American Job Centers in Southern and Northern Nevada are integrating TANF and WIOA services to connect more work-eligible participants to education, training, and employment opportunities. To streamline and expand service delivery, the American Job Centers have implemented a common referral process and co-located TANF and WIOA staff. Nevada is also designing an integrated data system to improve cross-program tracking and service coordination.

Sections of the brief focus on joint service delivery, resource sharing, and shared learning. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

TANF and WIOA programs in Tulare County, California are working together to coordinate employment services for CalWORKs (TANF) and work-eligible clients. Strategies include co-enrollment in programs—including WIOA career services, TANF supportive services, and a subsidized employment program—as well as shared spaces, cross-program workgroups, and a common database to exchange performance outcomes. This site also has a special focus on serving migrants and seasonal workers in rural areas.

Sections of the brief discuss joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore job center and its partners have streamlined TANF and WIOA assessment and referral processes, as well as sharing staff, spaces, and resources across programs, to improve service delivery to TANF customers. Job center partners aim to match job seekers with employers through opportunities such as a “reverse job fair,” a job search database, and a regional job developer to specifically work with customers. Maryland also focuses on serving rural populations, with transportation subsidies and a mobile job center that delivers select WIOA services to TANF clients in rural areas.

This brief is organized into sections on joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and managing collaborative activities. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

This case statement highlights the collaboration between American Job Centers (called WorkSource) and TANF agencies in Spokane, Washington. WorkSource and partners have restructured staffing, resource allocation, and approaches to workforce development services with a customer-centered design. Leaders are also investing in organizational change through staff training, cross-program communication, and building support among staff at all levels.

This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations. Sections of the brief describe joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, and the management of collaborative activities. Readers, especially TANF programs looking to scale or replicate the practices, may also access links to the state TANF plan and funding information for more context and resources.

As described in this case statement, TANF and WIOA programs at the Employment Services Centers of Weld County are maximizing resources to serve target populations by sharing a work-based learning team, infrastructure costs, and flexible staff across programs. This collaboration also facilitates the coordination of two-generation and immigrant/refugee services.

The brief is organized into sections on joint service delivery, resource sharing, shared learning, managing collaborative activities, and a special focus on immigrant and refugee populations. Readers may also access links to the state TANF plan and variations in funding for more context and resources. This brief is part of the TANF Works! TANF/WIOA Collaboration Series, through which the Office of Family Assistance’s Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS) initiative seeks to highlight innovative coordination strategies of TANF and WIOA programs to serve low-income or vulnerable populations.

Many families in the TANF system face complex challenges that make it difficult for them to attain economic security. Some have disabilities or struggle with substance abuse or physical or mental health issues. Others do not have the skills or experiences needed for available jobs. Still others cannot secure a job because of a criminal record or failed drug test. Many face several of these employment barriers at the same time. 

An Office of Family Assistance (OFA)-sponsored webinar on May 29, 2019 shared the experiences of two TANF programs which have developed innovative approaches to serving families with complex family needs. The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance is partnering with the state vocational rehabilitation agency to pilot the Individualized Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment for a set of TANF customers who had previously been exempt from work requirements due to a limiting physical or mental condition. Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions partnered with a number of community partners to provide Families Achieving Success Today (FAST), an initiative designed to improve employment outcomes for TANF recipients with work limitations and/or disabilities and to reduce racial disparities in employment outcomes. A representative from Project IMPROVE informed attendees about support that may be available through OFA to design and test approaches to serving families with complex family needs.

The Office of Family Assistance published data tables which cover TANF and maintenance-of-effort (MOE) separate state program caseloads by state and at the national level from October 2017 through December 2018. 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 convened a webinar on November 13, 2018 to introduce two documents – the TANF Introduction Grantee Guide and the TANF SF-424M Grantee Guide – created by an Administration for Children and Families workgroup to facilitate the process of submitting the SF-424M cover document for Plans, Amendments, and Annual Reports via GrantSolutions’ Online Data Collection (OLDC). The webinar included a live demonstration of validating, certifying, and submitting the cover document in the OLDC environment.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), held the Policy Academy for Innovative Employment Strategies (PAIES) Kickoff Meeting in Arlington, Virginia on January 7-9, 2019. Through PAIES, state teams receive 18 months of coaching and technical assistance to help design, plan, and implement innovative and comprehensive approaches to increase employment outcomes for TANF participants through coaching and career pathways. Working with ACF staff, local evaluators, and other partners, coaching teams work to move from traditional case management models to coaching models in local TANF programs, and career pathways teams strive to improve career pathways through the provision of training, work experience, and support services.  

The PAIES kickoff meeting provided an in-person opportunity for coaching and career pathways teams from across the U.S. to meet with each other, their coaches, subject matter experts, and federal and contract staff. Objectives of the meeting were to: share promising and research-informed practices in coaching, career pathways, organizational culture, and change management; discuss key levers and processes to implement, evaluate, and monitor PAIES activities; support dedicated team times, peer exchanges, and expert consultations to inform action planning; and lay the foundation for team work over the course of PAIES with coaching, expert consultation, and other supports.

 

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) presents a set of 14 videos which profile participants who completed training programs and have moved into economic independence from public assistance to employment. These success stories demonstrate that OFA programs are making a meaningful difference in people’s lives across the country.