The ACF West-Central Hub Family Stabilization Workshop, held September 26 and 27, 2001, in Denver, CO, had three primary themes: Responsible Fatherhood, Faith-based and Community Initiatives, and Marriage and Family Stabilization. The Administration for Children and Families West-Central Hub includes Region VI (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas) and Region VIII (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming). The objectives of the workshop were to introduce participants to successful programs in the three key areas, to encourage networking, and to serve vulnerable children and families by focusing on making lasting connections. Speakers from various programs and perspectives  shared promising practices, challenges, and lessons learned in the area of family stabilization.

This report describes the ACF Dallas Regional Office’s Midwinter Leadership Conference held in Dallas, TX, on January 21-24, 2003. The theme of the Conference was “Leading the Way: Positive Educational, Social and Healthy Outcomes for Children.” The Conference addressed the following areas: positive youth development, improving children’s lives by encouraging responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages, community movements, and team approaches to TANF.

The training conference was to deliver training and education to program administrators to conform to Federal regulations, collaborate on faith- and community-based coordination, and to foster strategic plans for carrying out ACF's objectives. The conference sought to increase awareness of the priorities that contribute to the well-being of children and families.

The ACF Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this workshop on behalf of the ACF Region VII office. The network is a contract from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The contractors for the Network are AFYA, Inc. and Caliber Associates. The purpose of this two-day technical assistance event was to identify the transportation challenges of participating states, examine other state’s initiatives that have addressed these challenges, identify available resources, and explore next steps to address these challenges. Additional topics included the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) and the wealth of resources available via the National Transit Resource Center, operated by the Community Transportation Association of America.

The ACF Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this workshop on behalf of the ACF Region IV office. The network is a contract from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The contractors for the network are AFYA, Inc. and Caliber Associates. The purpose of this two day technical assistance event was to identify the participating states’ transportation priority challenges, to examine other state’s initiatives that have addressed these challenges, to identify available resources, and to explore lessons learned that participants could use as a background for formulating next steps to address these challenges. Additional topics addressed included TEA-21 (Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century), the role of Head Start, and the wealth of resources available via the National Transit Resource Center (operated by the Community Transportation Association of America).

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted this workshop in collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The purpose of the event was to provide and share information on Welfare-to-Work (WTW) transportation and related issues. Furthermore, the workshop provided a forum for discussing the effectiveness of current initiatives, which provide the foundation for solutions to as yet unresolved transportation dilemmas. Specific topics addressed included building upon existing resources; providing affordable, accessible, and reliable transportation to all urban, suburban, and rural areas; coordination between transportation, workforce development, and human service agencies to overcome transportation barriers, and combining resources to achieve these objectives.

The Welfare Peer TA Network hosted a broadcast call titled, “Welfare Reform and Housing—Asset Building and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs)” on August 2, 2000. The purpose of the call was to review the asset building and IDA program concepts, present examples of cooperation between State TANF agencies and asset building programs, and identify issues related to asset building and IDAs that are likely to arise for State TANF agencies.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Division. The purpose of this two-day workshop was to assemble a collection of varying levels of expertise from all over the nation among the Individual Development Account (IDA) field to promote information sharing and fact finding. This workshop built on the successes of two previous IDA workshops that were hosted by the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network during this past year. The program for this workshop was similar to the other two workshops with the additional component of focusing on the flexibility available in using Welfare to Work funds for IDA programs.

The Welfare Peer TA Network sponsored this statewide Roundtable event that took place in Baton Rouge, LA, from October 25-26, 2004. Attended by over 80 Federal, State, and local representatives, this Roundtable was designed to impart the tools and knowledge to implement a statewide Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) awareness and outreach campaign.

The Welfare Peer TA Network sponsored this statewide Roundtable event that took place in Oklahoma City, OK, from July 25-26, 2005. Attended by over 100 Federal, State, and local representatives, this Roundtable was designed to facilitate statewide discussion to impart the tools and knowledge to implement a statewide Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) awareness and outreach campaign.