This report summarizes a workshop entitled "Solutions to Rural Issues Through Partnerships - A Community-Centered Approach" that took place on September 24-25, 2003 and was jointly sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Department of Labor (DOL) Regional offices. The purpose of the workshop was to focus on improving service delivery in rural communities to strengthen rural families and communities and support economic development.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted a national needs assessment with all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico and documented the results in a report called "Progress and Promise of TANF Implementation." As its name suggests, the report highlights the challenges and successes of states' implementation of their TANF program. In addition to identifying the challenges faced by states, this report also highlights a variety of emerging innovations taking place throughout the country as states implement their welfare reform agendas.

This report summarizes a workshop entitled "Promoting Performance in TANF Programs" that took place on July 29-31, 2003 and was sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The workshop focused on performance and performance considerations in the TANF program.

Substance abuse is recognized as one of the most common barriers facing hard-to-employ TANF recipients. Due to the stringent work requirements and time limits under Federal welfare policy, substance abuse treatment and counseling services are becoming a necessity for any public assistance program attempting to move recipients from welfare to work. Under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Welfare Reform Technical Assistance Project, Caliber Associates produced this document as a reference tool on two specific Federal funding sources - Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare to Work (WtW) funds - which can be targeted at supporting substance abuse treatment services for the welfare population.

The Welfare Peer TA completed an analysis of Delaware's strategies for identifying substance abuse among A Better Chance Families. This provides the Executive Summary as well as a set of appendices that include promising practices from other States; a list of resource organizations; and a list of articles related to the topic of substance abuse among TANF families.

This report summarizes the ACF Rapid Response Technical Assistance workshop, Collaborating to Address the Needs of Multi-Barrier Families, held August 29-30, 2001 in Boise, Idaho. The workshop designed to help Idaho move low-income families with substance abuse problems toward recovery and self-sufficiency. The workshop was intended to increase knowledge and understanding of substance abuse and treatment, and to provide opportunities to explore how existing substance abuse treatment systems operate and connect, and how they can be strengthened in the State of Idaho.

Authored by Mary Nakashian, this report describes a meeting that took place in Denver, CO, on August 10-12, 2004, sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The meeting was designed to help substance abuse and welfare officials from Region VIII States better integrate substance abuse treatment and employment services for methamphetamine addicts receiving welfare benefits.

This guidance addresses challenges encountered by Welfare-to-Work (WtW), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Child Support Enforcement (CSE) agencies in the provision of services to WtW participants, and seeks to assist States and local communities to improve WtW program operations and enhance inter-agency collaboration.

This report summarizes a national conference that took place in Arlington, VA, on March 20-21, 2003. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This conference brought together substance abuse treatment agency directors and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) administrators from forty States, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. The conference provided a forum for these policymakers and administrators to share information about their experience and concerns, and their promising strategies used in strengthening the collaboration and partnership of TANF and substance abuse treatment directors.

The purpose of this seminar was to provide State representatives the opportunity to join with Federal partners on identifying and sharing information related to service integration efforts. The conference was centered on peer-to-peer learning among participants.