TANF Data Innovation

Project

Overview

Project Overview

TANF Data Innovation (TDI) is a national initiative to support state, local, and tribal agencies that administer Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the federal agencies that oversee this work. This initiative aims to substantially expand the routine use, integration, and analysis of TANF and employment data to improve outcomes for families and to improve program administration. Launched in 2017, TDI is led by MDRC in partnership with Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy at the University of Pennsylvania, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, and the Coleridge Initiative. TDI is sponsored by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in collaboration with the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), both in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

TDI is consistent with stated aims in the legislation that led to the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking. The Commission’s recommendations to improve data access and strengthen evaluation and evidence-building capacity in the federal government are implemented in TDI, making this initiative a real-life case study of how to operationalize the goals of the commission.

The initiative has three components:

Federal capacity-building (FedCap) provides technical assistance and training to enhance the quality of data being reported by TANF agencies to OFA, as well as to support the use and analysis of data within OFA.
The TANF Employment Project (TEP) integrates federally reported TANF data with employment data from the National Directory of New Hires, to allow for deeper analysis by OPRE, OFA, TANF agencies, and other researchers.
The TANF Data Collaborative (TDC) provides technical assistance and training to support TANF agencies in their routine use of TANF and other administrative data, such as earnings data, to inform policy and practice.

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Work and Income Security

Focus Area: Welfare Reform

Population: Populations with Low Incomes

Focus Population: People Receiving Public Assistance

Improving Outcomes for Families Through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative

This nine-minute video features staff members from TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the TANF Data Collaborative Pilot.

Brief

Exemplary Data Use by State TANF Agencies

Beyond Routine Reports and Analyses

This brief reports findings from an analysis of patterns of data use by Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies. The findings highlight the importance of collaboration and communication, both internally and externally, and should be of interest to TANF administrators who want to make their agencies more data-driven.

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Full

Brief

Increasing Data Analytics Capacity in State TANF Agencies

The TANF Data Collaborative Approach

The TANF Data Innovation (TDI) project was created to expand the use of administrative data by state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies to improve program performance. This brief describes a TDI test of an approach to building staff capabilities through applied data analytics, intensive training, and technical assistance.

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Agenda, Scope, <br> & Goals

Agenda, Scope, and Goals

TANF Data Innovation (TDI) has the following key strategies:

Nationwide needs assessment survey and input from key stakeholders: Completed in 2019 to understand the capacity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs to analyze data used for the purposes of program improvement, monitoring, and evidence-building. It also provided insights into agency capacity and identified priority areas for training and technical assistance.

TANF Data Collaborative Framework: Developed and organized instructional content based on five key phases of data analytics projects: laying the groundwork for project work, accessing data, preparing data, analyzing data, and communicating data and findings.

TANF Program-Facing Technical Assistance:

The Applied Data Analytics course: Adapted by the Coleridge Initiative from a previous curriculum. It guided TANF staff in developing key data science skills and, in addition, provided access to linked administrative data from both TANF and workforce agencies.

TANF Data Collaborative Pilot: Provided funding, training, and technical assistance to eight state/county TANF agencies that were selected through a competitive process during a 30-month research project.
Wide range of training and technical assistance: Offered monthly workshops timed to address pilot data analytics project activities. Topics included how to identify and prevent data quality errors, how to measure employment stability and advancement, how to interpret the results from common research designs, and how to build and analyze files that reflect the trajectories of families receiving TANF.

Building Federal Capacity (FedCap): Increased federal staff capacity to address the quality, use, and analysis of data within the federal Office of Family Assistance’s TANF Data Division by providing a range of data technical assistance services.

The TANF Employment Project (TEP): Focused on improving the TANF data infrastructure to enable evidence-building by developing a TANF longitudinal data file and an integrated TANF and earnings file using data from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH).

Dissemination:

Unemployment Insurance Wage Toolkit: Includes tools for TANF agencies, and other human services staff, for use in linking administrative data to wage data from state departments of labor.
Sustaining Analytics Toolkit: Includes tools and guidance for TANF agencies, and other human services staff, for use in building data analytics capacity that lasts beyond the defined life of a single project.

Videos, publications, and conferences: Shared findings and lessons in a variety of ways including at conferences hosted by federal agencies, as well as those hosted by national organizations, with TANF administrators and staff in attendance.

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Work and Income Security

Focus Area: Welfare Reform

Population: Populations with Low Incomes

Focus Population: People Receiving Public Assistance

Improving Outcomes for Families Through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative

This nine-minute video features staff members from TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the TANF Data Collaborative Pilot.

Brief

Exemplary Data Use by State TANF Agencies

Beyond Routine Reports and Analyses

Overview »

Full

Brief

Increasing Data Analytics Capacity in State TANF Agencies

The TANF Data Collaborative Approach

Overview »

Full

Design, Sites, & <br> Data Sources

Design, Sites, and Data Sources

The TANF Data Innovation (TDI) initiative is national in scope and operates at the federal, state, and local levels. The main data sources include, but are not limited to, state and federal TANF and employment administrative data.

The TDC Pilot Initiative included state and county agencies who administer the TANF program. The eight selected agencies represented geographic, demographic, and political diversity, and seven of the eight pilot agencies supervised counties who locally administered the TANF program. Programmatic and policy questions that mattered most to each pilot team informed the design and data sources using during the TDC Pilot.

The eight pilot team agencies were:

California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) & Family Resilience Branch

Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Employment and Benefits
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Minnesota Department of Human Services, Economic Assistance and Employment Supports Division, with Dakota and Olmsted Counties
New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development, and Rutgers University
New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Division of Family Development
Utah Department of Workforce Services
Virginia Department of Social Services

Information collections related to this project have been reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under ACF’s Generic Clearance for Formative Data Collections for ACF Program Support (OMB #0970-0522). Related materials are available at the TANF Data Innovation (TDI) Needs Assessment Survey page on RegInfo.gov.

STATUS: Current

Basics

Issue: Work and Income Security

Focus Area: Welfare Reform

Population: Populations with Low Incomes

Focus Population: People Receiving Public Assistance

Improving Outcomes for Families Through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative

This nine-minute video features staff members from TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the TANF Data Collaborative Pilot.

Brief

Exemplary Data Use by State TANF Agencies

Beyond Routine Reports and Analyses

Overview »

Full

Brief

Increasing Data Analytics Capacity in State TANF Agencies

The TANF Data Collaborative Approach

Overview »

Full

Funders & <br />Partners

Funders

Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation

Partners

University of Pennsylvania, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP)

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago

The Coleridge Initiative, Inc.

Public Strategies, Inc.

MDRC Staff

Richard Hendra
Director, MDRC Center for Data Insights
Hendra directs the Center for Data Insights, which uses rigorous data science methods to improve programs that serve populations in need.
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Stephanie Rubino
Operating Director, Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities
Rubino has more than 20 years of experience in project management and over 10 years in social policy research.
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Erika Lundquist
Senior Associate, MDRC Center for Data Insights
Lundquist currently serves as project director for the Optimizing Texting Technology through Engagement Research with Students (OTTERS) project.
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Melissa Wavelet
Senior Fellow, Postsecondary Education
Wavelet joined MDRC as a senior fellow in April 2019 after serving in executive roles in Colorado, Wisconsin, and New York City government agencies since 2005.

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Johanna Walter
Senior Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and Employment
Johanna Walter serves as data manager on various evaluations, including the TANF-SSI Disability Transition Project and Enhanced Services for the Hard-to-Employ.
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Edith Yang
Senior Associate, Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities
Yang joined MDRC in 2008 and her work spans the areas of employment, housing and homelessness, financial inclusion, community development, and postsecondary education. Her work encompasses project development, project management, data science methods, impact and process analyses, and benefit-cost analysis.
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Mark van Dok
Senior Associate, K-12 Education
Van Dok is a senior data manager in MDRC’s K-12 Education Department and its Center for Data Insight, as well as its initiative on Learning from Administrative Data.
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Audrey Yu
Research Associate, Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities
Yu is a quantitative researcher in MDRC’s Economic Mobility, Housing, and Communities policy area.
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Project Director

Publications & Resources

COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

Report

TANF Data Collaborative Pilot Profiles

A Collection of Data Analytics Projects from State and County TANF Agencies

01/2023

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Data Collaborative Pilot Initiative, a component of the TANF Data Innovation project, offered technical assistance and training to eight state and county TANF programs, profiled here, in the routine use of TANF and other administrative data to inform policy and practice.

Overview »

Video

Improving Outcomes for Families Through Better Use of Data: The TANF Data Collaborative

01/2023

This nine-minute video features staff members from TANF agencies reflecting on their challenges, accomplishments, and general experiences during the TANF Data Collaborative Pilot.

Report

Expanding TANF Program Insights

A Toolkit for State and Local Agencies on How to Access, Link, and Analyze Unemployment Insurance Wage Data

11/2022

Edith Yang, Sharon Zanti, T.C. Burnett, Richard Hendra, Dennis Culhane, Zarni Htet, Della Jenkins, Camille Préel-Dumas, Electra Small

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) agencies are increasingly focused on using administrative data to assess how well programs are working and to inform policies and best practices. This toolkit was created to help TANF professionals develop more robust practices using employment data for program monitoring, reporting, and evaluation.

Overview »

Full

Brief