The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TANF) Opportunity Act created the Families First Community Grants program, which will allocate more than $31 million, infusing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds into the community through organizations providing services to low-income families.
Donor Name: Tennessee Department of Human Services
State: Tennessee
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 07/07/2023
Details:
Mission: To build strong families by connecting Tennesseans to employment, education, and support services.
The Families First Program is a workforce development and employment program. It is temporary and has a primary focus on helping individuals gain self-sufficiency through employment. Services include, but are not limited to, assistance with transportation, child care, education, job training, employment activities, temporary cash assistance, and other support services.
The Department seeks family-focused solutions that demonstrate measurable impacts designed to address at least one of the four purposes of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The four purposes of the TANF program are to:
- Provide assistance to needy families so that children can be cared for in their own homes or in the homes of relatives;
- End the dependence of needy parents by promoting job preparation, work, and marriage;
- Prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; and
- Encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.
Additionally, the Department has developed a universal outcomes framework and is targeting the outcome areas below in alignment with the goal of transforming Tennessee’s safety net by growing the capacity of families and moving them beyond the vulnerabilities that brought them to the programs. The universal outcomes were adopted from the 2Gen Outcomes Bank created by Ascend at the Aspen Institute and their four core components: Economic Supports, Education, Health & Well-Being, and Social Capital.
Eligibility Criteria
Participant Eligibility Criteria
- Families participating in the services funded by the Families First Community Grants must meet certain eligibility requirements established by federal law. Specifically, participating families (parent/legal guardian with children under the age of 18) must meet Tennessee’s low-income eligibility criteria. “Low-Income Families” is defined as families who are:
- Living at or below the Federal Poverty Level;
- Eligible for Medicaid;
- Recipients of, or eligible for, public benefits such as Families First (TANF) or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
- Program (SNAP);
- Part of a coordinated entry system through Social Services agencies and meet the low-income criteria (unemployed or zero income verification);
- Live in Section 8 housing or low rent public housing; or
- Eligible for National School Lunch Program (free or reduced lunch).
Applicant Criteria
- The Department is seeking to partner with eligible non-profit organizations in Tennessee that demonstrate an understanding of the challenges low-income families experience in their community, including those related to:
- Education;
- Health and well-being;
- Economic stability; and
- Safe, stable, and nurturing relationships.
- The Department seeks to partner with organizations that have:
- Implemented or developed community-based programs that have been proven to be effective even when subjected to third-party evaluation
- Demonstrated strong leadership and coordination of cross-sector partnerships
- Demonstrated a proven track record for providing services intended to help low-income families achieve economic mobility
- Identified a diverse set of resources, secured cross-sector partnerships, and developed a plan to deliver services from a family-led approach that is aligned with one or more of the four purposes of TANF
- Articulated long-term impact of the community’s approach, including applicable return on investment and cost benefit analysis, to support and sustain delivery of services
- Articulated a desire to work in partnership with the Department, community-based organizations, other stakeholders, and current and former customers to co-create solutions that address significant social problems
- Innovative initiatives leveraging other public resources to build the economic, social and developmental capital of those served to reduce dependency.
- Eligible nonprofit organizations who wish to apply, including subcontractor partners, must maintain tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) or 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(19), with such status acknowledged by IRS determination letter. All eligible entities who wish to apply must not be currently debarred, suspended, or otherwise ineligible to conduct business in the State of Tennessee. Grant Contracts with the Department may be entered for services on a short-term basis and based upon the type of service needed, available resources and funding, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
For more information, visit TDHS.
