from jail or prison. The toolkit starts with the formation of a planning team and covers all the key steps of developing a reentry program, including developing partnerships, refining a reentry program, measuring program impact, and planning for sustainability. The toolkit is informed by the work of reentry programs in Indian Country, the Center for Court Innovation, the Harlem Parole Reentry Court, and the American Probation and Parole Association.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. This Innovation Station video highlighted Coaching for Success—a free 14-module eLearning Curriculum that OFA made available to all State and Tribal TANF agencies and Native Employment Works (NEW) programs. The purpose of the curriculum is to train employment case managers in how to leverage coaching techniques to improve their case management skills. The adapted video gives a brief overview of the first eight modules and features Module 4 which focuses on active listening and eliminating distractions.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this innovation station presentation, the speaker showcased Workforce 1 Connect (WF1), a communication tool created by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). WF1 Connect is a pilot application that participants receiving TANF, SNAP E&T, Childcare Assistance, and DEED Employment and Training Programs such as Blind and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, can download to their phone or tablet. It is a participant-driven tool that can be used to communicate with both county and tribal staff.