This report is part of the Congressional Research Services series that focuses on changes in programs affecting low-income children in light of the upcoming 30-year anniversary of the enactment of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).

This report examines how Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for children with disabilities has changed over the past 30 years and what those changes mean for families with low incomes. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, it provides valuable context on how disability benefits can complement TANF services and support children with significant needs. TANF staff can use this resource to better understand how families may access multiple supports, strengthen referrals, and coordinate services that promote family stability and financial security.

Families participating in Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) may face challenges that extend beyond financial hardship. This guide helps Tribal TANF staff recognize family strengths, connect caregivers with supportive services, and respond early to concerns before they become crises. Tribal TANF programs can use the guide to strengthen case management, improve collaboration with child welfare partners, and better support families working toward long-term stability. It offers practical strategies that help TANF caseworkers build trust, keep children safely connected to their families, and reduce the need for more intensive interventions.

Want practical ways to boost your program’s employment outcomes and help advance core purposes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)? The Office of Family Assistance is sponsoring The Family Routes Initiative (FRI) to assist TANF programs in achieving employment, two-parent family formation, and responsible fathering goals, and invites TANF program staff of all levels to join us for a special Office Hours session on July 30th, 2026, from 2:00-3:00 PM ET.

Why Attend? 

The Administration for Children and Families launched the FRI to facilitate the transfer of practical Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) tools to help human services programs improve practical skills of TANF program staff and enhance the experience of families and participants engaged in TANF services. Participation in the initiative is intended to strengthen key skills and program capacities. 

Drawing from proven HMRF research and practices, this interactive, open forum will provide peer-to-peer and expert facilitated training, ideation, and design support focused on improving practical relational and employment-related skills, while linking participating programs with tailored technical assistance for strengthening employment and social outcomes for TANF participants.

Key Takeaways for Your Program:

• Emotional Regulation: Model emotional self-regulation and co-regulation skills with participants to manage daily stressors.
• Healthy Communication: Integrate practical communication skill-building directly into your existing employment and family services to strengthen participant engagement and improve employment outcomes.
• Advance TANF Purposes: Gain actionable strategies to help your program build economically stable and intact families.

When a parent can't care for their child, a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or close family friend often steps in without a second thought, even when it stretches their own household thin. These kinship caregivers are doing something remarkable, and the research confirms it makes a real difference. Children raised by kin experience fewer school disruptions, fewer placement changes, and better mental health outcomes than their peers in traditional foster care. Yet despite this, fewer than 12% of eligible kinship caregivers ever receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits.

This Chapin Hall resource highlights the positive outcomes associated with kinship care and examines the barriers that can prevent caregivers from receiving needed assistance. For TANF practitioners, it offers practical insights into the unique needs of kinship families and strategies for improving outreach, coordination, and service delivery. Whether you're strengthening partnerships with community-based organizations, developing referral processes, or helping families connect to benefits, this research provides evidence-based approaches to better support kinship caregivers and the children in their care.

Positive father involvement can strengthen families, support child well-being, and improve outcomes for children. This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse webpage highlights its public awareness campaign, which offers videos, messages, and outreach materials that encourage fathers to remain active and engaged in their children's lives. The campaign also features firsthand accounts from fathers with lived experience, providing authentic perspectives on the challenges, successes, and rewards of remaining actively involved in their children's lives. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can use this webpage to support responsible fatherhood initiatives, spark conversations with parents, and reinforce the important role fathers play in family stability. The materials are easy to share through workshops, social media, community events, and participant communications.

Young people leaving foster care often face financial challenges as they transition to adulthood, including managing money, securing housing, and planning for future goals. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief introduces their financial curriculum that helps young people build financial knowledge, develop savings habits, and strengthen their long-term economic stability. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can review this introductory brief and share the curriculum with young adults, former foster youth, and kinship families to encourage financial capability education and asset-building. By connecting participants to this curriculum, TANF practitioners can help them develop the skills and confidence needed to pursue education, employment, housing, and other pathways to self-sufficiency.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs have long supported families in building economic stability. This Dear Colleague Letter by the Office of Family Assistance explores how TANF funds may now be used to support Trump Accounts, which are federally backed, tax-advantaged savings accounts for children, creating new opportunities to help children and families build assets for the future. For TANF practitioners, the guidance shares how these accounts can fit within broader strategies that promote financial well-being and long-term self-sufficiency. TANF programs may use this guidance to consider innovative approaches that help families move beyond immediate needs and build a stronger financial foundation.

Children that require out-of-home care still need stable, permanent home connections. This Administration for Children and Families brief examines how states are using the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program to support relatives and caregivers who assume legal guardianship of children in foster care. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this brief offers valuable insight into the needs of kinship caregivers who may also rely on TANF supports to help meet a child's basic needs. TANF practitioners can use this information to better understand permanency options, strengthen partnerships with child welfare agencies, and identify opportunities to connect caregivers with financial assistance, employment services, and other supports that promote long-term family stability.

When a child can't safely stay with their parents, the next best option is almost always a grandparent, aunt, uncle, or close family friend who already knows and loves them. Keeping that connection intact can make a profound difference in a child's long-term stability, but many agencies struggle to identify and engage kinship caregivers consistently, in part because they don't have clear systems for tracking who those caregivers are or reaching them. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on June 24, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET to share how to use data in prioritizing kinship care. With presenters drawing on experience working with states across the country, they will discuss first steps for collecting and understanding kinship data and using it to engage kin caregivers wherever possible. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, kinship families are a significant part of the caseload, including grandparents raising grandchildren, relatives who stepped in without a formal plan, and caregivers who may not even know they're eligible for support. Better data on kinship placement means better coordination between child welfare and TANF, and ultimately better outcomes for families who are already doing the hard work of keeping children connected to their roots.

When a young person turns 18 in foster care, the system too often just disappears. Extended foster care (EFC) programs exist to bridge that gap, keeping older youth connected to support as they transition into adulthood. But not all extended care programs are equally accessible or effective, and youth themselves are rarely centered in decisions about how these programs are designed. The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) will host a webinar on June 24, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET to highlight the work of the National Collaborative for Transition-Age Youth, a partnership among APHSA, FosterClub, and Youth Villages, and discuss EFC outcomes.

These organizations co-developed guidance with young people, child welfare leaders, and policymakers to strengthen services for youth turning 18 in foster care. Research shows that when extended care is available and inclusive, anywhere from 70 to 80 percent of young people in care at age 17½ will remain in the program at 19, and roughly half will still be enrolled at 21, with benefits that persist well into adulthood. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners working with transition-age youth, this session will offer both evidence and strategy to understand why extended care matters and how to better connect young people to the services that can make it work.