In response to higher effective work participation rates that followed the reauthorization of the TANF program in 2005, states added new policies and programs that divert eligible families from the TANF system. This report describes states’ policies on and experiences with diversion....

Privatizing welfare services poses significant challenges to state and local agencies. This study of TANF case management privatization in six states looks at issues such as deciding the size and scope of contracts, selecting contractors, promoting competition, ensuring effective and fair...

To address challenges faced by hard-to-employ TANF clients, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, in partnership with the Nebraska Health and Human Services System, operated the Building Nebraska Families (BNF) program from 2002 to 2005. The initiative combined intensive home visitation...

Profiles the efforts of four states—FL, OR, TN, and UT—to address welfare recipients' mental health conditions, which are often barriers to employment. Notes that these conditions, which occur at substantially higher rates in welfare recipients than in the general population, can...

Examines welfare offices' use of "intermediaries"--private or public organizations that act as brokers between the welfare system and employers--noting that a broad range of organizations act as intermediaries, including nonprofit and for-profit organizations, public sector agencies, and...

Assessment is often the first step in helping TANF recipients living with a disability find and maintain employment. This brief describes five different approaches to assessment: disability screening, psychosocial assessments, clinical and psychological assessments, functional needs assessments,...

Describes the administrative framework and key components of a statewide transitional employment program for hard-to-employ TANF recipients nearing the time limit. Notes that program success requires program administrators and staff to think “outside the box†and concludes that clients...

Pathways is a set of protocols and other tools to help welfare office staff support their clients in the transition to employment. It was launched in 1995 by Project Match and is based on the philosophy of "universal engagement" central to most TANF reauthorization proposals. This brief reviews...

This brief profiles three programs, two statewide and one local, that provide work opportunities to TANF recipients participating in vocational education. The programs combine vocational education and paid work, a strategy that allows recipients to further their education while reinforcing the...

This brief summarizes the other briefs in this series and includes some additional material. It describes four broad strategies: (1) new work opportunities for TANF recipients, (2) administrative strategies, (3) TANF policy changes, and (4) creation of new programs.