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The purpose of this document is to outline the District of Columbia’s plan for providing assistance to families with children using funds provided under Title I of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 (Pub. L. No. 104-193), and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Final Rules published in the Federal Register on April 12, 1999. The Act amends Section 402 of the Social Security Act to require that states submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) that outlines how the state will provide TANF benefits.

The District of Columbia uses federal and local TANF funds to operate a cash assistance program and provide supportive services for families with children through the District’s TANF program. The local legal authority for this program is the District of Columbia Public Assistance Act of 1982 (D.C. Law § 4-101; D.C. Official Code § 4-201.01, et seq.), as amended. The provisions of this Plan are effective October 1, 2020. TANF provides public assistance to low income families with children and connects non-exempt adult recipients not already employed in unsubsidized employment to a robust array of personalized services to enable them to increase their economic security. SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, the District of Columbia (D.C.) Department of Human Services (DHS) embarked on a journey to enhance and revise its TANF Employment & Education Program (TEP) to better align with the growing national trend of incorporating a multi- generational (2 Gen) approach to serving TANF customers and their families. DHS sought to integrate the five (5) nationally recognized pillars of this 2 Gen approach (Economic Assets, Social Capital, Health & Well-Being, Post-Secondary/Workforce, and Early Childhood Education) into its service-delivery model. Subsequently, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016, at the direction of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser, DHS convened a TANF Hardship Working Group to recommend a Hardship Extension Policy for customers who received TANF in D.C. for 60- months or longer. The TANF Hardship Working Group included DHS staff, local advocate