The Office of Family Assistance published data tables which show TANF and Separate State Programs-Maintenance of Effort (SSP-MOE) caseloads separately, as well as combined by state and at the national level from October 2023 through September 2024. The tables are cross-tabbed to include total numbers of recipients, adult recipients, child recipients, families, one-parent families, two-parent families, no parent families, and monthly caseload data.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) information brief aims to demystify research terms for fatherhood practitioners. In the brief, NRFC provides a comprehensive description of the different types of program data and their purpose, offers practical guidance for collecting and using data, and underscores the importance of routinely evaluating program services and outcomes to enhance programming and disseminate program impacts. Additionally, this brief emphasizes the value of using program data in a meaningful way and offers recommendations on how to leverage this data to improve program effectiveness and better support program participants.

Based on input from state TANF programs during the 2023 National TANF Directors’ Meeting, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) developed five virtual Learning Collaboratives (LCs) on topics best addressed through a cohort-based, peer learning format. These LCs were designed to be a progressive series of interactive meetings that facilitated reflection, peer sharing, connection with experts, and human-centered design and planning activities to deeply explore facets of the collaborative topic. Sessions were held monthly from March to August 2024 for 60-90 minutes.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 has prompted states to think about how they track employment and other outcomes of the TANF program. States have been interested in learning best practices in capturing and using data, and in hearing from other states about their data practices. The purpose of the Strengthening TANF Data and Reporting LC was to help participating states build knowledge, skills, and motivation to help their TANF programs strategically use their data to make evidence-driven decision that can support improved outcomes. Participating states included Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia.

This OFA resource highlights the Strengthening TANF Data & Reporting LC, including key takeaways and resources from each session as well as overall themes and future considerations for follow-up.

The Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) inaugural data strategy provides a north star to ensure that data delivers for the people ACF serves. ACF recognizes that better data capacity internally and throughout the human services ecosystem can lead to improved operations, more informed policy, and faster, more proactive, and safer delivery of public benefits and services. This ACF resource explains the data strategy, which builds on their existing progress to better use, share, and analyze data at ACF. The strategy includes a dozen individual initiatives that fall into four categories: sustaining initiatives; one-stop shop initiatives; delivery initiatives; and technology initiatives. These categories include building foundational infrastructure such as hiring ACF’s first ever Chief Data Officer and establishing a Data Governance Council; supporting program offices by creating a Data Talent Center to provide expertise in hiring and retaining data talent; and sharing data regularly through community-centered data tools and stories.

These Office for Family Assistance resources provide demographic data on adults and children in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families active families receiving cash assistance and closed cases. National and state-level data are available, as well as data on families receiving assistance through Separate State Program (SSP)-Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) programs.

The National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics (NAWRS) is launching their first affinity group: the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Huddle. The huddle brings together TANF data experts with the aims of (1) building a network of TANF data professionals across the country, (2) providing a forum for TANF data professionals to raise and discuss emergent issues in the TANF data space, and (3) exchanging findings, innovations, and approaches to analyzing and leveraging TANF data in policy making and practice. The TANF Data Huddle is open to researchers, practitioners, and data enthusiasts at the federal, state, county, and local levels. It will meet October 16, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. CT and November 20, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. CT. For interested parties, send your name, email, and professional affiliation to the NAWRS Secretary at secretary@nawrs.org.

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.

This Chapin Hall brief describes results from a series of longitudinal analyses using federal TANF administrative data from 28 states. The brief examines patterns and trends in TANF participation, focusing on caseload dynamics, household characteristics, and state-level differences. These analyses are preliminary and were conducted to demonstrate how federal TANF data can be used for longitudinal research that offers important insights into TANF participation over time. This study sheds light on important trends in TANF participation, emphasizing the importance of longitudinal data and the need for ongoing research to better support families in need.

The National Association of State Workforce Agencies is hosting a three-webinar series that targets frontline workers responsible for collecting data directly from customers. Participants may interact with individual claimants, jobseekers and employers through the Unemployment Insurance programs, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, or other workforce development programs and services. Participants will emerge better understanding:
• The critical role of data in data-based decision-making
• Typically available datasets and reports
• How to apply available datasets and reports

Sessions include:
1. Data Quality: The Foundation for Trustworthy Decision will take place on July 2, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET.
2. Decoding Data: Understanding the Reports You Use will take place on July 16, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET.
3. Data-Driven Service: Using Reports to Enhance Customer Interactions will take place on July 30, 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET.