Community Networks with a Family Focus: Success Factors in Implementing a TANF Funded Housing Support Program

Abstract

Although the US safety net includes housing supports, finding and securing affordable housing remains a challenge for many low-income families. As a block grant to states, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a potential mechanism for creating additional supports for housing, which some states such as New Jersey pursue. This qualitative study focuses on three New Jersey counties with positive track records of implementing those additional supports. Research questions concern what factors contributed to successful implementation of the housing supportive Emergency Assistance Program on a county level and how these factors interacted to impact program effectiveness. From thematic coding of interviews with government and nonprofit staff at the state and county levels (N = 17), document reviews, and meeting observations, this study found that the program was incorporated as one piece of a family-centered approach to social service provision. Having a tight network between service providers with strong commitment to the program, vital in previous social service research as well as the current study, fed into that family-centered approach and successful implementation. Future research should examine how to build staff buy-in and mission-driven approaches with a family focus as well as center the voices of participants in these programs.