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.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Division of Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Management hosted the Tribal TANF Summit (Summit) on August 31-September 1, 2015 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown Hotel. The Summit brought together Tribal TANF program administrators and tribal leaders to dialogue about key issues facing Tribal TANF programs. The Summit provided attendees with opportunities to engage with their peers and experts from the field, to discuss best practices and the latest research, as well as to plan ways to improve TANF programming for low-income families in their communities.

On August 5-6, 2014 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the Tribal TANF Leadership Symposium in Washington, District of Columbia. This Symposium brought together Tribal Council members and leaders from the 65 tribes operating Tribal TANF programs across the United States, along with experts from the field, to share innovative strategies and updates related to Tribal TANF program implementation and collaboration. Over the course of the two-day meeting, participants had the opportunity to attend plenary sessions and workshops, dialogue with ACF and OFA leadership, and network with peers.

On June 26-27, 2012, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Region IX Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Office held the annual Tribal TANF meeting for Arizona Tribes in the Region. The meeting provided an opportunity for Tribal TANF programs to join together to network and share lessons learned and best practices that will help lead to improved program effectiveness. The meeting provided information on key ACF initiatives and provided a forum for discussing strategies for increasing and improving employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for Tribal TANF participants through supportive services, assessments, career pathways models, and healthy relationship skills.

While still facing serious fiscal and programmatic challenges, the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) site felt strongly that their TANF program required an infusion of evidence-based practices and ideas that had successfully moved Tribal TANF participants into higher levels of self-sufficiency. WMAT identified the Navajo Nation Tribal TANF system as the case management model they hoped to replicate and a site visit was conducted in September 2009. During the site visit, five staff members from WMAT met with leadership from the Navajo Department of Workforce Development and the Program for Self Reliance to discuss Tribal TANF operations, cost efficient service delivery, serving remote Tribal TANF participants, and other case management strategies. The WMAT site visit to the Navajo Nation and the subsequent introduction of numerous promising strategies served as a valuable asset in the redesign of their Tribal Family Assistance Plan (TFAP). The principles of self-reliance and cultural values within the context of TANF, concepts they explored with the Navajo Nation, have become important components of their new TFAP.

In recognition of the many case management and economic development challenges and opportunities present on Tribal lands, the Office of Family Assistance, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families Regions VI and VIII, convened a series of Tribal Roundtable events to help address and capitalize on some of these issues. Attended by staff from sixteen different Tribal governments, the Roundtable series took place April 12-15 in Denver, Colorado, and featured three major sessions: Identifying Opportunities for Economic Development In Indian Country Roundtable; ACF Regions VI and VIII Tribal TANF Administrators Meeting, and; Identifying and Implementing Effective Case Management Strategies Workshop. With assistance from Federal and Regional staff and nationally recognized content experts and practitioners, Roundtable participants focused on a number of issues critical to the success and continued sustainability of their TANF programs. Topics covered during the Roundtable Series included job creation, green technologies, guidance on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, and case management strategies that empower and motivate TANF participants and staff. Roundtable attendees were provided with tools, promising program models, and resources to assist in their local economic development, case management design, and program development efforts.

The Rural Communities Initiative conducted a Site Visit to the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program based on their request for TA. Rural Communities Initiative staff partnered with consultants from the U.C. Davis Extension at the University of California to provide the Tribe with an in-depth needs assessment in order to strategize on developing solutions for programmatic improvement. The consultants, Julie Gondry and Dr. Geni Cowan, are Tribal TANF subject matter experts with program based skills in training, case management, and data reporting. Based upon the assessment results, the White Mountain Apache Tribal TANF Program will receive valuable recommendations to further enhance aspects of their program’s structure and administration to reach the end goal of self-sufficiency for their TANF participants.

The Rural Communities Academy was the "kick off" event for the 16 selected rural sites and included time for each rural site team (consisting of four/five team members) to participate in information gathering, networking, and action planning. The team members who attended the Academy participated in workshops and plenary sessions, and met with Rural Content Specialists and representatives from other rural communities who shared their insight into strategies being utilized in rural areas with TANF participants.