Benefits Program: TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
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Using TANF Funds to Provide Cash to Families
This guide outlines how states can use TANF funds to provide direct cash assistance to families, particularly through flexible mechanisms like nonrecurrent short-term benefits (NRSTs).
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2024 Edition: Account Creation and Identity Proofing in Online Public Benefits Applications
In December 2024, the Digital Benefits Network released an updated open dataset on authentication and identity proofing requirements across various public benefits applications to highlight best practices and areas for improvement in identity management.
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Making Integrated Benefits Easy to Access Online and on Mobile Phones
This resource describes how different agencies have updated their systems to increase online and mobile access to benefits information and applications, including using text messages to share benefits information with residents.
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ACCESS NYC Github
Github page with ACCESS NYC’s code for benefits outreach and eligibility.
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Laying New Foundations: An Anti-Racist Framework for Reimagining Medicaid, CHIP, TANF, & CCDF
This report puts forth a visionary framework with principles for anti-racist policymaking, focusing on Medicaid, CHIP, TANF, and CCDF.
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Simple Changes Can Make a Big Difference for Clients Accessing Government Benefits
Our work with Pennsylvania to implement user experience and user interface changes shows that innovation can be easier to implement than it might seem.
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TANF Data Collaborative Pilot: Housing Transitions in New Jersey
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative is a component of the TANF Data Innovation project. The 30-month pilot offered technical assistance and training to support cross-disciplinary teams of staff at eight state and county TANF programs in the routine use of TANF and other administrative data to inform policy and practice.
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Exemplary Data Use by State TANF Agencies: Beyond Routine Reports and Analyses
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) leaders, policymakers, and researchers all recognize the need for TANF agencies to use the data they collect to better understand how well their programs are working and how to improve them, given the impact on the families they serve. It is often difficult, however, for agencies already stretched to capacity to prioritize and execute data use and analytics. State TANF leaders are seeking roadmaps for how to transform their organizations and become data-driven.
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Benefits Cliffs Coaching with the Atlanta Fed’s CLIFF Tools: Implementation Evaluation of the National Pilot
The Atlanta Fed’s CLIFF tools provide greater transparency to workers about potential public assistance losses when their earnings increase. We find three broad themes in organization-level implementation of the CLIFF tools: identifying the tar- get population of users; integrating the tool into existing operations; and integrating the tool into coaching sessions.
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Improving Outcomes for Families Through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative
This nine-minute video, produced after the completion of the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC) Pilot, features staff members from the California, Colorado, Minnesota, and Virginia TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the pilot. In particular, they describe their research questions and discuss building data capacity, integrating datasets, networking with other states, increasing collaboration between state and county agencies, learning new technical skills, and the benefits of being able to draw from diverse skillsets, all within the context of the TDC Pilot.
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Project Snapshot: Reimagining the Role of Real Estate in Benefits Delivery
Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) modernized their service delivery by reducing their real estate footprint, designing trauma-informed and user-friendly spaces, and expanding an embedded worker program to improve accessibility and client experience. Through their "Service First" strategy, OKDHS aims to create more equitable and compassionate interactions, reaching vulnerable populations while addressing high occupancy costs.
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Five Things You May Not Know about the US Social Safety Net
A snapshot of the safety net’s reach, who might be most affected by changes to safety net programs, and what it will look like going forward.