This Child Trends publication explores how existing data can be used to track progress toward ensuring every child has a safe, stable home. It highlights key indicators related to housing stability, child welfare involvement, and family well-being, offering insights into how systems can better measure and improve outcomes. For TANF programs, this resource underscores the importance of data-informed decision-making and cross-system collaboration to identify needs, target supports, and strengthen prevention efforts that keep families safely housed and together.

The National Council for Adoption will host a training on April 2, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. ET to enhance understanding of attachment strategies and how caregivers and professionals can help children develop secure, supportive relationships following foster care or adoption. The session will offer practical insights that can benefit professionals working with families navigating child welfare involvement or reunification.

Generations United will host a webinar on March 26, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. ET to highlight lessons from communities that have developed shared intergenerational sites where programs serving children and older adults operate together. The session will explore how these models strengthen community connections, support caregivers, and create meaningful engagement opportunities across generations.

A new brief from Child Trends examines how partnerships between public agencies and private organizations can help identify and support kinship placements for children in foster care. The report highlights strategies that strengthen collaboration and expand support for relatives caring for children. TANF programs may find these insights useful when working with community partners to support kin caregivers, improve service coordination, and promote family stability.

Kinship caregivers often face challenges navigating benefits, services, and legal supports. This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network profile highlights how the Educational and Treatment Council Family Resource Center in southwest Louisiana operates a Kinship Navigator program to connect caregivers with critical resources and supports. TANF programs can draw lessons from this model to strengthen referrals, improve service coordination, and ensure kinship families are aware of the economic and community supports available to them.

Rural communities are developing creative approaches to bring older adults and youth together through shared spaces and intergenerational programming. This Generations United resource highlights examples of programs that foster mentorship, caregiving support, and community connection across generations. TANF agencies working in rural areas may find these models useful for strengthening local partnerships, supporting caregivers, and creating opportunities for families to build supportive community networks.

This Annie E. Casey Foundation resource highlights the positive outcomes associated with extended foster care for young people transitioning to adulthood. The evidence shows that allowing youth to remain in care past age 18 can improve educational attainment, employment outcomes, and housing stability. For TANF programs serving youth transitioning from foster care, this resource offers insights into how extended supports and cross-system coordination can help promote long-term economic mobility and stability.

Professionals supporting children and families involved in child welfare can benefit from the services and tools offered by AdoptUSKids. This resource highlights how agencies and community partners can use their training, recruitment strategies, and technical assistance to strengthen permanency efforts for children and youth. TANF programs working alongside child welfare partners may find these services helpful for understanding how family recruitment, adoption support, and permanency planning intersect with broader family stability and economic support goals.

Coordinating services across multiple public benefit programs can significantly improve how families access supports and navigate human services systems. This toolkit, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, was designed to help state and local agencies better align programs and services to support whole families.

The resource provides practical tools and structured guidance for identifying coordination challenges, developing shared goals across agencies, implementing cross-program strategies, and tracking progress over time. By helping agencies move away from siloed service delivery and toward integrated approaches, the toolkit aims to reduce administrative barriers, improve the experiences families have when seeking multiple benefits, and strengthen outcomes for children and parents. For TANF programs, these strategies can support stronger coordination with programs such as workforce services, SNAP, childcare, and child welfare — helping families access the full range of supports needed to achieve long-term stability and economic mobility.

Separation between parents can create significant challenges for children, fathers, and families, especially when factors such as incarceration, employment demands, or child welfare involvement disrupt family relationships. The Institute for Research on Poverty will host a webinar on March 11, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. ET to explore research and practical strategies for helping fathers maintain or rebuild connections with their children during and after periods of separation. For TANF programs, the discussion may highlight opportunities to strengthen father engagement, support healthy co-parenting relationships, and connect noncustodial parents with services that promote family stability and child well-being.