This is the final video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video explains how case managers can use Speaker-Listener Technique with TANF participants, as well as how case managers can help TANF participants develop their own skills with this technique.

This is the second video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video highlights one simple strategy—called relationship agreements—that TANF, program service staff could use with families, and families can use together to turn tension into teamwork.

This is the first video in a three-part series that aims to help Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs incorporate communication skill-building techniques from Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs that can promote the maintenance of two-parent families and improve job readiness, skills-building, and employment outcomes among TANF participants.

This video explores how one intentional strategy, active listening, can transform conversations between TANF program participants and their case managers, their families, and their employers or prospective employers—leading to better participant and program outcomes.

In this 2021–2026 Strategic Plan for Adult Education and Literacy, the Texas Workforce Commission outlines the guiding principles and vision for adult education and literacy over the five years with a focus on the Texas workforce customer’s experience.

Literacy provides individuals with the confidence to pursue their goals, support their families, and to achieve success and well-being in work and in life. This Adult Literacy and Learning Impact Network study was designed to empower local programs with evidence-based strategies to: 1) more effectively reach and support adults with low literacy, and 2) communicate the value of their work to funders for greater investment and community-level impact.

The need for a tech-savvy, well-prepared workforce continues to rise. This MDRC resource discusses the development of the partnership between NPower and Urban Alliance, which are two national nonprofits working to deliver digital literacy and IT training to high school students. This resource offers lessons for improving cross-organizational partnerships that support youth career pathways. It also describes the two programs developed during the partnership, discusses some of the challenges that the two organizations encountered during the development and implementation of the programs and how they addressed those challenges, and provides additional considerations for future partnerships.

Although a variety of employment programs offer adults with justice involvement support after their release, several challenges can limit participants’ ability to fully engage in services. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief provides strategies that human services programs can use to recruit adults with justice involvement and engage them in project activities. The strategies include understanding and addressing participants’ needs, communicating with participants, and building relationships with local justice agencies.

Jobs for the Future will host a free webinar on January 14, 2026 from 12:30 p.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET, to review the Trump-Vance administration’s workforce development priorities, including their strategic roadmap for workforce development. This event will feature senior leaders in federal agencies unpacking President Trump’s vision for the education and workforce systems and the steps that the administration is undertaking.

The Tennessee Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Opportunity Act of 2021 set the TANF cash benefit amount at no less than 25 percent of the Consolidated Need Standard, which is the estimated amount of income a family in Tennessee needs to cover basic living expenses. This change increased the monthly cash benefit for a family of three from $277 to $387, a 40 percent increase. The benefit increase was implemented in July 2021 and remains at that amount. This MEF paper examines the effects of this benefit increase on families participating in Tennessee’s TANF program.

As part of the Tennessee Opportunity Act (TOA), the Tennessee Department of Human Services launched the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative, awarding $25 million grants to seven community initiatives to support low-income families' economic mobility and well-being. The pilots provide families with direct services and connections to existing services within their communities. The service mix and structure of the pilots vary, but they include similar components such as care coordination and coaching, employment support, financial support, and family or other individual support. TOA also established a rigorous evaluation to inform future policy and programs. The evaluation aimed to create a state-level learning laboratory to produce evidence on program effectiveness and implementation, enabling Tennessee to enhance human services delivery.

This MEF report builds upon the information in the first report, details progress on the evaluation in 2024, and looks towards the upcoming evaluation work.