In April 2020, the Baltimore City Health Department, the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED), and other officials worked together to address the sudden loss of jobs that occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic by developing the Baltimore Health Corps (BHC), a transitional jobs program for unemployed and underemployed city residents. BHC provides unemployed residents with paid jobs as care coordinators and contact tracers. Supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Administration for Children and Families, and the Office of Family Assistance’s Project IMPROVE, Mathematica worked with MOED using the Learn, Innovate, Improve framework to help BHC employees successfully transition to the regular labor market when their paid positions end. This brief features the MOED/Mathematica partnership, including its accomplishments, ongoing challenges, and next steps.

The Office of Family Assistance will host a webinar on Thursday, July 29, 2021 from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. ET to engage TANF and tribal leaders and staff in conversation as they reimagine a post-pandemic TANF environment. This webinar will include a series of large group and small, rapid-fire break-out sessions. Each rapid-fire session will include questions that spark meaningful dialogue about TANF programs’ experiences during the pandemic and how they plan to transition back to in-person services. Participants will learn how TANF programs across the country are managing issues such as implementing safety protocols, balancing remote and in-person work, and reinstating TANF work requirements. Project IMPROVE will facilitate the session and capture and share lessons learned across the discussions.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 to explore the role Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs play in supporting mothers as they reenter their community after a period of incarceration. Reentering mothers must overcome unique and difficult barriers to ensure their well-being and reduce their chances of recidivism. In this discussion, a panel of researchers and practitioners provided an overview of the impact of incarceration on children, the needs mothers face upon their release, and various approaches that state TANF programs, Department of Corrections reentry programs, and local non-profit organizations take to support reentering mothers in addressing these needs. Presenters also highlighted success stories and lessons learned from their experience helping reentering mothers and discussed how TANF can partner with community reentry programs to help mothers succeed.

The TANF Learning Community (TLC) is designed to help TANF agencies reimagine, develop, and implement innovative approaches and strategies to improve agency performance and outcomes for TANF recipients in a post-pandemic world. TANF agencies submitting self-nominations and selected to participate in the TLC will access and benefit from a compelling, comprehensive, and tailored set of TLC Training and Technical Assistance services. Self-nomination materials can be received by sending an email request to TANFLearningCommunity@blhtech.com. Questions about the self-nomination process can also be sent to the above email address. Additionally, materials from the June 2, 2021 TLC Interest Webinar are now available.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to June 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

The TANF Learning Community (TLC) is designed to help TANF agencies reimagine, develop, and implement innovative approaches and strategies to improve agency performance and outcomes for TANF recipients in a post-pandemic world. TANF agencies submitting self-nominations and selected to participate in the TLC will access and benefit from a compelling, comprehensive, and tailored set of TLC Training and Technical Assistance services. Self-nomination materials can be received by sending an email request to TANFLearningCommunity@blhtech.com. Questions about the self-nomination process can also be sent to the above email address. Additionally, materials from the June 2, 2021 TLC Interest Webinar are now available.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to June 28, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

In partnership with the Office of Early Childhood Development, the Office of Family Assistance will host an interactive webinar on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. TANF staff and participants will discuss their experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlight the innovative tools and practices they will use to help support themselves and their children during the next stage. Through the webinar registration process, registrants can offer insight and tools that they have used to navigate parenting during COVID-19, as well as post questions for the panelists. Speakers include representatives from the Hampton Roads Community Action Program and a parent from Washington State who is a former TANF funds recipient. ACF leadership will also cover American Rescue Plan Act funding that may be used to address child care and other family support needed for working parents.

In February and March of 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held a series of three virtual meetings with state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and stakeholders. The series, Navigating New Pathways towards Building Thriving Communities, invited state TANF administrators and other staff to participate in cohorts by ACF Region (Regions I-IV, V-VIII, and IX and X). Each meeting focused on a specific topic related to supporting families through COVID-19 and beyond, and each took place three times (once for each cohort).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many TANF programs rapidly adapted their program delivery to ensure the continuity of client supportive services. In many instances, the necessity to pivot from “normal” day-to-day operations led to programmatic changes with great potential for improving client outcomes. The Adapting Client-Centered Approaches to a Virtual Environment meetings explored a broad range of topics, including creating a safe environment for coaching customers, rolling out new technical systems and platforms, addressing the need for broadband access, and using trauma-informed scripts with customers in the midst of the pandemic. The meetings emphasized how programs managed, executed, and intend to sustain these changes after the pandemic’s end. A video recording is available for viewing.

In February and March of 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held three virtual meetings with state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and stakeholders. The series, Navigating New Pathways towards Building Thriving Communities, invited state TANF administrators and other staff to participate in cohorts by ACF Region (Regions I-IV, V-VIII, and IX and X). The Interrupting the Impact of Traumatic Stress virtual meetings focused on how programs can best identify and address trauma among staff. The meetings provided state TANF programs with tools to better understand the impact of trauma on staff, identify how it shows up at work, and learn actionable ideas for building buffer zones of partnership, safety, and support in the workplace.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 amends Section 403 of the Social Security Act to create a new $1 billion Pandemic Emergency Assistance Fund (PEAF) for states, tribes, and territories to assist needy families impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 15, 2021, the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted an informative webinar for tribes to learn about the PEAF. Participants heard from OFA’s TANF policy experts on how they can use this fund, its requirements, and the process for applying for the funds. OFA speakers included Susan Golonka, Acting Director; Stan Koutstaal, Division Director, Tribal TANF Management and Regional Operations; Deborah List, Associate Deputy Director; and Peter Germanis, Senior Policy Advisor and National Expert. In addition to this webinar, OFA hosted a separate webinar for territories. Also, additional guidance will be published with more information about the allocations formulas, how to request funds, and other general policy guidelines.