FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, Nov. 25, 2002
Contact: ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215

HHS SELECTS 10 COMMUNITIES FOR URBAN PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced the selection of 10 major metropolitan areas that will participate in HHS’ Urban Partnership Initiative -- a new effort designed to help communities that continue to have relatively high concentrations of welfare recipients.

“We still have a long way to go in helping families reach the opportunities that should be open to them,” Secretary Thompson said. “Congress did not pass a new, forward-looking welfare reform bill this year, but we can still take steps to move ahead. Our goal in this effort is to help urban welfare programs learn from each other’s experiences and build their capabilities to better serve their clients. We can learn from one another and do a better job, even as we look to the new Congress to act early and take welfare reform to the next level.”

The communities selected are: Baltimore, Md.; Miami, Fla.; Atlanta, Ga.; Minneapolis, Minn.; Detroit, Mich.; Grand Prairie, Texas (Arlington, Dallas, and Ft. Worth, applying jointly); St. Louis, Mo.; Omaha, Neb.; Oakland, Calif. and Seattle, Wash.

Through this initiative, HHS’ Administration for Children and Families (ACF), which oversees the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program, and HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation will work closely with the cities and counties involved to develop strategies to support and sustain families as they become economically independent.

The Urban Partnerships Initiative consists of two components. The first is a two-day “Academy for Urban Welfare Partnerships” which will convene in Dallas in February 2003. The participating communities will share information about their experiences and learn of promising self-sufficiency strategies. Additionally, individualized plans will be developed to help participants move their welfare reform agenda forward. HHS will provide funding for the academy and the cost of participation for three team members.

The second component is 10 months of in-depth individualized technical assistance designed to help the communities carry out the strategies developed at the academy. The technical assistance can be in the form of HHS-funded consultant or facilitation services designed to build and better manage TANF programs.

Currently, the largest 47 urban counties in the U.S. serve over 70 percent of the families in their states that receive TANF. Urban areas that included a city with a population of 300,000 or more were eligible to apply. HHS received applications from 34 of the 58 urban areas that were eligible. Sites were selected based on both their potential to benefit from and contribute to the initiative.

“Urban areas are now working with an even larger proportion of the TANF caseload, and while these cities and counties have done well, they face considerable managerial challenges in helping large numbers of families who have severe and often multiple life problems,” said Wade F. Horn, assistant secretary for children and families. “Our intent is to help them build stronger networks and even more effective TANF programs.”

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

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