Transportation challenges can create significant barriers for kinship caregivers trying to access services, employment, and school. These case profiles from the Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network highlight real-world strategies communities are using to address transportation needs for kinship and grandfamilies. TANF programs can use these examples to explore partnerships and practical solutions that improve access to benefits, case management, and workforce opportunities.

This Institute for Family Studies resource focuses specifically on marriage penalties within the federal tax code. The piece outlines arguments for reform and discusses how tax policy interacts with means-tested benefits.

Hosted by American Enterprise Institute, this event convened in November 2024 to discuss how marriage and work penalties may emerge in tax and transfer systems. The discussions explore the relationship between earned income, benefit phase-outs, and household structure.

This written testimony submitted to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability discusses how marriage penalties may arise across multiple public assistance programs. The testimony outlines arguments about the broader societal impacts of benefit cliffs and combined income calculations.

This Heritage Foundation report focuses specifically on how eligibility rules for pre-K education subsidies may affect couple decision-making. It provides an example of how program rules across systems can create complex financial trade-offs for families. For TANF administrators working in cross-system partnerships, this piece underscores the importance of understanding how education, childcare, and other supports align with family economic mobility strategies.

This Heritage Foundation analysis explores national trends in marriage and discusses potential economic and social implications of declining marriage rates. This resource raises questions relevant to TANF programs about how household structure, economic opportunity, and public benefits intersect.

This Administration for Children and Families paper examines how certain means-tested tax and transfer programs may create financial disincentives for marriage. It outlines how eligibility thresholds, benefit phase-outs, and combined household income calculations can affect family decision-making.

The Child Welfare Information Gateway podcast series covers timely topics in child welfare, family well-being, and systems change. These episodes can be a great professional learning resource for TANF staff, partners, and community providers engaged in cross-system work or serving families with complex needs.

Supporting families in reunification, which is the process of safely returning children in foster care to their parents, aligns closely with TANF’s mission to promote family stability and self-sufficiency. This California Evidence-Based Clearinghouse webpage highlights promising practices, program models, and outcome data related to reunification services. TANF agencies can use this resource to strengthen referrals, align supportive services, and integrate evidence-informed family support practices into their own workforce and case management strategies.

Families and young people navigating the foster care system often face complex challenges that intersect with TANF goals, from economic hardship to employment barriers and service access. This GovFacts resource list offers supports for parents, relatives, and youth involved in foster care, including legal help, educational resources, and pathways for youth transition planning. Sharing these tools with TANF participants can help enhance case management, improve stability, and connect families with critical supports.