The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare Peer TA) is a technical assistance initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA).
Welfare Peer TA facilitates the sharing of information between and among States, counties, localities, Tribal organizations, and community-based organizations working with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families. Welfare Peer TA encourages the establishment of linkages between these organizations on the belief that guidance and instruction are best delivered by professionals who have achieved results and outcomes similar to those desired by other related social service organizations. Welfare Peer TA supports federal, State, local, and community-based stakeholders by bridging gaps between research and practice, highlighting promising practices and service innovations in the field, and fostering strong peer-to-peer relationships that promote improved service delivery to low-income families.
Various technical assistance strategies and formats are available through Welfare Peer TA, depending on the specific needs of the requesting organization. These organizations can solicit the Welfare Peer TA Network for a technical assistance intervention that shares information on innovative strategies and programs for effectively serving TANF clients, and for purposes of building linkages within and among States and their agencies. Types of TA delivered include roundtable meetings, site visits, Webinars, promising practice reviews, and moderated teleconferences. Since its inception in 1997, Welfare Peer TA has reached every State in the United States with at least one technical assistance intervention and responded to over 160 requests over the life of the project.