August 22, 2011 marked the 15th anniversary of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program which was passed in an effort to “end welfare as we know it.” Although TANF cash assistance caseloads have fallen dramatically over the past 15 years, the need for assistance has remained high as the economic recovery continues to batter low-income and working families. Analyses of Federal and State caseload data, food stamp data, poverty data, and unemployment data show that TANF has not kept pace with the rates of food stamp usage or kept pace with unemployment and poverty increases, but remains an important component of the work-based safety-net for many Americans. State and Territory TANF programs are continuously challenged with developing and implementing effective work readiness, job skills, barrier reduction, and job placement activities for their TANF participants and as a result the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance. Regions I, II, and III convened the TANF at 15: Where Do We Go from Here 2011 Tri-Regional TANF Directors’ Meeting in Providence, Rhode Island on November 1-3, 2011 to discuss the status of the TANF program and to determine appropriate next steps for programs and families. The TANF at 15 meeting focused on pertinent issues impacting TANF families and the TANF programs including improving responsiveness, engagement, fiscal management, domestic violence, asset-development, the TANF/SSI connection, and the work-based safety net during periods of sustained and increased unemployment. The meeting brought together national experts, Federal officials, researchers and program officials from the Urban Institute, MDRC, ICF International, and State and TANF directors representing nearly a third of the country to strategize around peer-developed practical solutions to common challenges facing TANF programs and participants. TANF at 15 represented a beginning of a tri-regional discussion on the status of TANF programming and laid the foundation for continued dialogue, focused planning, and increased responsiveness.

On November 29, 2011 the TANF Faith-Based and Community Organizations Initiative, sponsored by the Office of Family Assistance, hosted a Webinar that featured an innovative community-based homeless shelter, a TANF agency that successfully uses volunteering and a presentation from the Corporation for National and Community Service on ways to strategically integrate volunteers in your own community.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services' internal workgroup to address the needs of Minnesota teen (minors and 18-19, year-olds) parents on TANF submitted a TA Request to the Welfare Peer TA (WPTA) Network. The Minnesota team's Request involved bolstering the in-State research being conducted in spring 2011 by including research on promising models from other States. In response to Minnesota's TA Request, WPTA conducted an initial literature and program scan and identified (1) State-supervised, county-administered programs (such as in Minnesota), or (2) State or local programs that were not State-supervised or county-administered. Working hand-in-hand with Minnesota, WPTA developed structured discussion guides to gather background information on individual programs. This information was used to create program profiles and a summary analysis. Thirty-four programs were contacted; after finding that some programs were not applicable to Minnesota's TA Request, information- gathering discussions were completed with 21 programs.  

Most recently, the Peer TA Team released a report including information regarding funding for low-income pregnant and parenting teen programs as well as other related youth programs related to the Minnesota TA Request. This information was gathered via contact with specific programs, federal Web sites, grantmaker Web sites and funding databases. Its purpose is to assist the State of Minnesota in identifying possible funding streams and partners as they move forward in their desire to work with pregnant and parenting teens who access the TANF program.

The 2011 Annual Region X Tribal TANF Conference was held in Tulalip, Washington at the Tulalip Resort from September 27-29, 2011. The Conference provided Tribal TANF programs from Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington an opportunity to discuss and strategize methods for improving their programs and services to better serve their families and communities. Best practices and lessons learned were shared throughout the conference on a wide range of topics, including asset building, child care, child welfare, economic development, program evaluation as a method for program enhancement, and subsidized employment.

Acknowledging the needs of Tribal TANF programs in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Region X Office convened the Region X Tribal TANF Fiscal and Data Meeting in Seattle, Washington, on April 26-27, 2011. The meeting was a direct response to requests of Tribal TANF Programs regarding further guidance on data management, processing, reporting, and fiscal procedures.

In recent times, in part due to the economic recession, a focus on accountability and performance measurement has become more important across government agencies and programs. State and local Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs and researchers have shown an interest in the use of alternative/supplemental measures or differential metrics for measuring TANF program success and an interest in strategies for better understanding rates of poverty among families. In keeping with these salient foci, the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics (NAWRS) Annual Workshop committee and the Colorado Department of Human Services submitted a joint technical assistance request to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance to convene a session at the workshop entitled Understanding the Supplemental Poverty Measure and Developing Differential Metrics to Strengthen the Effectiveness of TANF Programs. The session took place on September 13, 2011 and included representation from ACF leadership, TANF policy experts, and State representatives. The technical assistance request merged the two topics in order to maximize resources and to provide the attendees the opportunity to collectively engage in discussions on strategies to tailor recommendations on the TANF program that are (1) more responsive to the economic self-sufficiency, poverty reduction, and employment needs of low-income families; and (2) better measure States’ performance in achieving greater employment and poverty reduction objectives for low-income families based on a more clear understanding of who is indeed in poverty.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Region IX hosted six Tribes from Arizona, community stakeholders and topical experts at the 2011 Tribal TANF Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 8th and 9th, 2011. The conference agenda featured experts and presenters who helped Tribal TANF representatives strategize to develop stronger programs that would better serve their participants. Tribes were provided with ideas and models for handling data management, working with domestic violence survivors, implementing programs that respond to TANF Purposes 3 and 4 and ensuring that fraud is detected. The conference was designed to provide an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning to enhance Tribal TANF programs and create opportunities for self-sufficiency while maintaining each Tribes’ individual culture and traditions.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance Region IV convened the 2011 TANF Priority Update Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia on August 17-19, 2011 to discuss the status of TANF programs and foster peer dialogue among State TANF directors to discuss key issues impacting their programs and share best practices and lessons learned with their peers. The meeting brought together State TANF directors and program staff from across Region IV to strategize ways to guide low-income individuals and families to greater economic self-sufficiency while providing input and feedback on TANF legislation. Specific topics included asset building strategies for domestic violence survivors, service improvement for refugees and immigrants, career pathways and education, innovative solutions for economic recovery, and collaboration improvement strategies.

The Region IX Administration for Children and Families convened a meeting for the Region IX Tribal TANF grantees in California and Nevada in July of 2011. The meeting, the first of two, provided TANF directors and administrators with an open forum for discussing critical issues impacting their TANF participants and to network both amongst themselves and with Region IX leadership. The meeting brought together TANF programs to discuss and share information on detecting and investigating fraud and supporting victims of domestic violence on their path to achieving self-sufficiency. The meeting was held July 27-28, 2011, in San Francisco, California.

Families across the nation have been hit hard by the recent economic recession and TANF families and other low-income families have disproportionately witnessed increased poverty, unemployment, and underemployment. The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions VI and VIII convened the Improving Families’ Well-Being during Challenging Times: 2011 Bi-Regional TANF and Tribal TANF Directors ’ Conference in Denver, Colorado, on August 1-4, 2011 to discuss the impact on TANF programs and foster peer dialogue around practical solutions to challenges facing TANF programs and recipients. This year’s conference provided State and Tribal TANF Directors from Regions VI and VIII with the opportunity to engage with Federal, State and Tribal partners through interactive sessions and discussions around promising program models and strategies for improving service delivery to families. Over the conference's four days, attendees engaged in a variety of sessions that included specific topic areas such as the impact of the recent recession on low-income families and State policy responses to the recession. The participants also engaged in discussions and informative workshops on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, increased program efficiencies and streamlined services, enhancing career pathways, TANF Flexibility and Reauthorization, effective assessment and service options for domestic violence survivors, Tribal and State TANF child welfare and kinship care, improving State-Tribal relations, preventing fraud, waste and abuse, and Tribal TANF program accountability and implementation.