Understanding Poverty: Childhood and Family Experiences and TANF Office Culture

MEF Associates lead this project that sought to better understand poverty and the safety net system. The project, funded by the Administration for Children and Families, involved two separate studies: one study focused specifically on children’s perspectives of living in poverty while the other study centered around client experiences and organizational culture of TANF and other human services offices. This two-pronged approach provided a more comprehensive understanding of ACF’s target populations and their experience within the safety net programs, with a specific aim of interviewing young children and identifying exemplars of TANF office culture. MDRC was a subcontractor to MEF on this project.

PUBLICATIONS:
Organizational Culture in TANF Offices: A Review of the Literature
Practicing Positive Organizational Culture in TANF Offices: Lessons from the Literature
Promoting a Positive Organizational Culture in TANF Offices: Final Report
The Role of Positive Organizational Culture in a Pandemic Response
“I Feel Like Some People Work Twice as Hard to Get Half as Much”: Children’s and Adolescents’ Perceptions and Experiences of Poverty and Inequality
“We Live One Day at a Time”: Families’ Stories from the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Understanding Families’ Experiences of Poverty: Results of a Qualitative Study Exploring the Perspectives of Children and Their Parents
POLICY AREAS:
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
METHODOLOGIES:
Implementation and Process Studies | Interviews and Focus Groups | Literature Reviews | Stakeholder Engagement
STAFF:
Mike Fishman | Mary Farrell | Asaph Glosser