This curriculum by Making a Difference focuses on helping young people build decision-making skills, understand consequences, and reduce behaviors that increase risk of unintended pregnancy. The resource addresses a key prevention gap by reaching youth before patterns of instability begin. In Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) contexts, it can support broader family well-being strategies by strengthening youth development efforts that reduce future need for crisis-driven services and support healthier transitions into adulthood. There is a fee for access to the curriculum.

This One Key Question® tool introduces a simple but structured way for individuals to reflect on whether they want to become parents and when. The resource creates space for intentional decision-making at moments when family planning conversations are often overlooked or rushed. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, it can be used as a conversation starter in coaching or health-focused services, helping participants connect reproductive goals with financial readiness, life planning, and long-term stability. There is a fee for access to the training.

This resource outlines financial assistance options that help reduce the cost of fertility medications and related care. The EMD Serono resource speaks to a need that is often overlooked in safety-net systems: access to reproductive health supports for individuals facing infertility challenges. Within Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) services, it can be used to broaden awareness of affordability pathways and ensure participants exploring family planning or fertility care are aware of cost-reducing options that may otherwise be difficult to identify.

Families caring for relatives’ children often rely on multiple supports, including nutrition assistance. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on May 19, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. to explain how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fits into that broader system and how kinship families can access it. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, this webinar will clarify how to coordinate benefits and reduce gaps in support for grandfamilies. It is particularly valuable for helping staff guide families through multiple programs without duplication or confusion, improving overall service delivery.

Many Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants are balancing care for both children and aging relatives, creating unique financial and emotional pressures. This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network tipsheet brings attention to that “sandwich generation” and the strain they experience. It helps TANF practitioners recognize a group that may otherwise be overlooked in program design. By understanding these competing responsibilities, staff can better tailor work requirements, referrals, and supportive services, making programs more realistic and responsive to participants’ daily lives.

Kinship care, which is when relatives step in to raise children, often occurs in families served by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. It can be difficult for these families to navigate available supports. This Generations United video breaks down how Kinship Navigator programs connect caregivers to resources like financial assistance, legal help, and social services such as TANF. For TANF practitioners, it addresses the gap between identifying kin caregivers and supporting them. It can be used as a quick learning tool for staff or even shared directly with clients to help them understand where to turn for support.

This webpage offers a comprehensive approach to empowering parents and serves as an example of how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can think more intentionally about family formation as part of their services. It shows how strengthening relationships, supporting responsible fatherhood, and building parenting skills can contribute to greater financial stability and better outcomes for children. For TANF practitioners, this helps fill a gap where programming may focus on employment alone without addressing the family dynamics that influence long-term success.

The model provides ideas TANF programs can adapt, such as incorporating relationship education, co-parenting support, and father engagement into existing services. These approaches can improve participant engagement by meeting families where they are and recognizing the role both parents can play in stability and self-sufficiency.

For practitioners in the St. Louis area, this program also serves as a direct referral option. Eligible participants can access services at no cost, giving TANF staff a concrete way to connect clients to additional support that strengthens their family structure while they work toward employment and economic goals.

The Urban Institute’s Affordability Tracker shows how affordability varies across regions and over time, highlighting pressure points in household budgets. It provides context for understanding why families may struggle even when working by offering updated data on earnings and essential expenses such as housing, health care, child care, energy, and gas. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs can use this tool to strengthen coaching around location-based challenges and to frame family financial planning within real economic conditions.