While change can be unexpected, TANF and other human serving programs can build change readiness to weather the unexpected and prepare themselves for proactive changes too. This first episode of the PeerTA Podcast series explores what it means for TANF and other human services programs to be change-ready. Host Bright Sarfo, MEF Associates, talks to Fannie Ashley from the Alabama Department of Human Resources and Maria Wortman-Meshberger from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services to learn about their experiences leading big changes within their organizations. He is also joined by an expert on the topic, Michon Hicks, who serves as the Strategic Initiatives Program Lead for the D.C. Department of Employment Services’ Office of Information Technology and is a member of the Strategic Doing Institute of the University of North Alabama.

The PeerTA Podcast series facilitates information sharing across state and local agencies implementing TANF and other programs serving low-income families to provide technical assistance, facilitate dialogue, and help programs learn about effective strategies to support families.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a PeerTA webinar on Addressing Intergenerational Trauma among TANF Families on January 26, 2021. Understanding trauma and its transmission among families are critical considerations in human service delivery. Human services programs, including TANF, have a role to play in helping to mitigate and address the negative effects of intergenerational trauma through programming.

During this facilitated webinar, presenters defined intergenerational trauma and explored the ways in which trauma is transferred from parents to their children. Participants learned how TANF programs can minimize the impacts of intergenerational trauma, as well as heard about current research initiatives and from programs that are working to address intergenerational trauma in their communities. Presenters also examined the ways in which COVID-19 exacerbates trauma and strategies for TANF programs to identify and lessen these effects.

Presenters included Dr. Jessica Dym Bartlett and Dr. Dana Thomson, Child Trends; Dr. Mariana Chilton, Drexel University and Center for Hunger-Free Communities; Dr. Marla Conwell and Amber Hoyt, South Puget Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIPA); Alie Huxta, Associate Director of Partnerships and Strategic Planning; and Kevin Thomas, Jr., Associate Director of Operations and Asset Building, Building Wealth & Health Network. Dr. Nicole Bossard from ICF and TGC Consulting, Inc. facilitated the webinar.

Supported by the Office of Family Assistance’s Peer Technical Assistance (PeerTA), the Roadmap Series highlights responsive leadership and management practices to support the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and their partners in adapting to new ways of work and connection amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Faced with myriad COVID-19 challenges, TANF staff may experience secondary traumatic stress or compassion fatigue. This OFA PeerTA resource suggests three fundamentals — listening, trusting, and encouraging staff — to help TANF program managers strengthen their organization’s ability to thrive amid complex change. Examples include listening by being sensitive to the well-being of others; building trust by showing compassion and validating another person’s experience to increase understanding; and encouraging staff to practice professional and emotional self-care to reduce burnout and increase compassion satisfaction.

Supported by the Office of Family Assistance’s Peer Technical Assistance (PeerTA), the Roadmap Series highlights responsive leadership and management practices to support the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and their partners in adapting to new ways of work and connection amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social or physical distancing during the pandemic has raised the likelihood that individuals may encounter feelings of isolation, disconnection, and loneliness. To combat these experiences, this OFA PeerTA resource offers TANF agencies and partners insights and practical tips to cultivate modes of connection using technology, community-mindedness, and media. Practices include using technology in new ways to create external connections; engaging with the world through media (such as television, movies, and social media); and creating shared meaning with community to feel internally connected.

Supported by the Office of Family Assistance’s Peer Technical Assistance (PeerTA), the Roadmap Series highlights responsive leadership and management practices to support the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies and their partners in adapting to new ways of work and connection amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, TANF administrators, managers, and supervisors have transitioned to a virtual environment. This change away from the workplace requires rapid adjustments and socially cohesive teams to overcome emerging challenges. This OFA PeerTA resource provides strategies for quickly adapting to the virtual environment while building team cohesion. Strategies include exploring employee attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors; compassionately supporting remote employees; adapting an approach to ongoing check-ins; and promoting staff engagement outside of work.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions IX and X held the OFA Regions IX and X Virtual Tribal TANF Technical Assistance Meeting: Building Capacity to Support Families in a New Reality on December 8-10, 2020. The meeting provided Tribal TANF and Native Employment Works (NEW) representatives an opportunity to attend sessions virtually and learn from the OFA Office of the Director, regional TANF officials, and experts about strategies they can use to build capacity and services despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics included ways programs are shifting to more virtual service provision and telework while considering and increasing digital inclusion; how to prepare program participants to find new or adapt existing training, employment, and career pathways opportunities; how to respond effectively to participants’ holistic needs and challenges; and strategies programs can use regarding trauma’s impact on individual, team, and organizational levels. In breakout sessions, tribal representatives shared strategies they are using to perform their work during the pandemic and serve program participants in their communities more successfully.

This Office of Family Assistance dataset includes financial data tables, interactive maps, and national and state pie charts to illustrate the uses of TANF and Maintenance-of-Effort funds and transfers in FY2019. The charts break down expenditures for TANF-allowable purposes into 15 categories, including basic assistance; work, education, and training activities; child care; refundable tax credits (state Earned Income Tax Credit programs); child welfare services; pre-K/Head Start; out-of-wedlock pregnancy prevention; non-recurrent short term benefits; work supports and supportive services (transportation, mental health/substance abuse counseling, domestic violence services, and financial education); services for children and youth (home visiting, mentoring, and after school enrichment); fatherhood and two-parent family programs; transfers to Social Services Block Grant programs; and program management for TANF administration.

The Office of Family Assistance published data tables to illustrate the characteristics and financial circumstances of TANF recipients in FY2019 for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. These tables provide information about adults and children in the TANF program, including data regarding age, gender, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and employment status, as well as breakdowns by the average monthly dollar level of TANF received and other cash support received. There are also data tables on recipients who receive assistance under Separate State Programs Maintenance-of-Effort (SSP-MOE) funding and closed cases.

The Office of Family Assistance published data tables which show TANF and Separate State Programs-Maintenance of Effort (SSP-MOE) caseloads separately and combined by state and at the national level from October 2019 through June 2020. The tables are cross-tabbed to include total recipients, total families, total children, one-parent families, two-parent families, no parent families, adults, and monthly caseload data.

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a free PeerTA webinar on TANF and Food Insecurity on December 1, 2020. A study by the Urban Institute found that as of May 2020, two months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one in six adults (17.7%) and more than one in five parents living with children (21.8%) experienced food insecurity during the prior 30 days. Further, adults and families of color experienced food insecurity at higher rates than their peers. Public benefits programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs are critical resources for TANF families mitigating food insecurity during this time. Since most TANF families (84.3%) also receive SNAP benefits and other support, coordination between programs can reduce administrative burdens for participants, increasing the likelihood that participants will be able to access and receive the full suite of supportive services. Additionally, TANF partnerships with charitable organizations and food banks can help to reduce food insecurity and fill critical gaps for TANF families.

This webinar explored strategies for supporting vulnerable families, particularly as it relates to food insecurity, and the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on service delivery. A researcher panel discussed how TANF programs have addressed food insecurity with their participants through strengthened coordination with SNAP and other public programs. In addition, several State and Tribal programs discussed innovative partnerships between TANF agencies and charitable efforts to reduce food insecurity in local communities.

Speakers included: • Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Northwestern University/Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) • Maria Boyle and Jillian Ouellette, Abt Associates • Julie Garreau, Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP) (unable to attend, but her PowerPoint was presented) • Alexis Fernandez, California Department of Social Services • Tikki Brown, Minnesota Family Investment Program