Families often need more than a single service to achieve lasting economic mobility. As a facilitation model for building long-term collaboration between communities, public systems, and nonprofit partners, the Blue Sky Possibilities Framework encourages organizations to think broadly about family well-being and identify opportunities to better support children, parents, and caregivers. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, the framework can serve as a planning and discussion tool for exploring how programs can address both immediate needs and long-term goals. It helps TANF staff consider what conditions support family success and where partnerships, policies, or services may create stronger outcomes.

Updated by the American Bar Association each June, this webpage pulls together events and family stories focused on National Family Reunification Month, offering practical resources on what helps families heal and reconnect after separation. This page is a strong reminder that reunification is an ongoing process that requires coordinated support. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) practitioners, this webpage is a useful touchpoint to find useful materials and connect with national conversations and state events. These resources can reinforce to the families you serve that their goal of coming back together is worth the fight.

The NEW Annual Program Report helps Tribal programs document employment and training activities, participant outcomes, and the services being provided to Native individuals and families. The Office of Family Assistance developed and published this fillable program report form with instructions for NEW grant recipients. For Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and NEW practitioners, this resource provides useful guidance on how to successfully complete the form, as well as track program impact, strengthen reporting practices, and better understand how workforce services are supporting participants on pathways toward employment and economic stability. Programs can also use the report to identify trends, strengthen partnerships, and support planning efforts that reflect the needs and priorities of Tribal communities.

The Office of Family Assistance developed and provided these reporting instructions, designed to help Tribal TANF programs accurately complete required financial reporting. While financial reporting guidance can often feel overwhelming, these instructions break down what information needs to be reported and how Tribal TANF programs can stay aligned with federal requirements.

For Tribal TANF administrators and financial staff, the instructions help reduce confusion around reporting expectations and support stronger program management. Accurate reporting is essential for demonstrating how TANF funds are being used to support families and communities. Tribal TANF programs can use this resource to strengthen internal processes, train staff, and improve consistency across reporting activities. It also serves as a helpful reference for newer staff members who may be unfamiliar with Tribal TANF financial reporting requirements.

As part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, all states are required to submit the Secondary School Diploma or its Recognized Equivalent Attainment Rate report annually, with the first report due on November 14, 2027. This outcome measure is intended to help federal and state policymakers to better understand the effectiveness of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families programs in promoting successful education credential attainment. States have some flexibility in determining the data sources used to create this report. For states planning to collect administrative records, this document is both a roadmap and a checklist that assists you with creating the report and includes additional resources. We suggest that you work through the steps in this document with your team.

The Office of Family Assistance’s TANF Outcomes Technical Assistance and Logistics (TOTAL) team delivers training and technical assistance to state TANF programs and partners responding to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA). The team hosted their April office hours on April 29th, 2026 to review the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), which is a database of individual-level employment and earnings information maintained by the Office of Child Support Enforcement. This session included an introduction to the NDNH and provided an overview of the Administration of Children and Families’ (ACF) Updates on Work Outcomes Calculations. The updates include how ACF calculates the three FRA work outcome measures, how NDNH limitations show up in the data, how to interpret provisional results, and what Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs’ reports look like.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced a new childcare reform package aimed at making childcare more affordable, expanding access for families, and increasing parental choice. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, this announcement is especially important because childcare challenges often affect whether parents can participate in work, education, or training activities consistently. The announcement helps TANF practitioners understand emerging federal priorities and how childcare policy may continue to evolve to better support working families.

This ACF resource can also help TANF practitioners identify opportunities to strengthen coordination between TANF and childcare systems while reducing barriers that prevent parents from maintaining employment. The reforms emphasize flexibility and accessibility, which may be particularly valuable for families with non-traditional work schedules or limited local childcare options. By staying informed about these changes, TANF staff can better connect families to supports that promote stability and long-term economic mobility.

Frequent eligibility checks can create administrative strain for both Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) staff and the families they serve. This American Public Human Services Association resource addresses that challenge directly by exploring how automation—when designed with client consent—can simplify the verification process through tools such as Argyle. Automation is an effective way to reduce workload while also minimizing disruptions for families who rely on benefits. TANF programs can use these ideas to rethink how redetermination is handled, making processes more efficient without losing sight of client trust and accessibility.

For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, access to reliable data is essential: not just for eligibility verification through systems like the Income and Eligibility Verification System (IEVS), but for understanding how families interact with multiple government assistance programs over time. This on-demand webinar recording from the National Center for Education Statistics explores how State-Level Data Systems (SLDS) support that broader view by integrating data across partners.

The value for TANF practitioners is how this resource connects the dots between systems. For example, IEVS provides critical verification data, but SLDS creates the structure that allows agencies to manage, share, and use that data alongside other sources. This webinar highlights how governance, data-sharing agreements, and coordinated practices make that integration possible. TANF staff can use these insights to improve how their programs collaborate with partner agencies, strengthen data quality, and make more informed decisions. It supports more coordinated service delivery and a clearer understanding of outcomes for the families TANF serves.