Families across the nation have been hit hard by the recent economic recession and TANF families and other low-income families have disproportionately witnessed increased poverty, unemployment, and underemployment. The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions VI and VIII convened the Improving Families’ Well-Being during Challenging Times: 2011 Bi-Regional TANF and Tribal TANF Directors ’ Conference in Denver, Colorado, on August 1-4, 2011 to discuss the impact on TANF programs and foster peer dialogue around practical solutions to challenges facing TANF programs and recipients. This year’s conference provided State and Tribal TANF Directors from Regions VI and VIII with the opportunity to engage with Federal, State and Tribal partners through interactive sessions and discussions around promising program models and strategies for improving service delivery to families. Over the conference's four days, attendees engaged in a variety of sessions that included specific topic areas such as the impact of the recent recession on low-income families and State policy responses to the recession. The participants also engaged in discussions and informative workshops on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, increased program efficiencies and streamlined services, enhancing career pathways, TANF Flexibility and Reauthorization, effective assessment and service options for domestic violence survivors, Tribal and State TANF child welfare and kinship care, improving State-Tribal relations, preventing fraud, waste and abuse, and Tribal TANF program accountability and implementation.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions V and VII hosted 14 Tribes, community stakeholders and topical experts at the 2011 Tribal TANF Meeting in Prior Lake, Minnesota on August 16th and 17th, 2011. The conference agenda featured experts and presenters who helped Tribal TANF programs strategize to develop stronger programs that would better serve their participants. Presenters discussed reauthorization, working with State governments, managing data, meeting fiscal requirements and other critical issues relevant to the Tribes in Regions V and VII. The meeting was designed with ample opportunity for Tribal TANF programs to share amongst themselves, interact with their Tribal Council members and ACF.

The Chippewa Cree Tribal TANF Program, operating on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana, recently submitted a Technical Assistance Request to Welfare Peer TA on developing a formal process/model to guide their case managers in delivering wraparound case management to TANF participants. As a result, Welfare Peer TA contracted with the U.C. Davis Extension at the University of California, Sacramento to deliver the Chippewa Cree Tribal Wraparound Services Training on April 26–27, 2011. The training focused on the background and implementation of the wraparound services model and included an in-depth action planning session.

Research and statistics indicate that Native women are victims of violence at rates much higher than their non-native counterparts. This violence can include domestic violence, sexual assault, and physical assault by strangers. The violence and its effects are often significant barriers to work and self sufficiency for Tribal TANF participants along with lasting emotional, physical and spiritual scars. The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network sponsored a Webinar entitled, "Domestic Violence and TANF Partnership in Indian Country" on June 27th at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. Topics included models for partnering with domestic violence agencies, culturally appropriate ways of handling domestic violence when working with Native survivors and an overview of resources available for engaging Native survivors.

The economic and social needs in many Tribal communities are substantial. Poverty and related social challenges have long provided American Indian and Alaska Native Nations increased reason to improve economic development while enhancing service delivery for Tribal members. To aid in the development of comprehensive strategies to improve the available services for Tribal TANF participants, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region X hosted the Tribal TANF Conference in Tulalip, Washington on September 27-29, 2010. The 2-and-a-half day conference highlighted a variety of topics including data management, subsidized employment, emergency preparedness, client assessment, responsible fatherhood, domestic violence, self-sufficiency programming, and non-custodial parent services.

For many years Tribal communities throughout Arizona have been challenged to meet the economic needs of low-income residents. Many Tribal communities suffer from high unemployment and low educational attainment and are hampered economically by low-income levels. On September 1-2, 2010, to respond to the ongoing and specific needs of Tribes in Arizona, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region IX hosted a Tribal TANF meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. The meeting focused on comprehensive case management for Tribal TANF participants, administrative guidance, job creation, data management, and program development. As requested by the participants of the 2009 Tribal TANF meetings in ACF Region IX all care was used to develop a more interactive session between presenters and participants. As a result, the 2010 ACF Region IX Tribal TANF meetings were developed as discussion forums and there are no additional printed resources available at this time. For any additional information on these meetings, please contact ACF Region IX.

For many Tribal communities throughout the Pacific West the challenges of meeting the self-sufficiency needs of Tribal members have increased during the economic downturn. Improving the responsiveness and applicability of Tribal TANF programs requires strategic thinking and broad visioning and as a result the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Region IX organized a two-part training and technical assistance meeting for Tribes in California and Nevada. The meetings—hosted in San Francisco, California—were held August 16-17, 2010 and October 18-19, 2010 and were targeted to the specific program needs of Tribal TANF programs throughout the region. Specific topics included organizational assessment and strategic planning, capacity building, program assessments, data management and usage, and client assessment. As requested by the participants of the 2009 Tribal TANF meetings in ACF Region IX all care was used to develop a more interactive session between presenters and participants. As a result, the 2010 ACF Region IX Tribal TANF meetings were developed as discussion forums and there are no additional printed resources available at this time. For any additional information on these meetings, please contact ACF Region IX.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions V and VII hosted the Tribal TANF in the Heartland 2010 Meeting on August 11-12, 2010. The goal of the meeting was to help Tribal programs develop responsive and comprehensive Tribal TANF programs, especially in times of economic recession. Sessions included a variety of topics including case management, job creation, domestic violence, and fiscal management. This roundtable style event included presentations from experts in various fields and the opportunity for Tribal TANF representatives to share and network with their peers in innovative peer sharing and learning sessions.

While still facing serious fiscal and programmatic challenges, the White Mountain Apache Tribe (WMAT) site felt strongly that their TANF program required an infusion of evidence-based practices and ideas that had successfully moved Tribal TANF participants into higher levels of self-sufficiency. WMAT identified the Navajo Nation Tribal TANF system as the case management model they hoped to replicate and a site visit was conducted in September 2009. During the site visit, five staff members from WMAT met with leadership from the Navajo Department of Workforce Development and the Program for Self Reliance to discuss Tribal TANF operations, cost efficient service delivery, serving remote Tribal TANF participants, and other case management strategies. The WMAT site visit to the Navajo Nation and the subsequent introduction of numerous promising strategies served as a valuable asset in the redesign of their Tribal Family Assistance Plan (TFAP). The principles of self-reliance and cultural values within the context of TANF, concepts they explored with the Navajo Nation, have become important components of their new TFAP.

In recognition of the many case management and economic development challenges and opportunities present on Tribal lands, the Office of Family Assistance, in partnership with the Administration for Children and Families Regions VI and VIII, convened a series of Tribal Roundtable events to help address and capitalize on some of these issues. Attended by staff from sixteen different Tribal governments, the Roundtable series took place April 12-15 in Denver, Colorado, and featured three major sessions: Identifying Opportunities for Economic Development In Indian Country Roundtable; ACF Regions VI and VIII Tribal TANF Administrators Meeting, and; Identifying and Implementing Effective Case Management Strategies Workshop. With assistance from Federal and Regional staff and nationally recognized content experts and practitioners, Roundtable participants focused on a number of issues critical to the success and continued sustainability of their TANF programs. Topics covered during the Roundtable Series included job creation, green technologies, guidance on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, and case management strategies that empower and motivate TANF participants and staff. Roundtable attendees were provided with tools, promising program models, and resources to assist in their local economic development, case management design, and program development efforts.