The Work Advancement and Support Center (WASC) is testing a strategy to support low-wage workers in increasing earnings. The WASC offers services to help workers improve skills, access support services, and ultimately, increase earnings by working additional hours or finding higher-paying jobs. From MDRC, this report outlines the early impacts of the WASC Demonstration in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Dayton, Ohio; and San Diego, California from a random assignment research design.

The Rural Communities Academy was the "kick off" event for the 16 selected rural sites and included time for each rural site team (consisting of four/five team members) to participate in information gathering, networking, and action planning. The team members who attended the Academy participated in workshops and plenary sessions, and met with Rural Content Specialists and representatives from other rural communities who shared their insight into strategies being utilized in rural areas with TANF participants.

Staff from the Montana (Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes/Roosevelt County) and Hoopa Valley Tribal TANF (California) met with personnel from various social service providers on the Turtle Mountain Reservation to learn more about innovative substance abuse prevention, job development, community building, and youth development programs currently being used on the Reservation. Both sites requested this visit due to their interest in investigating community/family centered strategies that supported substance abuse prevention and empowered Tribal communities.

The Urban Partnerships Initiative cities of Cleveland, Oakland, and Portland presented during this session of the National Academy, which was held in Atlanta, Georgia. Partner cities explained how they have improved technology to better serve children and families on the TANF caseload in their localities.

The Hoopa Valley Positive Indian Family Network in California requested technical assistance (TA) from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance to help improve Hoopa Valley’s Positive Indian Family Network and their collaboration with other Hoopa Valley human service agencies, particularly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The Network operates through a Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination Grant. An event was held on July 8-9, 2008, that focused on wraparound case management practices and the Systems of Care framework from the perspective of the Medicine Moon Initiative through the Native American Training Institute.

Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) staff attended the 2008 National Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Institute that took place July 21-24, 2008. Sponsored by the University of California, Center for Human Services, U.C. Davis Extension, the Institute consisted of a three day training course designed to promote the development of culturally sensitive case management practices and delivery of services to Tribal TANF participants in a culturally appropriate way. The Institute was designed to offer solutions to Tribal TANF programs and to offer skill building and networking opportunities for participants.

This report was written for the U.S. Department of Labor, Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and Employment and Training Administration. The Reclamando Nuestro Futuro (Reclaiming our Future or RNF) program is run by the Latino Coalition for Faith and Community Initiatives of Bakersfield, California to assist at-risk and adjudicated Latino youths to obtain needed education or training, to find employment, and to avoid involvement with the juvenile justice system. This final report resulted from an evaluation of the program which includes outcomes experienced by participating youth in the program.

In California, as in much of the country, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)/California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) welfare-to-work program has been highly successful in reducing welfare caseloads. California has reduced its welfare caseload by 50 percent since 1996 and has shown marked success in implementing employment services and supports that help TANF participants overcome barriers to work and become more self supporting. However, many California counties are currently facing greater challenges moving their remaining CalWORKs participants into the workforce and meeting the new federally mandated work participation requirements. The state of California and its county partners are looking for new and effective programs and tools to aid them in reengaging sanctioned individuals; developing new opportunities for participants in the labor market; and linking these individuals to the skills training they need to become “work ready.” Faced with this challenge, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) partnered with the U.S. Department of Human and Health Services Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA), to develop the California Counties Technical Assistance (TA) Academy as a way to focus on solutions and strategies to enhance California’s work participation rate. This Academy was a facilitated two and a half day event designed to introduce staff from 18 California counties to new programs, strategies, and ideas in order to strengthen their capacity to achieve higher levels of work participation rates.

From the Population Research Bureau, this outlines recent data on the cost of child poverty by State. Specifically, children that grow up in poverty have negative health, social, and economic consequences, which can have large costs for States. California, with an estimated 1.7 million poor children in 2006, had the highest cost of child poverty at $63.9 billion, followed by Texas at $57.5 billion and New York at $33.4 billion.

This publication is from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Family Assistance under contract with ICF International. Through the Urban Partnerships Initiative, this resource shows the outstanding efforts of ten cities to meet the needs of families receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The innovative practices highlighted in this piece can be applied in other urban areas throughout the Nation to enable other cities to write their own success story during the next decade of welfare reform.