Question from Tuolumne Me-Wuk Tribal TANF Program

This report from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation presents early findings from a random assignment evaluation of subsidized employment for TANF participants in Los Angeles County. The report analyzes the impact of two approaches to subsidized employment: paid work experience and on-the-job training.

This report presents interim impact and implementation findings of seven transitional jobs programs from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration. Two of the sites in that study — in Atlanta and San Francisco — are also a part of ACF’s Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration. The two studies closely coordinated beyond the shared sites, including shared reports, common data collection instruments, and other ongoing collaboration.

The report shares early results in the areas of implementation, employment outcomes, recidivism, and child support payment.

Early results include:

• The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration programs were relatively well implemented.
• All but one of the programs generated large increases in employment in the early months of follow-up; however, these increases were mostly or entirely the result of the transitional jobs and faded as participants left those jobs.
• Two of the three programs targeting people recently released from prison appear to have reduced recidivism.
• Most programs increased payment of child support. (Author abstract)

This report documents the implementation infrastructure of Personal Responsibility Education Program evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in four states--California, Maine, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Analysis of the programs implementation infrastructure showed that the four states differed in size; the role grantees took in supporting implementation, resources, and the settings in which the program operated. Despite that, states had similarities in how they:

• worked with providers before and in the early stages of implementation;
• formed a pool of qualified trainers to train program facilitators and provide ongoing technical assistance;
• went beyond federal performance measures requirements; and
• established communication and feedback loops to facilitate data gathering, data sharing, and identification of lessons learned. (author abstract)

The Children’s Institute, Inc. (CII), located in Los Angeles, California, combines clinical mental health and other supports to serve children and families affected by trauma. This report from MDRC presents findings from an evaluation of CII’s service model and delivery of evidence-based practices.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IX and X hosted the Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on July 25‐27, 2016 at the Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The meeting brought together Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies and collaborations to promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and tribal communities. During the meeting, tribal representatives engaged in listening sessions, shared best practices, and participated in workshops in order to more successfully serve the program participants in their communities.

This report prepared for the City of Los Angeles Workforce Investment Board and the Economic and Workforce Development Department by California State University Northridge, provides an evaluation of a summer youth employment program called “Hire LA’s Youth”. Findings and recommendations are provided.

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

This report describes four Responsible Fatherhood programs that focus primarily on low-income Hispanic fathers:

1. Futuro Now from KidWorks, a partner of The East Los Angeles Community Union, in Santa Ana, California
2. Project Fatherhood at The Children’s Institute, Inc., in Los Angeles County, California
3. Project Padres at Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program in Imperial County, California
4. Responsible Fatherhood Program at Southwest Key in San Antonio, Texas

This study provides information about how these federally funded programs are implemented in a culturally relevant way and insights into the participating fathers’ program experiences. (author abstract)

This report presents findings from an intervention designed to increase the number of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients who “reengaged” in Los Angeles County’s welfare-to-work program.

Two behaviorally informed notices went out to different groups of participants:

• A notice highlighting the losses they might face by not attending the reengagement appointment; and
• A notice highlighting the benefits they might receive by attending.

A third control group did not receive either behaviorally informed notice.

Participants received the notice one week before their appointment. The test found that receiving a behaviorally informed notice increased the percentage of group members who engaged in the program within 30 days of their scheduled reengagement appointment, with the increase driven by the loss notice (author abstract).