The ACF Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a webinar to summarize the open Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM): Strengthening TANF as a Safety Net and Work Program and instructed interested parties on how to submit a formal comment.

The NPRM is intended to strengthen TANF's role in supporting family well-being and work, as well as creating additional accountability for states to ensure TANF funds serve their intended purpose, while maintaining state flexibility. 

Review the recording here as you are preparing to submit formal comments on the NPRM for HHS consideration. Comments are due December 1, 2023. HHS welcomes comments from all affected parties and will closely review and consider every comment it receives. We refer you to the NPRM on information on how to submit comments if you wish to do so. 

If you have questions about the webinar, please email TANFquestions@acf.hhs.gov. 

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the revisions to instructions for TANF data report (Forms ACF-199 and ACF-209), with a focus on key, substantive changes. The changes made to the TANF Data Report instructions are intended to streamline the data collection and eliminate unnecessary data elements. The instructions were also revised to clarify confusing instructions and improve data quality. OFA hopes this session will help states and territories more efficiently and accurately report data on their TANF caseloads, beginning with the first quarter FY 2024 data, due February 14, 2024.

Please review the recording here.

In 2019, Code for America conducted a nationwide study of enrollment in public benefits programs (including TANF), identifying success rates, pain points, and suggested changes for improving access for citizens and lessening the load on caseworkers. Four years later, an updated Benefits Enrollment Field Guide has been published, chronicling how the last few years have seen a new approach to public benefits programs take root—an approach aimed at making significant improvements to citizens’ enrollment experiences and end-to-end benefits journey —thanks to faster and more accurate responses from agencies leading to better outcomes. This American Public Human Services Association blogpost summarizes the updated guide, featuring the surveyed public programs, the four major roadblocks, and a notable success story in Washington D.C.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF) proposes to improve the effectiveness and integrity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) regulations. This Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would help families experiencing the greatest economic hardships benefit from the services that Congress intended for the TANF program to provide.

Specifically, the proposed rule puts forward for public comment seven changes to the current regulations that would increase program integrity, clarify allowable uses of TANF, and reduce obstacles for individuals trying to access support. These are:

• Establish a ceiling on the term "needy";
• Clarify when an expenditure is "reasonably calculated to accomplish a TANF purpose";
• Exclude as an allowable TANF maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures cash donations from non-governmental third parties and the value of third-party in-kind contributions;
• Ensure that excused holidays match the number of federal holidays, following the recognition of Juneteenth as a federal holiday;
• Develop new criteria to allow states to use alternative Income and Eligibility Verification Systems (IEVS) measures;
• Clarify the "significant progress" criteria following a work participation rate corrective compliance plan; and
• Clarify the existing regulatory text about the allowability of costs associated with the disseminating program information.

Comments on these proposed rules from all TANF partners and affected parties are due to HHS by December 1, 2023 and can be submitted via this form. 

The Division of Economic Independence (DEI), operated within the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), has primary responsibility for welfare and family self-sufficiency research. DEI’s publications are aimed to expand knowledge about how Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and other programs can best support the self-sufficiency and economic well-being of children and families with low incomes. This OPRE portfolio describes all the active or newly funded projects by DEI in Fiscal Year 2022. The document provides detailed summaries of each family self-sufficiency research project and highlights select findings.

This updated Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Emergency and Disaster Waivers and Flexibilities document contains programmatic and administrative information on each ACF program that has emergency waivers and flexibilities. It was developed by the Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response (OHSEPR) in collaboration with ACF Program Offices to emphasize an all-hazards approach; this means the waivers and flexibilities may apply to any potential disaster (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires) or public health emergency. Waivers refer to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ dispensations from rules or penalties that can assist grantees in preparing for or responding to an emergency or disaster. Flexibilities refer to authorities available to grantees under existing law or regulation that may be used to provide services or operate their federally funded programs to prepare for or respond to an emergency or disaster. Each program is the final authority on the application of its programs' waivers and flexibilities.

In observance of National Preparedness Month, the Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response, the Office of Family Assistance, and the Office of Community Services held a webinar on September 20, 2023. This webinar featured a panel discussion on an Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Dear Colleague Letter and a factsheet on post-disaster housing assistance for disaster survivors that may be available through four ACF programs. These programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Community Services Block Grant (CSBG), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 introduced changes that require states to report on specific employment and education outcomes for people after they stop receiving TANF cash assistance.  Mirroring the Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs, these measures cover employment, employment retention, employment earnings, and attainment of a high school degree. This Urban Institute fact sheet is a resource for states, federal staff, and agency leaders implementing the new law.  Drawing insights from the 2018 report called Measuring Employment Outcomes in TANF, the fact sheet helps explain the challenges and opportunities of measuring and interpreting employment outcomes.