Policy & Practice | April 2021

The Magazine of the American Public Human Services

Association April 2021

MovingBeyondStability Achieving Social and Economic Mobility

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contents

Vol. 79, No. 2 April 2021

features

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28

Cornerstone for Resilient Communities and a Revitalized Economy Policy Brief Core Principles for TANF Modernization

PROMISE Unleashing the Potential for Economic Mobility of Young People with Disabilities and Their Families

18

Blueprint for a Just & Equitable Future Washington State’s 10-Year Plan to Dismantle Poverty

departments

3 President’s Memo

Investing for the Future: The Possibility of the American Rescue Plan

24

5 Staff Spotlight Lofaine Bradford, Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator 5 Association News No Kid Hungry Invests $2 Million in Innovative SNAP Efforts in Six States; APHSA to Provide Technical Assistance

6 Research Corner

Human Services Delivery During COVID-19 (Fourth in a Series) Service Delivery: Why the Human Services Sector Must Shift to Measuring True Outcomes

EVOLVE: A Framework for Integration

36 Race Equity Champion Lori Pfingst, Senior Director at the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services

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April 2021 Policy&Practice

APHSA Executive Governing Board

Chair David A. Hansell , Commissioner, New York City Administration for Children's Services, NewYork, NY Vice Chair Brenda Donald , Director, DC Child and Family Services Agency, Washington, DC Treasurer Reiko Osaki, President and Founder, Ikaso Consulting, Burlingame, CA Leadership Council Chair S. Duke Storen, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Social Services, Richmond, VA Member at Large Rodney Adams, Former Director, Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources, Charlotte, NC Affinity Group Chair Vacant Local Council Chair Vacant

Elected Director Derrik Anderson, Executive Director, Race Matters for Juvenile Justice, Charlotte, NC Elected Director Anne Mosle, Vice President, The Aspen Institute and Executive Director, Ascend at the Aspen Institute, Washington, DC Elected Director Kathy Park, CEO, National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD), Madison, WI Elected Director Dannette R. Smith, CEO, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Lincoln, NE Elected Director Jennifer Sullivan, Secretary, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, Indianapolis, IN Immediate Past Chair David Stillman, Assistant Secretary, Economic Services Administration, Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Olympia, WA

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president‘smemo By Tracy Wareing Evans

Investing for the Future: The Possibility of the American Rescue Plan

A s we usher in the welcome signs of spring—sunshine and warmer temperatures, birds chirping outside our home office windows, kids (and parents) able to enjoy some much needed outside activities—we also see other important signals of hope and possibility. More than 3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being admin istered each day. There are concrete signs of a stronger economy as unem ployment numbers drop and jobs grow in multiple sectors. Also, last month Congress passed much-needed relief for families and communities through a major economic stimulus package—the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The ARP supports a lifeline for families impacted by the pandemic this past year, like housing, utilities (including water and broadband), child care, and nutrition assistance. 1 It also makes an important down payment toward an equitable recovery by including upstream investments in maternal and paternal health; commu nity-based grants that support family well-being and prevent child maltreat ment; aging and disability supports; increased access to quality child care; and asset-building through child tax credits, among many others. Coupled with direct allocations to states and localities, including dedi cated resources to invest in building the workforce and technology infra structure, the ARP helps ensure that public agencies, and the community organizations they work alongside, can continue to meet the needs of people experiencing the most adver sity while striving to repair past harms and lay new tracks that advance

Indigenous communities of color. Through people-centered approaches that meet people where there are, we can embed preventive approaches that center families as the best architects of their future and equip them with what they need to prevent prolonged exposure to stress, help build resil iency, and adapt to adversity. Together we can help lift the weight of toxic stress that has been pressing down on families and communities. We can invest in technology and tools to modernize our delivery systems by engaging community members and the front-line workforce in the redesign to make systems work for people instead of the other way around. By tapping strategies already in our toolkit—like blending and

equity. 2 Notably, many investments in the ARP will extend beyond the duration of the public health emer gency and are explicitly designed to address the racial and economic injustices COVID-19 has exacerbated by positioning communities for a more equitable long-term recovery. 3 Furthermore, if Congress ultimately passes one or more infrastructure bills, the impact of these investments could be greatly amplified. In short, the opportunity before us is a game changer. We can make significant strides on pernicious issues by reducing child poverty, addressing health disparities, and closing wealth gaps , especially for the vastly dispro portionate impacts of generational poverty and community trauma experienced by Black, Brown, and

See President’s Memo on page 33

Illustration via Shutterstock

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Vol. 79, No. 2

www.aphsa.org

Policy & Practice™ (ISSN 1942-6828) is published six times a year by the American Public Human Services Association, 1300 N. 17th Street, Suite 340, Arlington, VA 22209. For subscription information, contact APHSA at (202) 682-0100 or visit the website at www.aphsa.org. Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. This magazine may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. The viewpoints expressed in contributors’ materials are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the policies or views of APHSA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Policy & Practice 1300 N. 17th Street, Suite 340, Arlington, VA 22209

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staff spotlight

Name: Lofaine Bradford Title: Knowledge Mobilization Coordinator Time at APHSA: Five months Life Before APHSA: After I graduated from college, in May 2019, I worked as a Research Associate at The Advisory Board Company, a health care consulting and research services firm. Priorities at APHSA: My priorities are supporting the policy team in day-to-day activities and providing support for cross-teaming. I manage projects for some of our grants and help engage membership and produce content.

What I Can Do for Our Members: I will work to support strategies to engage member and affinity groups through learning communities and other knowledge mobili zation strategies, including meeting planning and logistics. Best Way to Reach Me: I can be reached at lbradford@aphsa.org. When Not Working: I like listening to podcasts, reading, and spending time exploring the local Washington metropolitan (DMV) area. On weekends, I enjoy hiking and riding my bike. Motto to Live By: “Men must live and create. Live to the point of tears.” —Albert Camus association news

No Kid Hungry Invests $2 Million in Innovative SNAP Efforts in Six States; APHSA to Provide Technical Assistance S hare Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign will invest nearly $2 million in six states to advance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) agency innova tion and interagency coordination to combat childhood hunger. Each project will be carried out over an 18-month grant period with support from APHSA. Federal nutrition programs are critical antipoverty measures, and the state and local agencies that administer them play an essential role ensuring families can access these supports, getting their children the nutrition they need both at home and where they learn so they can grow up to be healthy and strong. The selected agencies will participate in cohort learning, sharing best prac tices and opportunities for policy and practice changes that reduce childhood hunger. No Kid Hungry and APHSA will work with a national advisory

grants will help agencies build modern platforms that remove systemic barriers for families to access the nutri tion supports they need to thrive.” Throughout the 18-month grant period, grantees will leverage data and technology improvements to address systemic barriers and promote equitable access to services. Grantees plan to reduce cross-departmental silos, facilitate community organiza tion engagement, and enhance client outreach and experience. The following grantees have been selected: Hawaii Department of Human Services; Kansas Department for Children and Families & Kansas Department of Health and Environment; Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (North Carolina); Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; New Jersey Department of Human Services; and NewMexico Human Services Department & NewMexico Department of Health, WIC Program. For more information, contact Adrienne Carter at acarter@strength.org.

committee to guide planning and provide technical assistance throughout the project. The advisory committee will provide expertise to grantees and is composed of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Code for America, the Center for Law and Social Policy and their Community Partnership Group, and the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “We know that SNAP is one of the most effective tools our nation has to feed kids, but it works hand in hand with school meals, WIC, and other child hood nutrition programs,” said Jillien Meier, Director of the No Kid Hungry campaign. “This exciting new initiative will allow us to gather best practices that lead to evidence-based policy change that can reduce childhood hunger.” “This strategic partnership with the No Kid Hungry campaign reflects exactly the kind of boundary-spanning systems alignment work that health and human services agencies seek to advance,” said Matt Lyons, Director of Policy and Research at APHSA. “The investments made through these

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research corner By Kathryne O’Grady, Samantha Iovan, and Marianne Udow-Phillips

EVOLVE: A Framework for Integration

I ntegrating health and human services is a complex, time consuming undertaking. Although integration efforts across the country provide us with rich examples and lessons learned, it is useful to have a theoretic model to guide our efforts. This article seeks to outline a thought model for the integration of health and human services—the EVOLVE Integration Model—that describes some of the key factors that must be considered in the development of a well functioning, sustainable, and integrated health and human services system. The EVOLVE Integration Model is flexible and fluid and can be applied to all levels of planning, from design through implementation. While we strongly recommend assessing the environment first, other sequences can be approached in any order, tailored to the specific needs of integration partners no matter where they are in the integration process.

Environment

since each system will have its own cultural and operational structures. For instance, North Carolina has a county-based child welfare system, yet its behavioral health system is region alized. Arizona also has a regionalized behavioral health system (although not all regions have tribal behavioral health services), but its child welfare system is state supervised with a cen tralized administrative system. All of this is significant when it’s time to merge systems. 3 To complete a readiness assessment, the integration team should engage indi viduals with an understanding of each of the essential systems. Individuals with Medicaid and information tech nology experience, for example, are significant partners in health and human services integration and should be included from the beginning. In addition, clients and other external stakeholders can provide a unique per spective on the existing environment.

Although the EVOLVE Integration Model is flexible, it is helpful to begin with an assessment that explores the cultural, political, operational, policy, and financial landscape to prepare for integration. Existing readiness assessments, 1 which are available in the public domain, can be modified for this purpose. Areas covered should include system administration and structure, workforce capacity, data management systems, funding, training, commu nication, political culture, regulatory context, mechanisms for quality assurance and evaluation, identified partners and champions, foreseen barriers and challenges, risk mitiga tion strategies, 2 and whatever else is unique to the system. The structure and daily operations for each of the systems involved in the integration effort should be explored,

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Values The challenging and meaningful work of health and human services integration is most effective when it includes a focus on shared values, such as racial equity and social and economic mobility. Values transcend all aspects of inte grative work. At the onset, it is helpful to know, at a minimum, if the health and human services systems at the center of the integration efforts share core values and competencies. For instance, do the individuals from each system agree to make their systems as person centered as possible? Are they willing to prioritize evidence-based programs? Are they committed to timely service delivery? Do they believe that client perspectives are critical? Are they committed to addressing health and racial disparities? Building a value proposition for each partner is a way to underscore the value each organization derives from participating in the inte gration process and to promoting an understanding of mutual and individu alized goals and interests. Once shared values have been identi fied, jointly defining an explicit set of principles to guide decision-making for integration is an important step. Some integration or coordinated service delivery models are predicated on a core set of values, such as the System of Care Model developed by Stroul and Friedman, 4 which emphasizes prin ciples of coordinated care and shared decision-making. 5 Such is the case in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where gov ernment agencies, providers, and the community work together to improve service delivery and access to care for youth and their families. 6 The model cannot be effectively implemented, however, without buy-in frommiddle management and top leadership, as well as agreement to a body of principles that reflect the shared value system. It is not necessary that one particular value model be employed for the inte gration process, only for the parties to agree on a set of shared values that will drive integration. Drilling down to the partners’ core values to determine the heart of the integration ecosystem

Opportunity Integration opportunities arise from a range of sources and sometimes under unlikely circumstances. Adversity is one such circumstance. Federal consent decrees, for example, have catalyzed partial systems inte gration in New Jersey and Michigan. Without a federal mandate that came from a child welfare class action lawsuit, and sufficient funding appro priated by state legislators in response to that mandate, the New Jersey Department of Children and Families might not have been created in 2006. In Michigan, although the former Departments of Human Services and Community Health had tried to partner before, a $1.76 million federal penalty retraction was used to jumpstart a Medicaid waiver 7 for individuals with severe emotional disturbances (SED), providing additional mental health services to children in foster care. The joint work on the SED waiver between the two departments served as a catalyst for considerable inte grative work in other areas of child welfare. It also simplified later efforts in child welfare and behavioral health when the two departments formally merged in 2015. Mapping projects, programs, funding, and initiatives can also create opportunities to reduce duplication, align processes, promote collabora tion, and create a path to integration. Financial mapping of the systems, for example, helps identify all viable tra ditional and non-traditional resources and can increase funding and build relationships across systems, which is essential during the integration process. Mapping initiatives around a par ticular topic, such as trauma-informed care, can create opportunities for service integration as well. Like finan cial mapping, project or program mapping can reveal opportunities that would normally go unrecognized. Integration also provides opportu nities to review redundant policies and procedures that hinder creativity. Policies must be clear and concise, foster integration through intent and language, and directly involve indi viduals from the field who will have to implement them.

Leadership Leadership is a quality easily rec ognized when seen, but sometimes difficult to quantify. Most organiza tional leadership definitions include acquiring and sharing knowledge, keeping people focused and motivated, possessing integrity and a strong work ethic, and more. Strong leadership must be supported by a robust gover nance structure to guide integration decision-making and implementation. For purposes of systems integration, the leadership definition needs to be expanded. It should include not only traditional organizational leaders, but also individuals who influence and inspire, regardless of their job title or role in the system. Middle managers, for example, are vital during system integration, due to their strong content knowledge of the system and their ability to work around bureaucratic challenges. Although buy-in from top leaders is critical to start integration efforts and move through various challenges along the way, the actual leaders can and must change throughout design and deployment, depending on the stage or integration task at hand. To promote a seamless transition and sustain momentum, new integration leaders should be “deputized” to make commitments and decisions on behalf of their organizations. Critics, too—those who recognize the policies and practices that need to change—can be powerful integra tion champions. By bringing critics to the table early, and addressing their concerns along the way, integration efforts thrive. The best integration leadership teams are diverse in many ways—in experience, strengths, position, and expertise. It is important to have experts in information technology, but also experts in finance, in client services, in business operations, and more. Ultimately, leaders of integration ini tiatives need to play a dual role. They need to build a strong constituency that will promote and sustain inte gration long beyond their tenure and they need to offer strategic guidance, See EVOLVE on page 34

gives purpose to transformation partners and keeps parties from getting derailed by minutia.

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AN APHSA CORNERSTONE POLICY BRIEF

mericans strive to create communities where everyone has an opportunity for economic mobility and the tools we all need to support the physical, Core Principles for TANF Modernization A social, and emotional well-being of our families. Translating these aspirations into reality demands that we critically examine the ways in which our country invests in the building blocks of a society where all people can succeed and thrive for the long term. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program plays an important role in constructing these conditions. TANF funds provide parents and caregivers with economic supports to help meet their basic needs; employment and training skills to earn fam ily-sustaining wages; early childhood care that fosters development during children’s formative years; and services that prevent and mitigate childhood stress and trauma. TANF has the extraordinary potential to shift our human services system upstream and head off more costly and disruptive crises that threaten to anchor families in deep poverty. To realize this vision, we must build common ground on what families need to thrive and how TANF can align with other key building blocks to achieve the outcomes we desire. Furthermore, we must recognize

the limitations in current TANF policy, particularly in redressing long-standing structural inequities, and be bold about embracing change that allows us to reach what we know works. Limitations in the Current FederalTANF Policy Framework In the 25 years since TANF was created, the program has remained largely unchanged, with the last reauthorization in 2005 only further reinforcing an emphasis on work compliance and verification. This policy landscape has led to the diminished reach of TANF over time—for every 100 families in poverty, the number receiving TANF basic assistance has dropped from 68 when the program was first created to just 23 in 2019. 1 While the program remains an essen tial support for families that receive it, TANF’s limited reach and punitive design has reinforced structural racism and dis proportionately impacted communities of color. Research supports that racial bias impacts both the overall resources invested in TANF as a tool for economic mobility 2 and the use of punitive measures, such as sanctions, against individuals and families. 3

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AN APHSA CORNERSTONE POLICY BRIEF

who do not transition to family sustaining jobs, and; n Penalty and incentive struc tures that reward reductions in the number of families receiving assistance, regardless of progress reducing poverty, and sanctioning families unable to meet program requirements. Since the 2005 reauthorization, TANF has been renewed through a series of short-term extensions that have shut the door to reimagining the possibilities for strengthening and modernizing TANF. Despite this inertia, the roadmap for TANF reform is already within reach, hard coded into the innovative practices that currently exist in state, local, and community work. With a clear North Star guiding us forward, these proof points serve as a compass to help us define the path to lifting families out of poverty and on a course to economic mobility. By com mitting to a set of core principles that ground our vision of what TANF should achieve and using examples from the field that inform the strategies to get there, we can bridge the divisions that have stymied progress and create a modern TANF program that furthers its role as foundational to advancing social and economic mobility for all. Core Principles for TANF Modernization The American Public Human Services

Understanding both this historical context and the original foundations of TANF is an essential first step to reimagining TANF as a program that truly achieves its purpose of supporting and advancing family economic mobility. TANF, as we know it today, was created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) in 1996 and estab lished four broad purposes for the program: 1. Provide assistance to needy families so children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives; 2. End the dependence of needy parents on government benefits by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage; 3. Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; 4. Encourage the formation and main tenance of two-parent families. To achieve these core purposes, PRWORA sets forth a TANF policy framework that influences the way state and local agencies must design and implement their programs. Included in this framework are: n Work requirements that people must meet as a condition for receiving cash assistance; n Employment and training activities that are time limited, prioritize immediate work over long-term career development, and require close monitoring by TANF agencies for compliance; n Lifetime limits on assistance that cut off benefits for individuals

TANF can be. Embedded into these principles are the values of equity, inclu sion, and the limitless possibilities of human potential as a clear North Star, guiding each of the Core Principles. These values serve as the foundation for building modern TANF programs to support child and family well-being for generations to come. To advance these values, each Core Principle is viewed through a race equity lens. We focus on advancing race equity, not to the exclu sion of other groups that have been harmed, but because we believe that by first illuminating the structural root causes of racial inequities within the context of human services, we can drive broader systemic changes for other structural inequities, such as gender, gender identity, sexuality, disabilities, and socioeconomic status. Using these Core Principles as a foundation, we can take a bold and systematic approach to reform that is rooted in evidence and outcomes rather than ideologies.

Association’s (APHSA) network of state and local human services

agencies has developed a set of TANF Modernization Core Principles that lay the tracks for a renewed vision of what

About the Cornerstone Policy Briefs Human services are the Cornerstone to building well-being so that all families can thrive. The recommendations provided in Cornerstone and its subsequent policy briefs are drawn from the on-the-ground expertise of our members—state and local health and human services leaders responsible for overseeing and aligning services that build resilience and bolster family well-being through access to food, health care, employment, child care, and other key building blocks. Our nation’s human services professionals work with Americans in every community and across the lifespan to advance our shared vision for thriving communities built on human potential. Learn more about APHSA’s Cornerstone series at http://bit.ly/CornerstoneHome21

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recipients including nonparent care takers, parents receiving disability benefits, and working parents, we must dispel outdated notions of who receives assistance. There is an opportunity to reimagine what family means in TANF today as a tapestry of diverse com munity and familial relationships that, when strengthened, lead to resilient individuals and communities. Moving forward with TANF we must emphasize supporting the physical, social, and emotional well-being of the whole family. The way in which federal policy limits the services offered through TANF has eroded its power as a flexible block grant that can address root causes of poverty. Yet, in spite of current constraints, public agencies and community partners are making strides to advance a whole family approach to economic mobility and well-being. Federal initiatives such as the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF’s) Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security 6 acknowledge the importance of taking a human centered, whole-family approach in TANF. Efforts like this can be accel erated and expanded and achieve greater impact if we reorient federal TANF policy in ways that allow state and local agencies to develop human-centered strategies that reflect whole-family approaches. Moreover, we should be fostering opportunities for TANF to stand as a connecting point to the broader system—working with public health, child welfare, substance use, housing, mobility and move services upstream. Leveraging TANF’s flexibility to fill gaps and strengthen alignment across systems—centered on whole-family supports and dismantling structural inequities—we can achieve transfor mative change in human services. nutrition, child care, and related systems—to promote economic

to achieving upward mobility. The narrow set of allowable activities with which federal rules mandate TANF recipients must comply, focuses pri marily on employment and limited education. Activities that get to the root of family stability and economic mobility—developing parenting skills, financial skills, childhood develop ment, supporting mental and physical health, building broader communica tion skills, and more—are, at best, time-limited activities that must be layered on top of traditional work activ ities; many are not countable at all. More broadly, federal TANF work participation rules are designed to compel families to conform to the program when the opposite should be true. Families are forced to partici pate in ways that fulfill program rules rather than focus on their individual needs, strengths, and goals. Federal policies are also based on a limited understanding of “family.” Especially with an increasing share of TANF Addressing the Whole-Family Needs of TANF Recipients: Rhode Island Rhode Island began a redesign of its TANF program in 2017 to shift the focus to a “holistic program”, emphasizing the family unit and stopping inter-generational poverty. They started by asking the question, “how do we serve families best?” Recently during the pandemic this played out with the use of remote services to intentionally integrate children into parent work activities. Providers developed a summer camp program with alternating parent and child activities, such as parents teaching and modeling interview skills to their children, mailed or dropped off packets of activities to homes, and included well-being activities like exercise or outdoor activities.

Core Principle 1

s a program that assists families with children, TANF policies must reflect the common-sense truth we all innately know—families are posi tioned to thrive when their physical, social, emotional, and economic needs are being met simultaneously. TANF policies must treat adults as both workers and caregivers and tend to the health and well-being of their children. Strengthening the physical, social, and emotional well-being of the whole family supports early childhood development and overall family sta bility, which bolsters intergenerational mobility. This is critical to address the root causes of poverty and to promote equity. In the United States, Black, Brown, and Indigenous children are less likely to experience upward mobility from deep poverty, and Black and Indigenous children are more likely to experience downward mobility. TANF rules limit the ability to focus on family success beyond employment. To help families achieve economic mobility, TANF must support the physical, social, and emotional well-being of individuals and their family. The current emphasis on work requirements in federal TANF policies functions to the detriment of family-centered supports necessary A

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AN APHSA CORNERSTONE POLICY BRIEF

count 12 months of time in vocational education and no more than six weeks in a 12-month period for job search and readiness activities toward work requirements. Education directly related to employment and skills training is further constrained by the number of hours that participants may count toward work participation. Because TANF’s design is built on complex, compliance-driven rules rather than centered on an individual path to success, parents are put in a position of participating in activities that may not be suited to them and the whole needs of their family. Instead of progressing in ways that involve families as the architects of their family blueprint to economic mobility, we draw a narrow path they must follow or be subject to sanctions that further harm them. Correspondingly, states are put in a position of arbitrarily placing importance on some activities, while others, which might be instru mental to an individual’s success, apparently “don’t count.” TANF laws and policies must be refocused on the long-term stability and well-being of families. To help families succeed for the long term, federal rules should enable TANF agencies to design programs that aim to achieve all the outcomes people need to achieve economic mobility and to focus their time advocating for families, not policing them. This kind of reframing of TANF calls on policy makers to shift program rules from their singular focus tracking compli ance of piecemeal work requirements to measuring well-rounded outcomes. Additionally, we must re-examine where the current, narrow set of eligible activities falls short in sup porting families with the tools needed to reach those outcomes, and the det rimental impact time limits have on stagnated intergenerational mobility. By confronting these issues, TANF can pave the road for families to get where they need to go for the long haul.

least 90 percent of a state’s two-parent households to comply with even higher weekly work activity targets. 9 Collectively, these rules lead to unintended yet expected outcomes. The need to comply with time limits and work participation requirements emphasizes short-term job placement over long-term career pathways. And the pass-fail nature of work require ments means that families earnestly engaging in employment and training services, but unable to fulfill the minimum hours, are treated as if they made no effort at all. Furthermore, individuals participating in mean ingful activities face artificial time constraints that force them to abandon critical skill developments. For example, TANF recipients may only Intergenerational Approaches to TANF: District of Columbia The District of Columbia’s TANF program has shifted over the last three years to a two-generation, or “2Gen,” approach with the goals of ensuring the enrichment, security, and safety of children, while providing meaningful engagement with caregivers. For D.C., facilitating meaningful engagement meant shifting away from time-bound policies, allowing caregivers to advance their personal well-being and the well-being of their children through personal growth and career development, education, and family goals. To support this change, in 2018, D.C. reduced the case manager to customer ratio, awarded performance-based contracts to providers who provide training in high-growth industries in D.C., and added financial incentives for job promotion and exit fromTANF. Moreover, D.C. took further steps to reduce scarcity by eliminating the five-year time limit, increasing TANF benefit levels, and limiting sanctions.

ife is a marathon, not a sprint. TANF policies must start with the under standing that overcoming the deeply rooted, multilayered barriers families face to achieving long-term economic well-being requires long-term solu tions. Yet, federal TANF policies treat people’s economic success as a short term transaction assuming it will result in long-term impact. Not surprisingly, this approach has resulted in uneven and inequitable outcomes—research has shown that TANF recipients with limited work history, low education, and poor health are all less likely to make long-term economic gains. 7 TANF policies emphasize short-term accomplishments and place time limits on success. Complicated federal TANF rules tell parents what work activities they must comply with, and for how long, sending the message that a families’ success is entirely dependent on a timeline in which they have no say. Lifetime receipt of cash assistance is generally limited to a total of 60 months and parents must meet work participation requirements, typically requiring 30 hours a week of work activities. 8 Work requirements for two-parent house holds are even more strict, requiring at Core Principle 2 TANF must prioritize tailored solutions that help families succeed for the long term. L

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which is further detrimental to long term economic mobility. Despite some limited flexibility currently, the under lying structure of TANF uses complex rules that require states to ensure that a minimum percentage of families meets work requirements. This forces states to shift the focus from the indi vidual needs of families to navigating strategies to manage overarching compliance targets for the entire caseload. For states that struggle to meet their minimum work requirement target, this can drive them toward more punitive sanctioning policies and caseload reductions, which, in turn, have a disparate impact on Black and Brown parents. 10 By fostering more autonomy for TANF participants, individuals can build the best pathways to economic mobility and well-being for themselves. Parents and families should be in the driver’s seat of their own lives to best position themselves for success. Coaching models, like Montana’s, are made possible when program structures prioritize autonomy over arbitrary program rules or compli ance. In recent years, there has been bipartisan recognition of the need for individualized plans made in col laboration with TANF recipients, such as those described in the JOBS for Success Act. 11 The opportunity for this kind of direct planning, in partnership with families, must be accompanied by parallel shifts in state and local practice as well as redesigning the role of TANF in the workforce. Families must have meaningful opportuni ties to direct their path forward in TANF, removing artificial boundaries to participation that work for the whole family. Furthermore, we must counteract the historical effect of long standing policies that have reduced trust between families and case workers, capitalizing on policy changes to reorient how TANF agencies interact with and in support of people.

the gap. And in the context of the immense pressures brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic—navigating the challenge of supporting their kids through remote learning while adjusting to fundamental shifts in the labor market—the need for reform has never been clearer. Many parents have difficulty accomplishing plans created without meaningful choices or input, par ticularly when there is pressure to conform because of the looming threat of losing essential benefits for their family. And, when parents lose assistance for noncompliance there is a destabilizing effect on the family, Increasing Autonomy in TANF Services: Montana Over the past several years, Montana’s TANF program has moved toward a person-centered universal service delivery model. At the outset, the Montana Family BRIDGE Assessment is used to identify potential barriers to family stability and employment. Montana’s model allows TANF applicants to engage for up to 30 days (and more in the case of an emergency) in family stability activities such as identifying housing, arranging child care, or engaging in online education. Montana’s program also uses a coaching model, working through providers to engage directly with the individuals and families, providing hands-on assistance and guidance to continue to address barriers to success. Montana has been able to disregard the distinction between core and non core activities due to the caseload reduction credit, which allows participants greater opportunity to participate in activities that make the most sense for them.

Core Principle 3 TANF should foster

eople have an innate desire to acquire agency over their life’s conditions that advance a person’s sense of agency over their life and belonging within their community. P course, particularly through family sustaining work. Since parents are the experts of their own lives, needs, and aspirations, the pathway to economic mobility must begin with advancing policies that allow them to shape their family’s future. Parents must be the architects of their own life journey. Federal TANF rules impede personal autonomy in economic and educa tional decision making. As previously described, TANF is structured in a way that impedes participants’ ability to choose activities that best fit their goals and needs. These policies are pervasive throughout the federal design of the program—narrowly prescribing to families what services they must participate in and how long they can engage in them. For those in our com munity with the greatest barriers to work, these rules further stack the deck against them, and for many com munities of color the cumulative effect of these policies against structural and systemic racism further widens

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AN APHSA CORNERSTONE POLICY BRIEF

TANF program effectiveness is the Work Participation Rate (WPR). Yet, in the 25 years of imple menting TANF, there is no evidence to indicate whether this measure has led to increases in employment and earnings. 12 What we do know is that current policies, such as time limits and sanctions, appear to be effective at reducing the number of families receiving assistance; however, whether these policies trans late to increased economic stability for families that are targets of these policies is, at best, unproven. 13 We must do better to hold our selves accountable for outcomes in service of people and communities, not programs. In advancing evidence based practices, we must consult families that face the greatest adversi ties and are the true subject matter experts—the strengths, needs, and goals of families must direct the use of Shifting Toward Outcomes: California In July 2019, California implemented CalWORKs, California’s state TANF program, Outcomes and Accountability Review (Cal OAR). Cal-OAR consists of three core components: performance indicators, a CalWORKs county self-assessment process, and a CalWORKs county system improvement plan, including a peer review component. Each county’s self-assessment and system improvement plan must include the following process and outcome measures—participant engagement, service delivery, participation, employment, education attainment, program exits and re-entries, and may include other family and child well-being measures. The Cal-OAR process takes place over a five year cycle and progress reports are completed annually.

evidence-based practices and not the reverse. Furthermore, evidence should be used to accelerate, not inhibit, inno vation. When we narrow the pool of evidence to only what fits traditional methods, we risk directing investments away from culturally appropriate services and those in our communities with specialized needs. Federal laws and policies can encourage and invest in the use of effective outcome metrics and evi dence-based practices in TANF. Alternative evaluation tools and structures already exist in some states, like the CalWORKs Outcomes and Accountability Review (Cal-OAR) and many others, are making progress to lift client voices in individual- and organizational-level TANF plans. Similarly, tools like ACF’s Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse 14 provide important information on the effectiveness of employment and edu cation services. Broader systems-level change can be accelerated by reassessing both what we measure and how we measure it. The transition toward a federal set of outcome measures rooted in whole person and whole-family outcomes is an important first step. But we also must quickly close the gap in our understanding of what works for whom and when, increasing the capacity of local, state, and federal agencies to evaluate and continuously improve their services through an equity lens. We must integrate clients’ perspectives and insights into the way we assess, develop, and implement services by establishing a policy framework that explicitly prioritizes personal autonomy in this process.

Core Principle 4 To best help families

ANF programs should be centered in evidence of what works for families, informed by the perspectives, goals, and stated needs of individuals served. Reframing evidence as both traditional data and research as well as the lived experiences of families ensures that a diverse set of voices and ideas are at the table, creating a climate for innovation and equity. achieve their goals, TANF policies should be centered in evidence and promising practices that reflect the lived experiences of families. T Federal performance metrics focus on short-term outcomes and point in-time data in TANF programs that do not reflect participant experience. Under current TANF laws and policies, “work” and “success” have been defined for parents based on federal laws and regulations, without input from the participants themselves or the state and local agencies admin istering these programs. Although ACF collects a significant amount of information and funds research on the impact of different program models and services, ultimately the only statu torily established mechanism to assess

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Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), to name a few. The challenges to align these systems are both programmatic and cultural. While there have been con tinued inroads to expand employment services, such as registered appren ticeships and subsidized employment, these efforts have been slower to take hold for families experiencing deep poverty and with greater barriers to work. Further progress will require partnership between TANF and related funding streams to ensure opportuni ties are explicitly designed to support members of our community historically underserved by the workforce system, such as people with disabilities, older youth transitioning out of foster care, formerly incarcerated individuals, and individuals who have been out of the labor market for an extended time or need further time and support to build career readiness skills. Establishing an inclusive service array across work force systems is an important step in advancing intergenerational mobility. TANF rules should promote a system that aligns programs and services for the people it serves, leading to better outcomes. Further advancing an integrated workforce system that works for all will require progress on multiple fronts. Shifting TANF to a common set of work-related outcomes with WIOA and other core partners, while still pre serving TANF’s parallel focus on child and family well-being, would have a powerful effect on broader workforce system alignment. Parallel to this, a comprehensive assessment of how eli gibility and funding rules align across workforce programs is needed to fully reform policies to work in concert to advance economic mobility. Moreover, as state and local agencies and their partners continue to work toward building a seamless system, further technical assistance, guidance, and support to test innovations will help stitch the pieces together.

Yet, this is only a starting point to better coordinate a continuum of workforce development and supportive services that advance family stability and economic mobility. Differences in eligibility, reporting, allowable activi ties, supportive services, and service providers all present process challenges that must be reconciled to maximize cross-agency coordination and provide a human-centered experience. These points of intersection must be critically analyzed across a range of programs including TANF, WIOA, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T), career and technical education under the Perkins Act, and employment and training activities carried out by the Workforce System Alignment: Maryland In 2018, Maryland developed its first workforce plan that included the combined workforce development efforts of three agencies: The Maryland Department of Labor (MDL), the Maryland Department of Human Services, and the Maryland State Department of Education Division of Rehabilitation Services. In Maryland, theTANF program engages in a coordinated effort to allow the MDL to focus on developing and implementing workforce development programs and services toTANF participants. In many cases, offices are co-located, which helps relationship building and communication between the two agencies, resulting in better service provision to participants. Maryland takes a “no wrong door” approach, meaning all core program partners are trained on registering individuals in the MarylandWorkforce Exchange and providing initial screening and system wide orientation. This way, individuals can access multiple programs from any access point.

ANF is an important part of the larger workforce development system that should work across funding streams and agencies to ensure that when participants interact with different touch points, services stay centered on the specific needs of each jobseeker in the context of their family and span across programs without interruption. Aligning whole family approaches across agencies not only supports effective use of govern ment resources, but also ensures that the interactions of parents are under stood in their dual role as workers and caregivers. This work must be done at both the individual/family and systems levels and across agencies to help all people achieve upward mobility. Initial progress has been made to align workforce programs across agencies, but there is still work to be done. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), 15 signed into law in 2014, has helped foster integrated planning and increased co-location of services across WIOA, TANF, and other workforce programs. must provide a coordinated continuum of services that supports all jobseekers’ strengths, goals, and needs. T Core Principle 5 The broader workforce system

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