The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance Region VIII held the 2014 ACF Region VIII State Meeting, entitled “Collaboration and Innovation: Keys to Engaging TANF Customers” on September 18 - 19, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. This meeting brought together Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program directors and staff from six States to learn strategies, engage in strategic dialogue, and build linkages with peers to improve program outcomes and promote economic and social independence for individuals, children, and families. During the meeting, State representatives had opportunities to share promising practices in collaborating with State, local, and community agencies to successfully serve TANF participants. There was also a State of the State’s Panel Discussion with ACF/OFA leadership. Meeting attendees also heard from subject matter experts in the areas of program performance, employment outcomes and career pathways, kinship care and home visiting programs, housing and homelessness issues, supporting refugee populations, assisting victims of human trafficking, and engaging rural communities, among others. This interactive and collaborative event allowed for rich discussion and training opportunities.

In response to Section 743 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, RTI International released a report that explores hunger and food security in America. The report outlines determinants, consequences, and responses to food insecurity, with the hope of spurring policy and program development to address this issue.

In December 2011, representatives from the Jefferson County Department of Human Services, Career and Family Support Services, Colorado Works and Child Care Assistance Program contacted the Welfare Peer TA (WPTA) Network for assistance in determining the optimal number of cases each TANF caseworker should maintain, so that an appropriate amount of time and attention can be paid to all participants to assist them in achieving higher levels of economic self-sufficiency. In response to Jefferson County’s TA Request, the WPTA team conducted information gathering outreach to 10 of the largest cities in the country (New York, New York; Los Angeles, California; Chicago, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; Dallas, Texas; and San Jose, California). This data provided Colorado and other States a greater understanding of optimal caseload sizes for TANF offices, and of caseload sizes per TANF eligibility workers versus case managers. The Technical Assistance Summary associated with this effort provides a high-level overview of TANF caseload sizes among the 10 highlighted metropolitan areas. It also provides insight into staffing structure, caseload size designation, characteristics of staff and participants, caseload manageability, caseload assignments, caseload demographic information, workload and responsibilities of staff, curricula and training, as well as barriers and challenges faced by the TANF programs.

This study sought to examine the effect of prenatal poverty on the birth weight of infants (as birth weight can be a predictor for a range of outcomes for children) and subsequently, the effect that work-based welfare assistance, such as the EITC and TANF, has on maternal and infant health. The study found that there is a causal link between prenatal poverty and low birth weights, finding that state EITCs relieve prenatal poverty and indicated increased birth weights in babies born to mothers who received an earned income tax credit. However, the study found mixed results for TANF receipt and its effect on birth weights.

This brief from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides a broad overview of research and evidence of the positive effect of public benefit programs on poverty rates in the U.S. Programs highlighted include SNAP, Medicaid, and refundable tax credits with a discussion of the current support for low income working families (versus historical policies which did not incentivize work). To conclude, the brief provides research citing improved long-term outcomes for children whose families are supported by public benefit programs. Two appendices provide charts with the number of people kept above the poverty in each state; an interesting and potentially helpful resource for policymakers and program administrators.

This data report from Child Trends provides updated information and recent data related to TANF and its outcomes for children. A summary of trends is provided as well as a series of graphs offering both longitudinal data and point in time data from fiscal year 2010. Various studies are cited which offer both mixed results when examining TANF’s effect on child poverty.

Child Trends released a report that states more than one in five children in the United States lived in households that were food insecure in 2013. The report outlined the effects of food insecurity on children, as well as provided information about the prevalence of this issue among different demographics in the United States.