#1. Discussion Guide

Interview Protocol for State and/or local TANF and WIA Personnel regarding the TANF Report on Engagement in Additional Work Activities and Expenditures on other Benefits and Services and TANF/WIA Coordination Project

OMB # 0970 – XXXX

Information Concerning This Interview

There are two purposes of this interview: the first is to gather information that provides a fuller explanation of cases in your TANF program where individuals have no hours of participation in reportable employment and related activities and the principal reasons for such non-participation. The second is to understand more about how your TANF program coordinates services with WIA funded providers to help ensure efficient and productive employment and training programs. There are also questions on activities reported as "Other" TANF expenditures categories. This project is being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc and is funded by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Your response to this interview is voluntary. We expect the interview to last for about 2 hours. The information will be used to inform the administration of ACF and the Secretary of HHS concerning decisions regarding Welfare Reauthorization particularly with respect to the requirements on work participation; and to inform ACF and Labor Department officials as well as local Welfare and WIA agencies about the structuring of Work/WIA coordination efforts.

No personal identifying information beyond name, work telephone number, email address, and professional affiliation (e.g., name of the program, title, etc.) is sought. All conversations will be kept private to the fullest extent of the law and it is expected that your name and affiliation will only be included in summary information provided to ACF. To the extent allowable by law, individual identifying information will not be disseminated publicly.

OPRE may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

1. Name:

2. Work Phone Number:

3. Email address:

4. Agency:

5. Title:

6. Regarding work participation: Is there anything about the cases of non-reportable hours of work activities in question that you think needs a more complete explanation in order to fully understand their program participation situation?

1. If your State's zero hour case percentage has risen, fallen, or stayed the same over time, what factors do you think might account for this, e.g. a dramatic increase in the unemployment rate which resulted in increased uptake of applications?

2. Are there any regional variations within your State concerning the distribution of these cases that illustrate the reasons and nature of these cases being reported?

3. What are the factors not presented in the specific data reported or to be reported to ACF that explain the circumstances of individuals who have no hours of participation and the principal reasons for such non-participation ?

4. What changes can the State make to reduce the number of cases with zero hours of participation?

5. Under the current system, are there things ACF can do to assist States in reducing the number of cases with zero hours of participation?

6. The following have been suggested as primary reasons for people reporting zero hours of participation in reportable work and employment and allowable activities. Would you care to comment on any of them? Do you have any to add?

1. Counting people who are being involved in the employment process but who do not, as yet, have jobs.

2. New clients who may take up to two months to participate in work activities are counted.

3. Clients participating in a Time Limited Activity - A TANF client who is involved in a time limited activity could report zero hours of countable work participation. Possible examples include participation in job search and job readiness activities that exceed any of the four limitations on counting these activities.

4. Counting people who are involved in the sanction process.

5. Data Systems out of Sync - Data systems may not be communicating with each other rapidly, resulting in periods where a person may be working, but the system capturing the data to determine hours of work has not, as yet, received this information.

6. New Clients - It may take a few weeks for new TANF clients to participate in work activities. There could be one to two months that a work-eligible individual would report zero hours.

7. Transitioning Clients - A TANF client who is transitioning from being exempt from work participation could report zero hours. Possible examples include a single custodial parent with a child that was under 12 months of age who is no longer under 12 months or a client with a disability that is no longer counted as such.

The following have been suggested as things that are reported as "Other" Activities by the States in their TANF Reports; would you care to comment on any of them? Do you have any to add:

1. Child welfare - in-home services/family preservation, child protective services, foster care/kinship care, adoption services;

2. Personal Supports - mental health and addiction services, health/disability services, domestic violence services;

3. Emergency Assistance - housing, energy, food, clothing, transportation;

4. Education and Prevention Programs - education and youth programs, teen pregnancy prevention, early childhood care and education;

Questions concerning TANF/WIA Coordination:

1. We would like to hear of your WIA-TANF coordination efforts, particularly those you believe are examples of very good coordination that occur at various levels of decision-making (please provide any information you have to document your responses.) For example:

• At the state level, do you have examples of WIA-TANF coordination? (Probe: For example, has the state combined workforce and TANF activities in the same department? Has there been guidance to streamline or match data collection between the two programs?)

• At the local level, do you have examples of WIA-TANF coordination? (Probe: For example, are program management functions, case management functions, and administrative systems shared across agencies?)

• Are WIA and TANF front line staffs co-located and/or communicate regularly to discuss specific cases and policies? If co-located, whether, and to what extent, are funds leveraged between the two different programs to fund front line staff?

2. Several reasons have been suggested as factors accounting for effective TANF- WIA. Please check all that apply, for your state or local area:

• Overcoming differing institutional cultures to have a share understanding of policy and procedures across agencies;

• Agency administrative management information systems effectively interface and/or automatically exchange relevant case information;

• Alignment of program missions and indicators of success for requirements of WIA and TANF;

• Education and training services for clients are offered on site at One-Stop Career Centers;

• Training services are appropriate to local labor markets and lead to jobs for low-income and low-skilled workers; and

• Other factors that contribute to effective TANF/WIA coordination..

For each factor you noted, please tell us how you accomplished it.

WIA/TANF coordination question for State level administrators:

1. What are the critical elements that contribute successful coordination between WIA and TANF?

2. Are you aware of any qualitative or quantitative data to validate their success?

3. Are WIA and TANF case management functions integrated including line staff being co-located and/or regular communication to discuss specific cases and policies?

4. Other factors that contribute to effective TANF/WIA coordination.

WIA/TANF coordination questions for successful local areas identified above (local TANF providers, local workforce boards, One-Stop Career Centers:

1. Describe the client flow within and between the two programs.

2. Describe the qualitative or quantitative data that validate your success.

3. Were there efforts made to use multiple funding streams across the programs to fund front-line staff?

4. Describe the specific factors/program design elements that are critical to your local area’s success.

5. Are WIA and TANF case management functions integrated including line staff being co-located and/or regular communication to discuss specific cases and policies?

6. Are management information systems interfacing across funding streams?

7. How do WIA performance standards and federal TANF work participation rules affect what WIA training services are provided to TANF clients?

8. What are the programmatic or administrative issues that arise in efforts to bring multiple programs, funding streams, entities, and organizations together in a coordinated or integrated effort? Have there been efforts to date?

9. How do you learn about ways to improve collaboration? (Probe: Through Guidance notices from the Federal government (ACF or ETA)? Through technical assistance efforts sponsored by ACF or ETA? Research reports sponsored by ACF or ETA? Webinars? Conferences? Associations (such as NGA, NAWB, etc)? Informally, such as through discussion with peers?)

10. Are the other Programs you know of witch have successful TANF/WIA Coordination? What do you think make them successful?

Interview Protocol A-4