The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IX and X held the OFA Regions IX and X Virtual Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Meeting: Building Capacity to Support Families in a New Reality on December 8-10, 2020. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives an opportunity to attend sessions virtually and learn from the OFA Office of the Director, regional TANF officials, and experts about strategies they can use to build capacity and services despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics included ways programs are shifting to more virtual service provision and telework while considering and increasing digital inclusion; how to prepare program participants to find new or adapt existing training, employment, and career pathways opportunities; how to respond effectively to participants’ holistic needs and challenges; and strategies programs can use regarding trauma’s impact on individual, team, and organizational levels. In breakout sessions, tribal representatives shared strategies they are using to perform their work during the pandemic and serve program participants in their communities more successfully.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IX and X hosted the Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on July 25‐27, 2016 at the Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting brought together Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies and collaborations to promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and tribal communities. During the meeting, tribal representatives engaged in listening sessions, shared best practices, and participated in workshops in order to more successfully serve the program participants in their communities.

Authored by Walter Hillabrant, Judy Earp, Mack Rhoades, and Nancy Pindus. This report presents findings from a Mathematica study, done under the Welfare to Work evaluation, of economic development initiatives in eight tribes (Cheyenne River Sioux, Citizen Potawatomi, Colville Confederated Tribes, Gila River, Mississippi Choctaw, Navajo Nation, Three Affiliated Tribes, and Turtle Mountain Chippewa) and two Alaska Native corporations (Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Doyon Limited). This report discusses how American Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages have embraced the goals, objectives, and programs associated with welfare reform, but the lack of jobs limits the success of tribal programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare-to-Work (WtW).