The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Family Assistance through the OFA Peer Technical Assistance (PeerTA) Network held a webinar on “Providing Effective Employment and Supportive Services to Low-Income Women with Criminal Records,” on July 22, 2015 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. EDT. This free webinar explored strategies utilized to overcome barriers to employment and to successful re-entry into mainstream society. The conversation was about understanding the effect incarceration has on the individual, her children, and the family, and centered on innovative uses of case management, education and training, and employment strategies. Speakers from the Office of Family Assistance, ICF International, College and Community Fellowship, Center for Employment Opportunities, and the STRIDE Program at Quinebaug Valley Community College in Connecticut discussed their experiences and strategies used to help low-income women overcome the barrier of a criminal record, find and maintain employment, and move their families out of poverty.

Gwen Porter, Tribal Council Secretary, Omaha Tribe of Nebraska (Omaha) submitted a technical assistance (TA) request to the OFA Peer Technical Assistance (OFA PeerTA) Network for assistance in supporting their new Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Because it is a new program and the majority of Tribal TANF staff has limited experience delivering this type of support, Omaha was specifically interested in developing their policies/procedures manual and receiving onsite training regarding case management and assessment practices. Omaha’s Tribal TANF program employs three caseworkers to serve a maximum of 224 TANF participants. OFA PeerTA conducted a Tribal TANF Case Management and Assessment Training in November 2014. The participants represented Tribal TANF (intake and case management staff), Child Welfare, Tribal Justice, Substance Abuse Prevention, Tribal Council, Tribal Health, and Domestic Violence Prevention departments.

 During the case management post-TA check-in call, Tribal leaders requested a strategic planning session to improve communication and coordination between these programs. The strategic planning session involving Tribal Council members and various program directors was designed to help the Tribe better identify the "big picture" on how low-income tribal members interact with public assistance programs, receive services, find and maintain employment, and become self-sufficient. The two-day strategic planning session was held in Macy, Nebraska from May 12-13, 2015.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program stakeholders and their human services partners increasingly understand the importance of meaningfully engaging noncustodial parents while also holding them accountable for the economic and social growth of their children. A noncustodial parent does not have primary care, custody, or control of the child and may have an obligation to pay child support. It is important to note that many noncustodial parents pay child support and are actively engaged in their children’s lives. However, barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, or incarceration can hinder noncustodial parents from providing for their children, even when many want to do so. Some TANF agencies and their partners have built programs to provide the necessary supports and connections for these individuals to help them achieve self-sufficiency/

The OFA PeerTA Network hosted a webinar on June 9, 2015 at 1:30 PM Eastern, titled Strategies for Building and Maintaining Noncustodial Parent Programs to share strategies for building and sustaining programs to engage and serve noncustodial parents. While previous webinars have focused on strategies to engage noncustodial parents, this webinar focused on the nuts and bolts of program development; it introduced several programs that have supported noncustodial parents for at least 10 years and explored how these sustainable programs were planned and initiated.

At the end of this webinar, participants were able to:

• be aware of three models of TANF programs and their partners creating programs to serve noncustodial parents
• understand how these programs began, including justifying the need for a program serving noncustodial parents, mapping available assets, and identifying a champion; and
• be ready to identify some next steps that they could take within their agencies to start a program that would work for their communities.
Featured presenters:

Ann Marie Winter, Chief Operating Officer, and Margie McGranahan, Employment Services Director, Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services. Established in 1996, Florida’s Noncustodial Parent Employment Program aims to help unemployed or underemployed noncustodial parents establish a pattern of regular child support payments by obtaining and maintaining employment. It is operated through a series of partnerships between organizations such as CareerSource Pinellas and the Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services.

Juan G. Valdez, Parent Support Services Manager, Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The Parent Support Services program in Illinois was established in April 1994 to provide noncustodial parents with a way to address their needs and concerns to support their children. TANF dollars are used to provide specific services to qualified noncustodial parents.

Mike Roberts, Human Services Program Specialist for Districts 2, 3 and 6, Alabama Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. The Alabama Fatherhood Initiative is a joint effort of the Department of Human Resources Family Assistance and Child Support divisions, developed in 2002 to further the welfare reform goal of strengthening families, enhancing child support collections, and addressing other needs of children who are growing up without the involvement of natural fathers in their lives.

This "Dear Colleague Letter," issued by the Office of Family Assistance in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, discusses the new roles for state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs under WIOA and the rule-making process.