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TANF Section, WIOA Combined Plan Modifications 2026

15 income neighborhoods of their service-delivery areas. These services also support fatherhood initiatives and two-parent families as a stabilizing force in the lives of children. This program aligns to Purposes 3 and 4 by preventing and reducing the incidence of out-of- wedlock pregnancies and encouraging formation and maintenance of two-parent families by offering services to strengthen parenting skills, improve parent and child family relationships, prevent out-of-home placements of children and encourage family participation.

Additionally, DCF contracts with the Milwaukee Health Department to support Empowering Families of Milwaukee, a home-visiting program for pregnant women and their families, and families with infants and toddlers. Goals include improving birth outcomes and preventing child abuse and neglect. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting moved to a virtual platform and families continued to be served by the home visiting program. Services are targeted to the eleven zip code areas within Milwaukee that have the lowest income levels, high rates of child abuse and neglect referrals, and poor birth outcomes. There are no financial eligibility requirements for a family to receive these services under TANF. Therefore, Wisconsin uses 100 percent TANF funds for this program (per federal requirements relating to services for TANF Purpose 4).

2017 Wisconsin Act 59 modified the traditional Milwaukee Prevention Services TANF program to allow it to be used to supplement and expand the number of “Family Foundations Home Visiting” (FFHV) programs statewide—an umbrella term Wisconsin has used since 2011 for the Empowering Families Milwaukee program and programs in other counties and tribes funded from the federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) grant and associated state funds. Wisconsin believes children and families will benefit from expanding these services to more areas and families than what can be supported through current MIECHV funding levels. FFHV uses four evidence-based models to provide expectant and new parents with voluntary supports and mentoring through their children’s early years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, home visiting moved to a virtual platform and families continued to be served by the home visiting program. TANF funds are targeted to provide services to needy families, who may be facing community violence or experiencing mental health or other challenges as well as poverty. https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/cwportal/homevisiting

Grants for Innovative Prevention Services 2017 Wisconsin Act 254 authorized a new program under which DCF may award grants to counties, nonprofit organizations, or tribes to fund child-abuse and neglect prevention services. Grant applicants must provide matching funds toward proposed projects and services equal to 9.89 percent of the TANF grant amount from DCF. DCF is required to evaluate the effectiveness of the grant program in achieving its stated goals and must first submit a biannual report on the evaluation to the appropriate standing committees of the legislature beginning in June 2021. Wis. Stat § 49.175(1)(uk). This program falls under TANF Purpose 4, which does not require a definition of needy. Due to the nature of matching necessary services to the grant recipient’s location, each organization has its own eligibility criteria. Here is information on two grant recipients:

Dane County Department of Human Services uses this grant to expand prevention services aimed at reducing the contact families may have with the child welfare system and