Rebuilding American Families
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program is designed to help families achieve stability and move toward long-term self-sufficiency. TANF purposes emphasize strengthening family formation, supporting healthy relationships, and promoting long-term economic security for parents and children.
This webpage provides resources to help state TANF agency staff translate these priorities into practice. The materials are organized around key areas of focus, including marriage and family formation supports, household stability skills, community and faith-based partnerships, family growth and economic planning, maternal and family wellness, youth preparation for family life, and emerging approaches. Each section highlights ways TANF programs can expand beyond basic assistance to offer tools that help practitioners engage families more broadly, address underlying barriers, and support stronger, more stable households. Together, these topics reflect a broader effort to not only meet immediate needs, but to equip families with the foundation for strong relationships and stable homes.
Marriage and Family Formation Supports
Want practical ways to boost your program’s employment outcomes and help advance core purposes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)? The Office of Family Assistance is sponsoring The Family Routes Initiative (FRI) to assist…
This vignette features a Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that participated in the Family Routes Initiative Learning Community and expanded their Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) services. This…
This toolkit contains a collection of four one-page resources designed to facilitate strong, collaborative relationships with families. The toolkit includes flyers that can navigate Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners…
In June 2026, the Office of Family Assistance launched the Programming to Build Strong Families and Promote Economic Independence series, designed to provide flexible, practice-informed…
In June 2026, the Office of Family Assistance launched the Programming to Build Strong Families and Promote Economic Independence series, designed to provide flexible, practice-informed…
This webpage offers a comprehensive approach to empowering parents and serves as an example of how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can think more intentionally about family formation as part of their services. It shows how…
Household Stability Skills
For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this Institute for Family Studies resource offers a relatable way to introduce communication and relationship skills without relying on technical language. It centers on a practical…
Using Active Listening to Build Stronger Two-Parent Households and Improve TANF Participant Outcomes
This is the first video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can…
This is the second video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that…
This is the final video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can…
This resource by Study.com provides practical family conflict resolution activities that help people recognize what is driving disagreement, see situations from different perspectives, and work through problems in a more structured way. For…
Community and Faith-Based Partnerships
Families often need more than a single service to achieve lasting economic mobility. As a facilitation model for building long-term collaboration between communities, public systems, and nonprofit partners, the Blue Sky Possibilities Framework…
This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network tipsheet focuses on how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can support children living with relatives or caregivers who are not receiving full family benefits. It fills a key…
This webpage offers a comprehensive approach to empowering parents and serves as an example of how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can think more intentionally about family formation as part of their services. It shows how…
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops provides education and guidance on Natural Family Planning, a fertility awareness-based approach that helps individuals understand reproductive cycles to support either pregnancy planning or…
Families thrive when their communities are strong and connected. Yet too often, families face barriers to resources that support well-being, like lack of affordable childcare, safe housing, mental health supports, or job opportunities—barriers…
This report from the Sutherland Institute explores how religious involvement and faith communities can support family stability by fostering commitment, shared values, and social support networks. It reviews evidence suggesting that participation…
Family Growth and Economic Planning
In August 2026, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of the Treasury jointly released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document to help states, territories, and Tribes establish and administer…
Estimating child support payments can help families better understand their financial responsibilities and plan for the future. This online calculator provides an estimate of potential child support obligations based on basic financial…
The Administration for Children and Families announced a new Technical Assistance Center to help states, Tribes, and territories implement Fostering the…
Building financial security starts with making sure families know about available opportunities. This Urban Institute resource explores early findings showing that many families who could benefit from new Trump Accounts are unaware the program…
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs have long supported families in building economic stability. This Dear Colleague Letter by the Office of Family Assistance explores how TANF funds may now be used to support Trump Accounts,…
Young people aging out of foster care may face a stark reality. They leave the system at 18 with little financial cushion and few of the family safety nets on which most young adults rely. To address this, federal guidance has been issued by the…
Maternal and Family Wellness Supports
Helping families achieve economic security requires more than employment services. This Child Trends brief examines Virginia's Comprehensive Health Investment Project, a comprehensive case management program that helps families with low incomes…
This National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center recording on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR), domestic violence, and Native maternal health explores the intersection of safety, health, and family well-being in Tribal…
This Office of Family Assistance Information Memorandum (IM) highlights how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds can be used to support families with childcare needs, including parents and caregivers who provide care at home. It…
This Child Care Aware of America webpage provides clear, national data on what families are actually paying for childcare and how those costs affect the ability to work and stay employed. The resource offers resources to help pay and budget for…
FACTS About Fertility provides education on fertility awareness and reproductive health, helping individuals better understand how fertility works and how it can be tracked over time. It helps address gaps in reproductive health knowledge that…
This evidence-based home visiting model pairs first-time parents with registered nurses who provide ongoing support during pregnancy and children’s early years. The Nurse-Family Partnership addresses a critical gap in early family support—…
Youth Preparation for Family Life
Young adults ages 18 to 29 are often expected to make major decisions about work, education, housing, and relationships while they are still figuring out what they want their lives to look like. This Annie E. Casey Foundation podcast introduces…
Young people leaving foster care often face financial challenges as they transition to adulthood, including managing money, securing housing, and planning for future goals. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief introduces their financial…
Tailored for Success: How Two Programs in Los Angeles Customize Employment Services for Young People
This MDRC report explores how two workforce programs in Los Angeles adapted employment services to better meet the needs of young people. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners serving youth and young parents, this…
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs often serve young people who are expected to move toward independence while still developing basic skills needed for adulthood, such as managing money, maintaining housing, or making…
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs frequently serve youth who are moving into adulthood without stable family support; basic planning around housing, money, and daily decision-making can determine whether they stabilize or…
This Pittsburgh-area workforce development program focuses on helping young people move from instability into real career direction. For youth exiting foster care, that transition can be especially abrupt—suddenly they are expected to manage work…
Emerging Approaches
This research from the Institute for Family Studies highlights differences in reported relationship satisfaction depending on how couples meet, suggesting that in-person connections may be associated with stronger long-term outcomes. It adds…
This Institute for Family Studies resource examines how consistent, quality employment for men is connected to stronger family stability and engagement. The report highlights employment not only as an economic factor, but as something closely…
When families receive both child support and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), there are rules that determine how child support payments are shared between the family and the government. This is often called “cost recovery,” which…
Child support programs across the country serve millions of families with low incomes. They establish paternity and child support orders, and they collect child support payments that can help increase family financial stability and contribute to…