This presentation was made at the PARIS Conference by Deputy Director of OFA, Mr. Grant E. Collins, II. The PowerPoint describes the importance of the National Directory of New Hires to tracking employment accurately.

This report summarizes a workshop entitled "Promoting Performance in TANF Programs" that took place on July 29-31, 2003 and was sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of Family Assistance (OFA). The workshop focused on performance and performance considerations in the TANF program.

Substance abuse is recognized as one of the most common barriers facing hard-to-employ TANF recipients. Due to the stringent work requirements and time limits under Federal welfare policy, substance abuse treatment and counseling services are becoming a necessity for any public assistance program attempting to move recipients from welfare to work. Under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) Welfare Reform Technical Assistance Project, Caliber Associates produced this document as a reference tool on two specific Federal funding sources - Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Welfare to Work (WtW) funds - which can be targeted at supporting substance abuse treatment services for the welfare population.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, with the CalWORKs/Child Welfare Partnership Project, hosted a Roundtable entitled Establishing Linkages Between TANF and Child Welfare Programs May 31, 2002 in Sacramento, CA. This Roundtable was attended by representatives from four States (NC, NJ, WI, CO) as well as the State of California and ten of its counties currently working toward improving service coordination.

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) coordinated this workshop in conjunction with the Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), DHHS. Ms. Julia Isaacs, Director, Data and Technical Analysis Division, ASPE/HSP, led the planning and conduct of this workshop. It was intended for states or counties that were awarded specific ASPE grants in 1998 to study welfare “leavers.”

The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network supported a one and one-half day technical assistance event in New Hampshire on April 4 and 5, 2000. The first day of the event centered on training for approximately 25 state professionals working with TANF clients with learning disabilities. The second day involved an extensive discussion with the New Hampshire Learning Disabilities Coordinator, Ms. Linda Swenson, and provided an evaluation of the current process of identification and referral for TANF clients with learning disabilities in New Hampshire. Mr. Daniel Fey, Learning Disability Project and Educational Services Coordinator for the Seattle-King County One-stop Center, and a BRIDGES2 trainer, facilitated the training day and provided his expertise in evaluating the current assessment and referral system. Dr. Jeanette Hercik, from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, was also present for the training day and the evaluation.

On June 3, 2004, the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance (TA) Network sponsored a one-day site visit to the Human Resources Administration (HRA) in New York City (NYC). The purpose of the site visit was to provide the State of Maryland, Department of Human Resources (DHR), Family Investment Administration (FIA) staff the opportunity to observe New York's use of JobStat, a program which allows the city to set goals and monitor and measure outcomes of performance indicators established for NYC welfare recipients, workers, and job centers.