The Office of Family Assistance will be livestreaming sessions from the 2019 National Tribal TANF/NEW Summit on September 16-17, 2019, and the 2019 National TANF State Directors’ Meeting, Helping Families to Overcome: Partnering to Build a Stronger Society on September 17-19, 2019. Both events will be held in Arlington, Virginia, and will provide state, tribal, and territory TANF administrators, staff, and stakeholders with actionable and replicable implementation strategies for improving employment and self-sufficiency outcomes for customers and families.

Sessions to be livestreamed include:

Coaching as a Strategy for Supporting Client Success
September 16th, 9:00 a.m. – 10:15 am ET
This plenary will provide an overview of the intersections between executive functioning and coaching, and then dive deeper into the importance of coaching and its impact on a client’s long-term goals and employment. 

Tribal TANF and NEW Fiscal Management 101
September 16th, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
The first of two sessions that will focus on fiscal management of TANF and NEW programs and is especially relevant for any staff involved with program finances. It will cover a variety of financial management topics, including how OFA informs programs of grant awards and how to understand grant Terms and Conditions. Speakers will explain procedures for funding draw downs, financial reporting due dates, and required reporting submissions.

Tribal TANF and NEW Fiscal Management 201
September 16th, 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. ET
The second of two sessions that focuses on fiscal management of TANF and NEW programs, and is especially relevant for any staff involved in their program’s finances. Speakers will 1) discuss how internal controls and compliance programs can help tribes protect their TANF programs from fraud and abuse; 2) highlight best practices for maintaining record-keeping systems; 3) explain how programs can prepare for an audit and potential audit resolutions; and 4) highlight why and how finance managers can eliminate unobligated balances.

Promising Practices for Using Creativity to Address Resource Challenges
September 17th, 8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. ET
Several communities will highlight their innovative and impactful workforce and community development programs despite resource constraints. Speakers will share examples ranging from transit to tourism, with the intention of encouraging participants to consider how resource challenges may be reframed as opportunities to spur job creation while providing the community with a needed service.

Tools to Help Tribal TANF and NEW Programs Reach Their Full Potential and Document Their Success!
September 17th, 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Tribal TANF and NEW program leaders will be given strategies and tools for identifying meaningful program goals, developing clear and compelling performance measures, and documenting ongoing progress toward improving outcomes for tribal members and communities.

Greeting from ACF and OFA/OFA Director Carter’s Vision: Rethinking the American Safety Net
September 17th, 1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Director Carter will provide his insights on the need to transform the American Safety Net by grounding it in a collection of core values and supporting principles, and engaging all sectors of society. This transformative effort would redefine how American society assists vulnerable individuals and families so they can grow beyond their need for supports.

Strategies for Addressing the Opioid Crisis
September 17th, 2:45 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. ET
Addiction and the misuse of opioids is a health emergency that affects the quality of life, economy, and social cohesion of communities across the United States. Speakers will describe different approaches to addressing the opioid crisis, from direct service interventions that emphasize the importance of stabilizing the entire family, to a range of community-based supportive services such as capacity-building, technical assistance, and culturally-sensitive approaches. 

Young Adult Participant Success Panel
September 17th, 3:45 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. ET
The TANF program provides family assistance to create a stable foundation and economic opportunities for low-income youth. Growing up in a low-income household creates uniquely challenging circumstances for children, making it critically important to focus on this population. Young participants in TANF programs will share their experiences and their successes in working towards economic stability and a brighter future.

Insights from ACF Leadership
September 18th, 8:55 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. ET
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to helping families through difficult circumstances through a broad range of activities. Participants will hear from ACF Leadership in the Office of Head Start, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Office of Child Care, and Office of Family Assistance about collaborative efforts to improve social services through economic growth and work-based public policies.

Shifting the Poverty Paradigm: Moving to Results that Matter
September 18th, 10:35 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. ET
Human service agencies across America are exploring how to achieve whole-family outcomes for those they serve by transitioning procurement systems to an outcomes-oriented approach, which rigorously tracks priority outcomes using data and incentives to improve the impact of services. Speakers will showcase the outcomes-oriented work in Washington state by the Ballmer Group, the lessons learned, and the achievements in the context of the broader national outcomes’ movement that Third Sector Capital Partners has spearheaded around the country.

H2O Family Forum
September 18th, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET
The TANF program can help individuals overcoming significant obstacles on their path toward economic mobility and self-sufficiency. In the theme of Helping Families to Overcome (H2O), previous participants will share their stories and the initiatives they have taken to transcend barriers and use their experiences as a catalyst to create change for themselves and their communities.

TANF Data Collaborative: Assessment of TANF Data Analytic Needs and Plans to Address Them
September 19th, 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. ET
Data is essential for programs to evaluate how well they are helping needy families. As part of the TANF Data Innovation (TDI) project, a needs assessment of TANF state agencies was conducted in early 2019 that focused on the use of TANF data and other related state program data, priorities for data analysis and research, and states’ preferences on technical assistance.  Speakers will provide an overview of the states’ research and analysis on data infrastructure, data sharing, priorities for data use, and use of employment and earnings data. They will also describe how the TANF Data Collaborative, an initiative of TDI, is planning on addressing the identified needs through a robust pilot and training and technical assistance effort.

Listening and State Sharing Session with OFA Leadership
September 19th, 1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in a dialogue with OFA leadership on TANF policies and implementation, including current and emerging trends, challenges, and service-delivery innovations.

WIOA and TANF Integration: Uncovering the Benefits of Blending Funding through Interagency Services Agreements
September 19th, 2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Since the enactment of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), TANF agencies and workforce development/labor agencies have taken steps to align their services to best help TANF such as fund blending and braiding. Yet, there are often barriers to this blending and braining of funds such as different rules between agencies and resistance to organizational change. Participants in this workshop will hear how Massachusetts overcame such challenges using Interagency Service Agreements (ISAs), which set expectations for collaboration, service delivery, and performance.

Legislative Perspectives from Capitol Hill on TANF Reauthorization
September 19th, 4:10 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET
Interest is building in substantive TANF reforms but is there time and enough political consensus to make it happen? Key staff from Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees will discuss Congressional priorities for welfare reform, provisions of current TANF proposals, and possible timelines.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released the new request for applications for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) pilot. The pilot will select up to five states to test innovative approaches aimed at promoting work and reducing government dependency.

The pilot is authorized under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 and reflects the Administration’s commitment to reshaping welfare programs to encourage employment, personal responsibility, and strong, stable two-parent families. States are encouraged to propose alternative performance measures to the work participation rate that prioritize rapid employment outcomes, earnings progression, and reduced dependency on TANF, Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and other welfare. 

ACF encourages all states and territories to apply. The application period will close at 11:59 PM ET on August 15, 2025. The pilot program for the selected states will begin on October 1, 2025.

Further information on the TANF pilot program can be found on the Office of Family Assistance Fiscal Responsibility Act implementation page. If questions remain, please contact TANFquestions@acf.hhs.gov. 

The Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, amended by the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010, requires Federal agencies to estimate, report, and address improper payments in their programs. TANF was designated as high risk for improper payments and, as such, is required to estimate and report on the number of improper payments annually. This Office of Family Assistance information memorandum provides guidance to States on best practices for reduction of improper payments.

As part of TANF oversight, independent auditors conduct single audits, and states are required to take corrective action on audit findings as part of their responsibilities as TANF grant recipients. Based on a preliminary review of the most recently available state single audit reports, as of April 30, 2024, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified 155 unresolved TANF findings. This GAO report examines the extent to which single audit findings can relate to TANF fraud and is a part of a series of reports reviewing TANF.

In July 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) completed its first TANF fraud risk assessment using its Fraud Risk Assessment Portal. The HHS identified and assessed 21 fraud risks, and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) categorized these 21 fraud risks into nine broad categories, including: billing fraud, conflict of interest, conspiracy, cyber exploit, diversion, misrepresentation, misuse of aware funds, personal identifiable information theft, and skimming. This GAO report examines the extent to which HHS identified and assessed TANF fraud risks and is a part of a series of reports reviewing TANF.

The Office of Family Assistance’s TANF Outcomes Technical Assistance and Logistics (TOTAL) team will host a webinar on June 17, 2025 at 3:00 p.m. ET to review key definitions, eligibility rules, and case studies related to the new Secondary School Attainment Rate reporting requirement. They will discuss the data that needs to be collected, possible data sources, and how to calculate the secondary attainment rates.

This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network primer was developed to offer service providers basic information about federal programs that can be used to finance kinship services and programs. Information for each source includes which federal agency administers the funding source, services the funding source can finance, and basic eligibility information. This funding primer is not intended to be an in-depth explanation of each source but, rather, a high-level overview that can be used to aid further research.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief report describes the ways in which Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policies vary within the context of the federal program requirements and includes dozens of detailed tables showing policy choices across each state and territory.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief provides a graphical overview of some of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy differences across states and territories. It includes information about initial eligibility, benefit amounts, work and activity requirements, and ongoing eligibility and time limits.

As the TANF program nears its 30th year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to reinforcing the program’s core values of personal responsibility and work as a pathway to reduced dependency and family self-sufficiency. The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA) authorized a new opportunity for states to pilot program performance and accountability measures in TANF. Pub. L. No. 118-5, § 302. The pilot can play a pivotal role in the design of modern approaches to moving work-eligible individuals into the labor force, while providing critical insights on ways to operationalize personal responsibility. To align with Trump Administration priorities, ACF is issuing a new request for pilot proposals and encourages all states and territories, including members of the prior cohort of applicants, to submit a proposal. The up to five pilot states will focus on moving TANF recipients from dependency to independence by promoting work, personal responsibility, and strong, stable families as the foundations of self-sufficiency. This draft request for proposals is available for public comment. Email any comments on the proposed collection of information to infocollection@acf.hhs.gov for consideration by ACF.