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.

The Welfare Peer TA Network sponsored this statewide Forum event that took place in Charleston, WV, on November 2, 2005. The Forum was designed as a follow-up to the initial Peer TA Event on the WV EITC Initiative Conference held in January 2005. The Forum was designed to move the statewide EITC agenda into action by increasing dialogue between participating agencies, community organizations, and volunteer groups regarding the 2006 tax season and to focus the statewide effort to build and expand community coalitions to make the EITC more accessible to low-income families and families leaving TANF in West Virginia.

The Welfare Peer TA Network sponsored this statewide Forum event that took place in Jacksonville, FL on May 23-24, 2006. This Roundtable brought together stakeholders from around the state to help sustain Florida's Prosperity Campaign to improve economic self-sufficiency for low income working families.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), within the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the El Paso County Department of Human Services (DHS). Ms. Barbara Drake, Deputy Director, El Paso County DHS, led the planning and carrying out of this site visit. It was intended for site visitors to gain an understanding of El Paso County’s uniquely holistic approach to integrating intake and case management activities for multiple programs including TANF, child welfare, child care, domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this site visit to the offices of the Oregon Department of Human Services (OR, DHS), Adult and Family Services (AFS) Division on behalf of staff from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (MN, DHS) and the Hennepin County, Minneapolis, MN, TEA-WERC. The MN DHS office was interested in learning more about Oregon=s efforts to integrate substance abuse and mental health treatment into their Welfare-to-Work Program. MN-DHS is in the process of implementing a program similar to OR that involves coordination among social services, employment services, welfare, and health care staff. This was the second phase of technical assistance provided to MN earlier in the year from OR coordinated and supported by the Welfare Peer TA Network.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) provided technical assistance in support of this meeting. The meeting was coordinated by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NH DOT). The purpose of the meeting was to begin to develop a strategy and formulate a framework for coordination that improves and/or increases mobility options for various populations of transportation users throughout the State.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, with the CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, hosted a Roundtable entitled Establishing Linkages Between TANF and Child Welfare Programs May 31, 2002 in Sacramento, CA. This Roundtable was attended by representatives from four States (NC, NJ, WI, CO) as well as the State of California and ten of its counties currently working toward improving service coordination.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), DHHS. Ms. Julia Isaacs, Director, Data and Technical Analysis Division, ASPE/HSP, led the planning and conduct of this workshop. It was intended for states or counties that were awarded specific ASPE grants in 1998 to study welfare “leavers.”

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), coordinated this meeting involving select representatives from States that received an ACF High Performance Bonus Award in December 1999. The High Performance Bonuses were authorized by the 1996 welfare reform legislation.

This report highlights the major findings from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network's 1-day workshop, Evaluating Community-Based Welfare Initiatives. The workshop brought together Federal, state and local community officials, as well as researchers, to discuss strategies for outreach and evaluation of community-based initiatives to serve welfare recipients and low-income individuals.