The 2016 Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Region I (Boston), Region II (New York), Region III (Philadelphia), and Region IV (Atlanta) East Coast TANF Directors Meeting was held on July 12‐14, 2016, in Providence, Rhode Island. The theme, Reflecting on the Past: Looking Forward to the Future, was an opportunity for TANF program directors and other key stakeholders to engage with peers about innovative ideas, strategies, and collaborations that promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and communities. Meeting participants engaged with OFA leadership, their peers, and experts in the field to discuss some of the pressing challenges facing TANF participants and low‐income, vulnerable families today and ways that TANF programs can serve as a comprehensive support system for these families. Sessions focused on two‐generation approaches to breaking the cycle of poverty, TANF/WIOA coordination and implementation, career pathways and apprenticeships, targeting the hard‐to‐serve and executive functioning, and additional opportunities for TANF programs in 2016 and beyond. The context of these discussions was grounded in using data to measure program effectiveness and drive decision‐making.

Kentucky has been providing education-focused and work participation-driven case management to the TANF population since 1998. The TA Requestor, Ms. Shauna King-Simms, Director of Transitional Education Programs at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) heard a description of Crittenton Women’s Union’s (CWU’s) Mobility Mentoring® Model and was interested in integrating components of it into Kentucky’s program. Kentucky conducts similar case management activities with its Ready to Work and Work and Learn programs, but was interested in enhancing the current practices using this model. CWU is an economic mobility organization and the largest provider of transitional housing for homeless families in the greater Boston area. The organization provides job readiness training, parenting programs, and adult education. Almost 1,300 individuals are served each year. Ninety-two percent have a high school education or less. CWU’s clients are largely TANF participants with average earnings of $730 per month per family and the population is racially diverse. Their Mobility Mentoring® Model is the long-term developmental partnership between trained staff and program participants through which participants acquire the resources, knowledge, and skills necessary to attain and preserve economic independence.

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services requested TA to support the integration of components of CWU’s Mobility Mentoring® Model for case management. The OFA PeerTA team agreed to support this request and created a TA plan with the following objectives:

• Collaborate with CWU to provide Kentucky with a tailored, two-day training on CWU’s Mobility Mentoring® Model for their Ready to Work staff at the KCTCS system office in Versailles, Kentucky. The training was prepared to accommodate approximately 45 Kentucky Ready to Work staff and three staff from the Department for Community Based Services (a Kentucky TANF agency), with a maximum of 50 participants in total.
• Support an outcomes-focused training that encourages implementation and sustainability of what is learned, so Kentucky can integrate the core concepts learned into their program(s) at a statewide level.

This webinar from the Office of Family Assistance’s PeerTA Network explored promising practices and programs from Washington and North Carolina that are increasing coordination between TANF and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) programs to better support low-income families. Webinar participants were provided with an overview of TANF program areas that can be enhanced and/or expanded through alignment with SNAP E&T. The webinar was held on July 21, 2016 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET.

Presenters included:

*Caitlin Lowell, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance
*Kaila Wilson, USDA Food and Nutrition Services, SNAP Employment&Training
*Rick Krauss, Seattle Jobs Initiative
*Babs Roberts, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
*Nancy Coston, Orange County Department of Social Services

The Office of Family Assistance held a webinar on “Creating Tribal TANF and WIOA Partnerships to Connect Tribal Families to Employment” on July 20, 2016, from 2:00-3:15 p.m. ET. This webinar provided an opportunity to hear about partnerships between Tribal TANF agencies and local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) providers. Tribal employment and training agencies often face job placement challenges common to many remote and rural areas – namely, a small pool of employers, few job openings, and limited education and training opportunities in high demand labor areas. For these reasons, it is critical that Tribal TANF participants have the skills necessary to compete for jobs that already exist or are growing within the region. Local WIOA providers can help build the skills of Tribal TANF participants by providing job training and adult education services targeted to in-demand jobs in the region. Speakers from four organizations—Department of Labor, California Indian Manpower Consortium, Southern California Tribal Chairman’s Association, and Cankdeska Cikana Community College—discussed the innovative partnerships they have formed between Tribal TANF and WIOA to help move families toward self-sufficiency.

Speakers included:

• Athena Brown, Division Chief, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Division of Indian and Native American Programs
• Yvette Yazzie, Pala Site Manager, Southern California Tribal Chairmen’s Association
• Christina Arzate, CIMC Workforce Development Coordinator III, California Indian Manpower Consortium
• Larry D. Anderson, Job Development Specialist, Cankdeska Cikana Community College

The Office of Family Assistance hosted a Webinar on Providing Mental Health Services for TANF and Other Low-Income Participants on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 from 12:30-2:00 p.m. ET. In this facilitated webinar, presenters provided an overview of the challenges programs face in providing mental health services; progress made in states since welfare reform in 1996; and newer implications and opportunities for collaboration in the context of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Presenters provided examples from programs that have taken different approaches to addressing the mental health needs of TANF and other low-income participants, through work opportunities coupled with supportive services, partnerships with outside mental health services, and connection to Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Presenters included: Dr. Mary Spooner, Senior Manager, ICF International; Miranda Gray, Reach Up Administrator, Economic Services Division, Vermont Department for Children and Families; and Timothy Cantrell, Assistant Deputy Commissioner for Rehabilitative Services, Human Resources Administration, New York City Department of Social Services.