This resource from the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network explains how Family First Prevention Services Act reimbursement can be used for services that help Native children and families before deeper child welfare involvement occurs. It offers practical guidance on eligible programs and supports that honor traditions and community strengths. For TANF programs serving Native families, this can inform cross-system coordination and funding alignment — helping connect participants to culturally grounded supports that reinforce family wellbeing alongside TANF’s economic goals.

This Child Welfare Playbook strategy emphasizes the importance of engaging extended family and kin caregivers early when children are at risk of removal to explore options for support and safety within the family network. This strategy reinforces the value of early engagement and family-centered approaches. TANF case managers can consider how involving a broader support network can strengthen family stability, reduce crisis escalation, and connect participants to supports that align with their goals.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the State of Iowa are launching a first-of-its-kind partnership to modernize Iowa’s child welfare information system, creating a new, user-friendly technology platform designed to improve caseworker efficiency and strengthen services for children and families. This initiative is built on user-centered design and robust data and aims to free frontline staff from outdated systems, enabling better decision-making that supports family stability and permanency. Alongside the launch of ACF’s new Child Welfare Technology Incubator to help other states scale similar innovations, this effort aligns with broader federal goals to improve outcomes and keep families safely together.

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on March 25, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. ET to showcase six different Family Resource Center (FRC) models that are creatively supporting kin caregivers and grandfamilies across the country, from rural and urban hubs to school-based, faith-based, and mobile programs. FRCs serve as community anchors that offer wraparound supports like parenting education, benefits navigation, peer groups, and concrete resources that help families thrive.

This Institute for Family Studies resource outlines seven policy approaches states can use to support marriage, family stability, and economic wellbeing — including relationship education, shared parenting supports, income policies, and community-based initiatives. For TANF programs, this resource offers concrete ideas that can inform program design, partnerships, and policy alignment, such as integrating relationship skills into employment services, coordinating with child support and parenting programs, and considering how benefits and work policies affect family stability. TANF leaders can use this perspective to identify opportunities where family-strengthening strategies and economic supports reinforce one another to improve outcomes for parents and children.

This Imprint resource was co-authored by Assistant Secretary Alex Adams and highlights the importance of prevention-focused strategies in supporting families and keeping children out of more intensive systems like foster care. He argues that building strong entry points into supportive services, rather than waiting for crises, leads to better outcomes and less system involvement. The resource reinforces the value of early engagement with families, cross-system referrals, and collaboration across child welfare and community partners to help families thrive before deep instability occurs.

The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on February 11 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to focus on how kinship and family support programs are building and sustaining multi-state navigator initiatives. The session will share real-world lessons about effective partnership structures, staffing strategies, data sharing, and funding approaches as well as examples of promising models that have expanded across regions. This is a chance to learn how navigator services can expand for broader reach, strengthen cross-state collaboration, and help connect families to benefits and supports.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is hosting a webinar on February 25, 2026 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET to introduce Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and its use in foster care to improve outcomes for children, youth, and foster parents. FFT is an evidence-based, family-centered approach that helps strengthen relationships and increase placement stability, with research suggesting it can lead to better experiences for kids in care and higher satisfaction for caregivers. For TANF programs, understanding FFT can be useful when considering cross-system partnerships with child welfare and behavioral health providers, especially where family engagement and stability connect to participants’ broader economic and social well-being.