The Office of Family Assistance released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for states seeking information on implementing the new Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work outcome measure provisions in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. The FAQ resource is designed to respond to questions that the Office of Family Assistance has received that are not answered in existing resources and/or where language in the technical resource required additional clarification.

The Office of Family Assistance released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for states seeking to pilot new program performance and accountability measures in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The FAQ resource is designed to assist applicants with the Request for Proposals for TANF Pilot Projects under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023.

This re-occurring breakout session took place during the 2024 National Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting to provide an overview of the grants management cycle for Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Native Employment Works (NEW) programs. The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Grants Management provided guidance and resources to help navigate the fiscal roles and responsibilities associated with these program awards. This session shared updates in fiscal policy and practices, trending audit findings, and the opportunity to gauge attendees’ fiscal awareness and knowledge of these program awards.

This Office of Family Assistance webpage provides important resources, documents, and tools related to the implementation of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) provisions in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2023.

All updates can be found on this FRA Implementation webpage.

Section 304 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2023 requires all states to report the data necessary to produce outcome measures for work-eligible individuals who leave Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The interim final rule on TANF Work Outcomes Measures was published on June 28, 2024. The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a webinar on July 24, 2024, where OFA presenters reviewed the new measures and provided technical guidance for preparing and submitting three new reports for the measures: Work Outcomes of TANF Exiters Report (quarterly), the required Secondary School Diploma or its Recognized Equivalent Attainment Rate (annually), and the Supplemental Work Outcomes Report (annually).

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) has posted the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) financial data tables, national and state pie charts.

• In FY 2022, combined federal TANF and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures and transfers totaled $31.3 billion. Across the United States in FY 2022:
  •  23.0 percent of TANF and MOE funds was used for basic assistance,
  • 8.1 percent was used for work, education, and training activities; and
  • 15.5 percent was used for child care (including funds transferred to the Child Care Development Fund).
• 30 states used less than half of their TANF and MOE funds on the combination of basic assistance; work, education, and training activities; and child care.
  • 34 states spent less than 20 percent of their TANF and MOE funds on basic assistance.
  • 42 states and the District of Columbia spent less than 15 percent of their TANF and MOE funds on work, education, and training activities.
• From FY 2021 to FY 2022, the amount of funds used for basic assistance increased by $366 million and child care decreased by $58 million. The amount of funds used for work, education, and training activities increased by $211 million.

View the financial data tables, national and state pie charts for more information on how TANF and MOE funds were used in FY 2022. 

State pie charts will be published in the coming weeks.

This issue brief describes three specific program improvement strategies employed by six state, county and tribal TANF programs. The three strategies drove changes that resulted in tangible TANF program improvements across all six programs. The improvement strategies are:

1) Revisit and reimagine your working relationships with your community partners to improve collaboration and coordination;
2) actively listen to and learn from your TANF families, community members, and program staff; and
3) reorient or adapt outcome structures and monitoring elements to strengthen TANF program performance-based accountability.

The programs featured in this resource were among a group of 10 TANF programs that participated in the Office of Family Assistance’s initiative “Leveraging America’s Social and Economic Resilience TANF Learning Community” {LASER TLC).

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2023 forced TANF programs to rethink service delivery. Programs were forced to find new ways to implement policies and innovate through the use of technology. In response, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) launched the Leveraging America’s Social and Economic Resilience (LASER) TANF Learning Community (TLC). LASER TLC builds on the immediate adaptations to the pandemic. It helps programs design and implement sustainable strategies for the post-pandemic world.

Four of the ten program teams, highlighted here, focused their efforts on modernization projects. These four TANF program teams are: the Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians Tribal TANF program; the North Carolina Work First Program; the Kentucky Works Program; and the North Dakota TANF Program.

This brief highlights the small and large ways of approaching TANF modernization. It further offers insight into what can be achieved through small, intentional steps guided by a bold vision for innovation.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the revisions to instructions for TANF data report (Forms ACF-199 and ACF-209), with a focus on key, substantive changes. The changes made to the TANF Data Report instructions are intended to streamline the data collection and eliminate unnecessary data elements. The instructions were also revised to clarify confusing instructions and improve data quality. OFA hopes this session will help states and territories more efficiently and accurately report data on their TANF caseloads, beginning with the first quarter FY 2024 data, due February 14, 2024.

Please review the recording here.