This post from the Urban Institute discusses shortfalls of the TANF program and offers suggestions to make the program more successful and more effective for low-income families. The author describes how TANF policies can create disincentives and barriers to meeting the complex needs of TANF families. Rather, she suggests, federal performance measures should give states incentives to take a balanced approach to promote work, family economic stability, and child well-being. Additionally, states should have greater flexibility through reduced reporting requirements and fewer restrictions on specific client activities.

This presentation was given by Debra J. Rog, Ph.D at the Eleventh Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. The Center for Economic Opportunity received an evaluability assessment, which measured the extent to which the program is ready for an implementation or outcome evaluation. This presentation outlines common themes that came out of the assessment.

From the Rand Drug Policy Research Center, this study reviews how outcome data can be used in measuring the performance of substance abuse treatment programs for teenagers. Researchers also identified barriers to performance measurement that raise questions about the practicality of using outcome data to assess substance abuse treatment programs.

From the Rockefeller Institute on Government, this report provides information on a policy forum held on performance management in New York State. The forum included presentations on Federal, State, and local performance management strategies. Specifically, the New York City Human Resources Administration highlighted the JobStat system, which is used to monitor 26 job centers in New York City for welfare and human services.

This report from the Government Accountability Office seeks to measure the success of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in terms of helping low-income workers find jobs in a streamlined manner as well as engaging employers in the process. In 2005, GAO found that half of local employers knew about services provided at local one-stop centers. This report examines the extent to which employers utilize local one-stop centers and if these services are useful to employers.