Topic: Policy
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System Alignment for Young Families: Shifting Human Services to Improve Well-Being for Parents Under 24 and Their Children
This brief highlights key takeaways from APHSA’s work on young families, starting with an overview of the young families work and its early years, followed by key takeaways and highlights from its final year, ending with opportunities for future work in the young families space.
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Moving Child Care Assistance Applications Online Means More Families Get the Help They Deserve
Hennepin County, Minnesota, implemented an online application system for child care assistance, resulting in increased applications, faster benefit distribution, and reduced administrative burdens.
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Building and Sustaining Data Analytics Capacity: The TANF Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative Final Report
This report focuses on the TANF Data Collaborative (TDC) component of the TANF Data Innovation (TDI) project.
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Core Principles for TANF Modernization: A Legislative Framework for TANF Refo
Working with TANF administrators and human services leaders across the country, the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) embraces the call to reimagine how TANF can work in support of the families it serves and has established a set of TANF Modernization Core Principles to guide our vision for the future of TANF. Grounded in these Core Principles, APHSA’s members have laid out a legislative framework to unlock the potential of TANF. We call upon Congress to use this framework as a starting point to build common ground to achieve a TANF reauthorization that promotes a more equitable and prosperous future for all Americans.
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Re-Envisioning TANF: Toward an Anti-Racist Program That Meaningfully Serves Families
An America where no one experiences poverty is possible. Already, the U.S. has programs with the potential to make this vision a reality, including programs that provide cash assistance, like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The current TANF program provides very little cash assistance and is marked by stark racial disparities, but it has the potential to reduce child poverty, increase economic security, and advance racial equity. This report offers a vision for an anti-racist approach to the TANF program, with new statutory goals and policy recommendations to advance racial justice.
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Six Recommendations for Implementing the Next Stimulus Package
The US Digital response partnered with dozens of states, counties, and cities to support them in using and tracking CARES Act grants. This article presents six lessons learned from their work to help governments better assist residents, particularly small businesses and low-income communities.
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Improvements in Public Programs’ Customer Service Experiences Could Better Meet Enrollees’ Needs and Help Build Trust in Government
This resource examines how improvements in customer service experiences in public benefit programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and TANF can help better meet enrollees’ needs and build trust in government.
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Implementing Paid Family and Medical Leave: Lessons for State Administrators from Research in New Jersey
The "Implementing Paid Family and Medical Leave" report examines New Jersey's experience with paid leave programs, offering insights and recommendations for effective policy design and implementation.
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IRS Direct File Pilot Program Filing Season 2024 After Action Report
The IRS Direct File Pilot Program After Action Report evaluates the 2024 pilot of a free, government-run tax filing system, assessing taxpayer participation, user experience, and potential for future expansion.
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Early Insights on SNAP Modernization through American Rescue Plan Investments
This brief shares findings from a November 2021 survey of state SNAP agencies about their use of the SNAP ARPA funds in fiscal year 2021, and their initial planned activities for fiscal year 2022 and 2023.
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What Government Programs Should Measure: How Well They Help People
It is necessary give the public servants who manage safety-net systems the technology tools and incentives to track critical outcomes and meet people where they are.
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C-STAT: Achieving Results for Colorado – Summary Report
This report describes C-Stat 2.0, an updated version of the the Colorado Department of Human Services’ performance-based analysis strategy that allows them to better focus on and improve performance outcomes that enhance people’s lives.