Benefits Program: TANF: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
-
Digital Identity Dataset: Digital Authentication and Identity Proofing in Public Benefits Applications
On May 19, 2023, the Digital Benefits Network published a new, open dataset documenting authentication and identity proofing requirements across online SNAP, WIC, TANF, Medicaid, child care (CCAP) applications, and unemployment insurance applications.
-
Policy TANF Data Collaborative UI Wage Data Toolkit
This GitHub repository includes resources that users of the UI wage data toolkit may find helpful. It covers a variety of topics, including equity, data security, programming, and data QC tips. It also serves as a place for our team to continue to post information that the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC) pilot sites found useful during our partnerships with them.
-
Policy 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.
-
Policy Unpacking Data Use in State TANF Agencies: Insights from the TANF Data Innovation Needs Assessment
Policymakers, program administrators, federal leaders, researchers, and advocates are increasingly focused on using administrative data to build evidence for improving government programs. Achieving this goal requires accessible data sources and the capacity to use them, yet stakeholders have little information about the baseline level of state capacity in these areas. How does one measure concepts such as “effective data use” and “analytic capacity?” This brief reports findings from a pioneering and comprehensive needs assessment that examined the capacity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs in 54 U.S. states and territories to analyze data used for program improvement, monitoring, and evidence-building. The needs assessment provides a foundation for technical assistance and continued improvement for the TANF program and may also provide valuable insights and frameworks for other state-administered human services programs.
-
Policy Increasing Data Analytics Capacity in State TANF Agencies: The TANF Data Collaborative Approach
Government agencies at all levels collect administrative data in the course of their day-to-day operations. While such information has been used to determine effectiveness through program evaluations for many years, program administrators view it increasingly as a valuable resource that can also be used to improve program performance. For example, administrative data from employment and public benefits programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) can offer insights into families’ unmet needs and ways to improve services.
-
Human-Centered Design Making Public Benefits More Accessible in Minnesota
This report highlights work with Minnesota and includes nine suggestions for states seeking to launch their own integrated benefits applications
-
Diversity, Equity + Inclusion Elevating Family Input in TANF and Child Support Programs: Resources for Program Staff, Leaders, and Families
This expansive toolkit provides guidance, real world examples, and resources to help TANF and child support programs engage the families they serve in improving service delivery, policy, and program operations.
-
Human-Centered Design Benefits Enrollment Field Guide
The Benefits Enrollment Field Guide looks at the landscape of America’s safety net benefits experience in 2023 and tracks the differences from our 2019 assessment based on expanded evaluation criteria. It also highlights successful paths to equitable, human-centered experiences. It examines online enrollment for Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and WIC.
-
Strategies for Improving Public Benefits Access and Retention
This report presents a menu of strategies that have the potential to increase access to individual public benefit programs or a package of benefits. It focuses on Illinois, but the strategies identified are relevant throughout the country.
-
Public Benefits Delivery & Consumer Protection
This Issue Spotlight explores the challenges that recipients of public benefits programs offering cash assistance encounter in accessing funds through financial products or services, with a specific focus on assistance provided on prepaid cards.
-
Engineering + Software Development Vermont: Piloting A Document Uploader For Benefit Eligibility
Nava built flexible and reusable software and design components to make it easier for Vermonters to access their benefits. These components support Vermont’s long-term vision of integrating eligibility and enrollment processes for all of the state’s healthcare and financial benefit programs.
-
Increasing Security and Equity in Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT)
There has been exponential growth in benefits theft by criminals who are “cloning and skimming” EBT cards, leaving thousands of families with drained accounts and limited recourse in getting back their benefits. In this webinar, a panel of experts discuss what states can do right now to improve EBT security, how to use data to analyze theft patterns, and how EBT payment technology needs to evolve to ensure efficiency, security, and dignity for beneficiaries.