This Institute for Family Studies resource outlines seven policy approaches states can use to support marriage, family stability, and economic wellbeing — including relationship education, shared parenting supports, income policies, and community-based initiatives. For TANF programs, this resource offers concrete ideas that can inform program design, partnerships, and policy alignment, such as integrating relationship skills into employment services, coordinating with child support and parenting programs, and considering how benefits and work policies affect family stability. TANF leaders can use this perspective to identify opportunities where family-strengthening strategies and economic supports reinforce one another to improve outcomes for parents and children.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced the appointment of Wendy Horman as Director of the Office of Child Care (OCC) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. For Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, leadership within the OCC is closely connected to TANF’s statutory focus on work preparation, employment, and family economic improvement. Access to stable childcare remains a critical support that enables parents to participate in job search, training, and employment activities. As director, Horman will lead the OCC within the Office of Early Childhood Education and work to strengthen the Child Care Development Fund, the United States’ largest national voucher program, which provides states with funding to help low-income families access childcare. Her work will focus on supporting families and improving child outcomes, empowering states and programs to improve alignment with local approaches to services, and eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy to deliver maximum benefit to the families ACF serves.

Low literacy and numeracy are prevalent among TANF participants and can be barriers to pursuing education, job training, and employment. Improving literacy and numeracy may improve employment outcomes as adults with higher literacy levels tend to earn more and experience greater job stability.

This tipsheet provides TANF leaders with practical guidance on why and how to use TANF resources to support basic skills development to improve employment outcomes. By investing in foundational skills, TANF agencies can promote long-term self-sufficiency and reduced dependence on government benefits.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) has posted the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) financial data tables, along with national and state pie charts.

• In FY 2024, combined federal TANF and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures and transfers totaled $37.5 billion.
• 33 states used less than half of their TANF and MOE funds on the combination of basic assistance; work, education, and training activities; and childcare.
• By the end of FY 2024, states had a total of $8 billion in federal TANF unobligated balances. With the addition of federal unliquidated obligations, the amount of unspent federal TANF funds nationwide totaled $9.7 billion.

TANF agencies can review these resources for more information on how TANF and MOE funds were used in FY 2024.

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 January office hours on January 22, 2026 to review the Work Outcomes of TANF Exiters Report submission requirements and share observations from previous report submissions and learn from states’ experiences. This session included an introduction to the FRA Outcomes Working Groups and the sign-up process.

This checklist helps TANF agencies identify issues and prepare the Work Outcomes of TANF Exiters Report. The checklist is optional and does not need to be submitted, but using it is recommended to ensure an accurate report and a smooth submission process. If you have any questions or issues related to the report, please contact TANFData@acf.hhs.gov.

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 September office hours on September 25, 2025 to review steps to obtain administrative education data from state education agencies or state longitudinal data systems. This session included a presentation from states about their experiences and a group discussion what additional supports are needed to meet the FRA requirements.

This guide helps TANF leaders and staff understand the full spectrum of potential fraud risks relevant to programs funded with TANF funds. TANF leaders and staff can use it to:

• Build collective fraud risk knowledge across your agency;
• Understand whether risks are person-based, system-based, or hybrid;
• Apply the WHO-HOW-WHAT framework to assess fraud scenarios; or
• Review fraud prevention strategies that can help mitigate these risks. 

This framework helps TANF agency leaders understand and implement separation of duties—a critical fraud prevention control required by federal regulations. TANF agency leaders can use it to: 

• Understand why separation of duties matters for program integrity;
• Review the national context and real financial impact of fraud;
• See how to structure your organization with proper separation;
• Identify the four critical functions that must never be combined; or
• Learn key control points and adaptations for small agencies.

This resource outlines the Fiscal Responsibility Act Outcomes (FRA) Working Groups. These small virtual groups will meet several times in 2026 to explore FRA reporting topics and to share ideas and challenges. Two groups are currently planned: one on administering surveys and one on collecting administrative records. Additional groups may be added based on interest.

For those interested in signing up for one or both of these working groups, please fill out the interest form at the bottom of this resource.