The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network conducted this workshop in collaboration with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). The purpose of the event was to provide and share information on Welfare-to-Work (WTW) transportation and related issues. Furthermore, the workshop provided a forum for discussing the effectiveness of current initiatives, which provide the foundation for solutions to as yet unresolved transportation dilemmas. Specific topics addressed included building upon existing resources; providing affordable, accessible, and reliable transportation to all urban, suburban, and rural areas; coordination between transportation, workforce development, and human service agencies to overcome transportation barriers, and combining resources to achieve these objectives.

The ACF Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this presentation as part of the Arkansas Transitional Employment Assistance (TEA) Coalition Conference in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS). TEA is Arkansas’ TANF program. The conference was hosted by the Arkansas DHS and the State TEA Program Advisory Council. The purpose of this three-day conference was to provide a forum for hundreds of community leaders involved in local TEA Coalitions throughout the state to exchange ideas, make announcements, and hold discussions related to developing services and support for families in their service areas. Topics addressed included transportation, childcare, job training and development, health issues, housing, volunteer issues, and funding development issues. This summary highlights the main points from the transportation workshop presentations and subsequent discussions ensuing from them. The focus of these workshops was to discuss coordinating client transportation services at the local level.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, supported a 2-day conference held by Office of Family Assistance, Region VI, examining the issues of domestic violence and substance abuse as barriers to self-sufficiency for the Native American Population. The focus of the conference was to help TANF case workers better understand the impact of domestic violence and substance abuse in Native American populations, and identify barriers unique to Native American Communities. The conference also focused on developing strategies for collaboration with Native American organizations and governments. See Appendix A for the complete Agenda. TANF workers from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas were invited to attend.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network coordinated this presentation as part of the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Region VI Head Start Mid-Winter Leadership Conference in collaboration with the Region VI office. The conference featured regional representatives from both Head Start and various public assistance agencies. These agencies included the Administration for Children and Families, the Department of Labor, the Health Care Financing Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. The conference was sponsored by the ACF Dallas Region VI Office.