Video recordings of the plenary and concurrent breakout sessions are now available for the Virtual Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) 2022, convened by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in the Administration for Children and Families, held June 1 - 3, 2022. The conference recordings include sessions on the following topics:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Programs, Policies, and Populations
• Employment and Mobility in the Labor Market
• Youth Well-Being and the Transition to Adulthood
• Strengthening Families, Fatherhood, Marriages, and Relationships
• Evaluating Social Programs, Building Evidence, and Using Data
• Approaches to Alleviate Poverty and Expand Opportunity

The American Public Human Services Association has published a blog series entitled, The Core: A Cutting Edge Blog Series Getting to the Core of Modern TANF Reform. This series takes a detailed look at TANF and the ways in which TANF agencies, aligned systems, and community voices are thinking differently about TANF programs and how they can help families succeed long-term and get to the root of barriers communities face to promote opportunity for all. This blog entry, authored by Erin Oalican, Director of Reach Up (Vermont’s TANF Program), examines Vermont’s process in focusing Reach Up’s mission, vision, and practice on joining Vermont families on their respective journeys.

This dataset covers the FY 2021 state work participation rates from October 2020 through September 2021. The data tables include state-by-state information on topics including combined TANF and SSP-MOE Work Participation Rates, TANF and SSP-MOE Families Work Participation Rates, and Changes in Combined Work Participation Rates.

Most people working in human services accept that gathering and using family input improves direct service programs. However, this approach is still emerging and has a limited evidence base. Some human services programs already engage families in program improvement regularly, but this practice is less common in TANF and child support programs. This brief summarizes available literature and practice wisdom on gathering and using family input in program improvement across the human services field, with a particular focus on TANF and child support programs. It provides concrete examples and considerations for practitioners and administrators of child support, TANF, and other human services programs interested in engaging families in program improvement.

Successful reintegration into society following engagement with the criminal justice system depends on being able to meet basic needs including those for food, shelter, and medical care, as well as having access to employment and training programs. According to this brief, TANF and SNAP are critical programs that help people meet their basic needs. However, people who have been incarcerated usually face significant challenges and are frequently disqualified from receiving benefits from these programs. Public assistance such as TANF and SNAP consistently reduces recidivism, while banning access to assistance has been linked to increases in recidivism. Lifting the ban on safety net supports reduces material hardship for formerly incarcerated people, who are exceedingly paid low earnings, and also helps their families. The brief includes a discussion of which states have lifted or modified the ban and highlights one state that had previously lifted the ban and then partially reinstated it.

This letter from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to its colleagues states that losing a parent or caregiver has become an ongoing tragedy for children and youth caused by the co-occurring COVID-19 and drug overdose crises, as well as increases in suicides and homicides. ACF is committed to partnering with grant recipients and state and local stakeholders to ensure that children, youth, and families who have lost a parent or caregiver are supported and connected with the services and resources they need to find stability again. The letter includes a list of resources and programs such as TANF to support families after parent and caregiver loss.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) are aware of increasing reports of benefit theft through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card skimming schemes. These agencies are also aware of the devastating impact the loss of benefits can have on participating households. FNS and ACF encourage states to use fraud prevention options by informing and enabling Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) households to opt into card security services that proactively protect their cards and PINs. This FNS resource identifies prevention measures that can be adopted to improve EBT card security while working towards longer-term strategies. Included in the resource are a list of card security services for client households, and a recommended list of actions state agencies can take to protect clients.

Social services programs are increasingly looking for ways to forecast which participants are likely to reach major milestones so they can tailor services and allocate resources. In recent years, some programs have explored advanced predictive modeling approaches that harness potentially millions of data points and may incorporate machine learning: a variety of algorithms that determine relationships between prediction measures and the outcome. While there is potential for social service programs to use advanced models, MDRC’s Center for Data Insights (CDI) has found that such methods are not always better at making reliable predictions and come with trade-offs. This post outlines CDI’s approach to predictive analytics, using illustrations from two studies: Career Pathways, a workforce training program, and Child First, a home visiting program.

This report details how states across the country are using flexible State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to boost income security, particularly for those who face structural barriers to building wealth and income and have been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. States have used some of this federal aid to expand income security programs, for example by increasing cash benefits provided through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), savings accounts for children from low-income families and people with low incomes, and one-time cash payments targeted to those with low incomes. By strengthening and expanding these programs with FRF, states can continue to improve the current and long-term well-being of individuals and families.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) will host its Annual Tribal Consultation meeting in person and virtually on Monday, October 31, 2022. During the session, ACF leadership will speak with Tribal leaders and discuss issues important to the tribes and ACF tribal program priorities. The in-person meeting will take place at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California from 8:30 a.m. to 12 noon PT. Virtual participation will also occur at 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Alaska time, 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. MT, 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT, and 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET.