Evaluating Tennessee’s TANF Opportunity Act: Data Collection in a State Learning Laboratory

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support. TOA also established a rigorous evaluation to inform future policy and programs. The evaluation aimed to create a state-level learning laboratory to produce evidence on program effectiveness and implementation, enabling Tennessee to enhance human services delivery.

This MEF report builds upon the information in the first report, details progress on the evaluation in 2024, and looks towards the upcoming evaluation work.