Department of Health and Human Services 
OFFICE OF 
INSPECTOR GENERAL 
HEAD START, TANF, AND CHILD CARE 
NEEDS ASSESSMENTS 
JUNE GIBBS BROWN 
Inspector General 
OCTOBER 1999 
OEI-05-98-00540  OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL 
The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), as mandated by Public Law 95-452, is to 
protect the integrity of the Department of Health and Human Services programs as well as the 
health and welfare of beneficiaries served by them.  This statutory mission is carried out through a 
nationwide program of audits, investigations, inspections, sanctions, and fraud alerts.  The 
Inspector General informs the Secretary of program and management problems and recommends 
legislative, regulatory, and operational approaches to correct them. 
Office of Evaluation and Inspections 
The Office of Evaluation and Inspections (OEI) is one of several components of the Office of 
Inspector General.  It conducts short-term management and program evaluations (called 
inspections) that focus on issues of concern to the Department, the Congress, and the public.  The 
inspection reports provide findings and recommendations on the efficiency, vulnerability, and 
effectiveness of departmental programs. 
OEI's Chicago regional office prepared this report under the direction of William C. Moran, 
Regional Inspector General, and Natalie Coen, Deputy Regional Inspector General.  Principal 
OEI staff included: 
REGION  HEADQUARTERS 
Joe Penkrot, Project Leader  Alan Levine, Program Specialist

Emily Melnick, Lead Analyst

Ianna Kachoris

To obtain copies of this report, please call the Chicago Regional Office at (312) 353-4124.

Reports are also available on the World Wide Web at:

http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/oei
 E X E C U T I V E   S U M M A R Y   
PURPOSE 
To describe efforts to assess family needs and provide support services to low-income 
families receiving Head Start, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Child 
Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies. 
BACKGROUND 
Family Needs Assessments and Support Services 
Welfare recipients and other low-income families may need help in order to enter the 
workforce and remain self-sufficient.  The replacement of the Aid to Families with 
Dependent Children program with TANF block grants heightens the importance of 
providing services that will enhance the employment outcomes for welfare participants. 
Federal legislation requires that both TANF and Head Start agencies assess participants 
needs to help them address barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.  There is no 
formal requirement that CCDF-funded child care programs or Child Care Resource and 
Referral agencies who administer subsidies assess family needs or offer support services. 
This report examines needs assessments and support services in these three programs in 
order to learn how to maximize efforts to help families reach and maintain 
self-sufficiency.  It draws on interviews and reviews of case files, policies and procedures 
of Head Start grantees, TANF agencies and child care providers in six communities as 
well as with their respective State offices.  We interviewed 77 parents or guardians of 
young children receiving Head Start, TANF and/or CCDF subsidized child care. 
We define support services as those which help low-income families overcome barriers to 
employment such as emergency assistance (e.g. food, housing, clothing), intervention (e.g. 
mental health, substance abuse, child abuse and domestic violence), child care, 
transportation and health care. 
FINDINGS 
Head Start uses needs assessments to help low-income families move towards 
self-sufficiency 
1 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  All Head Start grantees we visited conduct an individual family needs assessment to 
determine the need for support services and provide a variety of referrals and services for 
families.  Nearly all Head Start families we interviewed report receiving information, 
referrals and some services from Head Start grantees. 
State and local TANF agency policies, as well as caseworker discretion, affect the 
needs assessments, referral processes and the provision of support services 
that help families reach and maintain self-sufficiency 
The TANF offices we visited focus almost exclusively on vocational needs.  Most TANF 
agency policies indicate and staff respondents report that their focus is on assisting 
recipients make the transition from welfare to work.  Support services to help families 
attain self-sufficiency are lacking in most cases. 
Individual child care programs do not assess family needs.  Although Child Care 
Resource and Referral agencies are not required to assess family needs, some 
may make informal assessments and refer families to needed services 
Some low income families may get referral assistance for support services if they make 
their families needs known when they call a child care resource and referral agency 
(CCR&R) for child care information or child care subsidy.  The Federal CCDF block grant 
does not require child care programs or providers to assess family needs or offer 
additional services.  Additionally, States we visited do not require families using CCDF 
child care subsidies be assessed for support needs. 
The Head Start grantees, TANF agencies, Child Care Resource and Referral 
agencies and child care providers we visited do not coordinate around individual 
families needs assessments.  However, in some sites we visited, these agencies 
will make referrals to other agencies and frequently work together on community 
issues 
Although they all serve low-income families, some of whom are the same families, none of 
the Head Start, TANF, CCR&Rs and child care providers we visited coordinate around an 
individual familys needs.  Lack of coordination around a familys needs assessment may 
affect families access to resources.  In some States we visited, Head Start, TANF and 
CCR&R agencies communicate on matters not directly related to individual families and 
their needs assessments.  While families enrolled in the Head Start program are more likely 
to have their needs assessed, be referred and access services than the families we 
interviewed receiving TANF or CCDF benefits, we found families in these three programs 
often lack knowledge about services when they are available in their communities. 
2 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT 
Head Start, TANF and child care programs serve many of the same low-income families who are 
trying to reach or maintain self-sufficiency.  Both Head Start grantees and TANF agencies are 
required by law to assess families needs and provide families with support services.  Head Start 
grantees are also required to partner with other agencies.  In order to maximize efforts to help 
families reach and maintain self-sufficiency, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) 
could: 
Explore strategies that encourage and facilitate coordination between agencies 
around needs, referrals and provision of services for families 
As economic conditions change or the pool of easier-to-serve clients diminish, agencies 
will face increased demands on their resources, both in the numbers of families needing 
services as well as the extent of their needs.  Coordination between Head Start, TANF and 
child care programs, as well as with other community agencies, will become more 
important in providing needed services to families trying to attain self-sufficiency. 
The ACF could address current issues involving the coordination of families needs, 
referrals and provision of services and anticipate future trends that may require additional 
interagency coordination.  The ACF could devise ongoing methods to assist State, local 
and community agencies with communication and coordination in providing services based 
on family needs.  For example, ACF could develop technical guidance on information 
sharing, convene regional or national conferences on coordination and communication 
between agencies, and disseminate best practices of coordination.  The TANF and child 
care programs may be able to use Head Start grantees as resources to help them improve 
needs identification. 
Encourage Head Start grantees, TANF offices, and child care programs to 
increase parent awareness about the resources they and other community 
agencies provide 
The ACF could encourage Head Start grantees, TANF agencies and child care programs 
to train front-line staff to act as resources to identify community services.  Many parents 
do not know where to find needed services.  They are unaware that Head Start, TANF 
offices and child care programs are resources that may help them identify services that 
may be available to them in their communities. 
In addition to these opportunities for improvement, there is one other area that the Office 
of Inspector General (OIG) will evaluate.  Since both agency and family interviews 
indicated that in most TANF agencies we visited, needs assessments and referrals to 
support services are not regularly being offered, the OIG will examine the degree to which 
3 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  States are complying with the law requiring them to make an initial assessment of the 
skills, prior work experience and employability of each [TANF] recipient1 and to 
conduct a program ... that... provides parents with support services to enable them to 
leave the program and become self-sufficient.2 
AGENCY COMMENTS 
In their written comments, ACF wanted to distinguish between their legal authority to

require State compliance and their encouragement for States to move in directions viewed

as model practices.  They also wanted to document certain actions they had already taken

to address some of the underlying concerns expressed in our report.  The full ACF

comments are contained in the Appendix.  Where appropriate, we changed the report to

reflect their comments and concerns.

We recognize that the nature of the relationship between ACF and States has significantly

changed since the implementation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).  The ACFs primary role is to ensure States

compliance with TANF and CCDF regulations, while PRWORA gives the States

unprecedented authority to administer the programs according to their own policy choices. 

The States TANF programs that have emerged are in various stages of development. 

States are still experimenting with ways to meet the PRWORA goals of reducing welfare

dependency and helping participants reach and maintain 

self-sufficiency.

We agree with ACF that the nature, mission and goal of each States TANF program is

not centered on family assessments.  We further agree with ACF that TANF does not

require States to enter into an individual responsibility plan with their clients.  Our intent in

the report is not to become overly-focused on a certain kind of formal needs assessment,

but rather to meet the self-sufficiency needs of low-income parents and families served by

these three programs.  In order to help clients become self-sufficient, States first have to

know what needs have to be met.  In reviewing case files and discussing individual parent

and family needs, we did not find, for the most part, that needs were being appropriately

identified, either in a formal or informal way.  Therefore, we have maintained our first

suggested action but deleted the word assessment to avoid the impression we are

encouraging TANF agencies and Child Care programs to conduct the same type of formal

assessments as Head Start grantees.

1 Public Law 104-193, Section 408(b)1 
2Public Law 104-193, Section 402(a)(1)(A)(i) 
4 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  The ACF supports the concept that all child care providers have information on 
community resources to assist families with assessments.  We agree that many child care 
providers are not trained to do the assessment themselves, nor that they have sufficient 
resources to hire support service staff.  However, we did not find examples of child care 
programs or State agencies in the sites we visited which emphasize linking families to 
community services which can provide assessments or needed services.  We believe 
further attention should be focused on ensuring that parents receiving subsidized care have 
access to information about community resources. 
The ACF stated that some collaboration among these three programs takes place.  We 
support this collaboration.  We emphasize that focusing local-level collaboration around 
identifying and providing for families needs remains an opportunity for improvement.  If 
families participate in two or three of these programs, local-level coordination can ensure 
a more focused plan for individual families and improve the efficiency of resource 
utilization. 
Finally, as welfare caseloads continue to drop, States are increasingly looking for ways to 
help remaining recipients make the transition from welfare to work.  Many of the 
recipients remaining on the rolls face myriad personal and family problems which may 
hinder rapid employment and long-term attachment to the labor force.  Appropriate 
identification of needs can enable States to provide or refer recipients to the services 
which will help facilitate a successful transition to employment and self-sufficiency. 
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget also commented on the 
report.  They conceptually agree with the report, but point out that limited funding and the 
reduced Federal role in welfare administration may hamper the coordination efforts we 
recommend. 
5 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  T A B L E   O F   C O N T E N T S  
PAGE 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12

Head Start Family Needs Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

TANF Family Needs Assessments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Child Care Programs and Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies Needs Assessments . 17

Agency Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21

AGENCY COMMENTS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24

APPENDIX  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  26

ACF Comments  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  I N T R O D U C T I O N  
PURPOSE 
To describe efforts to assess family needs and provide support services to low-income 
families receiving Head Start, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Child 
Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies. 
BACKGROUND 
Federal legislation involving welfare and Head Start changed the relationship between 
Head Start and TANF and has had considerable impact on child care as well.  The 
Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA) 
replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with TANF block grants to 
States.  The PRWORA imposed work requirements and lifetime limits on TANF 
recipients.  Despite large reductions in the number of welfare recipients in the last 5 years, 
there are still nearly eight million TANF recipients, approximately two-thirds of them 
children. 
The PRWORA  also replaced existing child care funding for low-income families with a 
single integrated Child Care and Development Block Grant.  Congress increased child care 
funding for fiscal years (FY) 1997-2002 to $20.9 billion, a $4 billion increase over the 
previous funding cycle.  States use these funds to reimburse child care programs for 
serving eligible families or providing parents with child care certificates or vouchers to 
purchase child care.  Program goals include: promoting parental choice, encouraging 
States to provide consumer education to parents, and helping States implement health, 
safety, licensing and registration standards. 
The Head Start program, a comprehensive child development program funded at $4.35 
billion for FY 1998, with over 1,400 grantees, serves nearly 800,000 low income children 
and their families.  Revised performance standards require Head Start grantees to 
coordinate with TANF, child care programs, and other social service agencies. 
Needs Assessments and Support Services 
Welfare recipients and other low-income families may need help beyond child care in order 
to enter the workforce and remain self-sufficient.  Federal legislation requires that both 
Head Start and TANF agencies assess participants needs to help them address barriers to 
7 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  employment and self-sufficiency.  Child care programs are not required to assess family 
needs. 
The replacement of AFDC with TANF block grants heightens the importance of providing 
services that will enhance the employment outcomes for welfare participants.  States must 
and are beginning to prepare to serve welfare recipients with tougher problems, moving 
beyond the work first approach to programs designed to help families access a wide 
range of services.3  In this inspection, we define support services as services which help 
families overcome barriers to employment such as emergency assistance (e.g., food, 
housing, clothing, and transportation), intervention (e.g., mental health, substance abuse, 
child abuse, and domestic violence), as well as employment services, child care, 
transportation and health care.4 
Head Start Requirements 
Head Start grantees offer parents the opportunity to develop and implement an 
individualized family partnership agreement that describes family goals, responsibilities, 
and strategies for achieving these aims.  Head Starts Performance Measures pertaining to 
the Family Partnership Agreement require that grantees work with parents to identify and 
access services and resources appropriate for each familys interests and goals.  Support 
services that should be identified and accessed include emergency assistance, intervention 
and employment services.  Head Starts follow-up with each family should ensure the 
kind, quality and timeliness of the services received through referrals. 
Head Start agencies are required to take an active role in community cooperation among 
agencies to improve the delivery of services to children and families.  Head Starts 
Performance Measures emphasize that providing linkages to other service sources in the 
community, particularly child care, is a critical role for Head Start grantees.  Head Start 
grantees are also required to partner with other agencies, rather than provide all services 
for Head Start families.  The Head Start Family Partnership Agreement, must take into 
account and, build upon where appropriate, information obtained from the family and 
other community agencies concerning preexisting family plans. 
3National Governors Association, Working Out of Poverty: Helping Welfare Recipients Stay Employed, 
1998 and Ancillary Services to Support Welfare to Work, Mathmatica Policy Research, 1998. 
4There is no accepted definition of what constitutes support services. In this report, we use the set of 
support services used in the ASPE-funded, ACF-sponsored Ancillary Services to Support Welfare to Work, 
distributed to all attendees of ACFs Welfare Reform Promising Practices National Conferences.. 
8 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Requirements 
Under PRWORA, States are required to make an initial assessment of the skills, prior 
work experience and employability of each [TANF] recipient and refer them to support 
services as necessary5.  Each States TANF agency must decide if it wants to develop an 
individual responsibility plan for a particular recipient.  In addition to setting forth an 
employment strategy for the recipient, the individual responsibility plan describes the 
specific services the State will provide to the family to enable the parent to acquire and 
maintain employment.  Further, TANF agencies often contract with other community 
agencies to provide education, training, child care and transportation services for 
recipients. 
Child Care Requirements 
The CCDF block grant does not require child care programs or providers to assess family 
needs or offer additional services.  However, the CCDF block grant does require States to 
coordinate the provision of child care services with other Federal, State, and local child 
care and early childhood development programs, particularly TANF, public health, 
employment services and public education.  In recent years, many child care programs and 
Head Start programs have worked together to provide extended hour care and additional 
education and support services. 
Other community-based child care programs may offer needs assessments and referrals. 
Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&R) may provide assessments and 
referrals to families who receive CCDF-funded subsidies.  While CCR&Rs do not provide 
direct child care services, many serve as the State-contracted voucher management 
agency.  Nationally, CCR&Rs primary mission is to link parents to child care and 
promote universal access to quality child care.  The CCR&Rs whose missions are defined 
by their communities, often serve a multi-dimensional role of promoting integrated 
supports to children and families.  In addition, some social service agencies administer 
child care programs and may provide additional services to these families. 
SCOPE 
This report examines needs assessments and support services in these three programs in 
order to learn how to maximize efforts to help families reach and maintain 
self-sufficiency.  We compared the needs assessments, referrals and provision of support 
services for families with children enrolled in Head Start programs, or who are TANF 
5 Public Law 104-193, Sections 402(a)1(i) and Sec. 408(b) 
9 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  recipients, or who use CCDF child care subsidies in the local communities we visited.  We 
examined families needs related to the following areas: child care, health promotion and 
treatment, mental health, nutrition, domestic violence, intervention services, emergency 
assistance and employment services.  We also examined the coordination, referrals and 
linkages among Head Start programs, TANF agencies and child care programs relating to 
these needs and services. 
We looked at families in poverty with children between 3 and 5 years old since they 
comprise 96 percent of Head Start families.  We interviewed families with children in 
licensed and regulated child care settings who use CCDF funded child care certificates to 
pay for those services or fill a CCDF funded contracted slot. 
METHODOLOGY 
We made onsite visits to one community in California, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, 
North Carolina and Texas.  We selected these States based on TANF caseload, Head Start 
enrollment, expert recommendation and geographic location.  We selected individual sites 
based on a mix of urban, rural and suburban settings.  We interviewed Head Start 
administrators and Family Service Workers and other staff at each Head Start site.6  In 
California, we visited two Head Start grantees.  At each local TANF office, we spoke with 
directors, supervisory staff, and caseworkers.  In New York, we visited two local TANF 
offices.  At the CCR&R agencies, we interviewed a director or someone responsible for 
responding to parents child care needs.  At the child care providers, we interviewed the 
director.  In Nebraska and Texas, we also interviewed directors of other social service 
agencies that conduct family needs assessments.  In each State we visited, we interviewed 
directors or representatives from the State TANF and State lead child care offices. 
6These Head Start employees may have different job titles at different locations. For the purpose of this 
report, we will refer to them as Family Service Workers. Likewise, we will refer to TANF employees, whose job 
function is to assess families needs and refer families for services, as caseworkers. 
10 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  We examined the available family files 
to determine if needs assessments had  FAMILIES 
been completed, what action had 
occurred and if any coordination  Head Start Only  29 
between agencies took place.  In  TANF Only  8 
addition, we interviewed parents who  Child Care Only  9 
were randomly selected from lists  Head Start and TANF  11 
provided by the programs whose  Head Start and Child Care  7 
children are in Head Start, and/or who  TANF and Child Care  9 
participate in the TANF program,  Head Start, TANF and Child Care  4 
and/or receive child care subsidies for 
their children.  We interviewed a total  Total Families Interviewed  77 
of 77 families.  We made our site 
visits in September and October 1998. 
We did not examine any Early Head Start programs which is a separate program serving 
children ages 0-3 in full day, full year programs.  We make neither national projections 
based on our case study sites nor rank individual Head Start grantees, TANF agencies or 
child care programs.  Rather, our purpose was to gain an increased understanding of the 
needs assessment processes in these programs and to identify ways to improve their 
effectiveness in meeting families needs for support services. 
Our review was conducted in accordance with the Quality Standards for Inspections 
issued by the President's Council on Integrity and Efficiency. 
11 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  F I N D I N G S  
Head Start uses needs assessments to help low-income 
families move towards self-sufficiency 
All seven Head Start grantees we visited administer an individual family needs 
assessment to determine the need for support services and provide a variety of 
referrals and services to families 
Head Start grantees use different models to meet the objective of strengthening families 
through links with community services.  After reviewing Head Start grantee assessment 
instruments, agency policy and procedures, interviewing Head Start parents, Head Start 
administrative and front-line staff, and reviewing available client files, we found that needs 
assessments vary in content, length and use.  Assessments range from a one-page checklist 
of services to seven pages of detailed questions and probes.  Variations between grantees 
in the procedures for using needs assessments include:  how and when assessments are 
completed, who determines what action should be taken, if a referral will be made or a 
service offered on site, if referrals are written and documented in case files, and if follow-
up is made. 
Head Start grantees use information obtained from the needs assessments to identify 
services or workshops they can offer families or to provide referrals to community 
providers.  In five of the seven grantees we visited, families complete the needs assessment 
on their own.  The Family Service Worker (FSW) then reviews the assessment with the 
family, usually at the first home visit, and will make referrals for any needed support 
services.  At the Illinois and New York Head Start grantees we visited, the FSW 
completes the assessment form with the family.  At another grantee, the FSWs do not 
participate in the completion of the needs assessment, but that Head Start grantee uses the 
assessments to plan onsite workshops to meet families needs. 
To meet families needs, Head Start grantees make referrals to outside service 
providers and provide on-site services 
Head Start referral processes differ by grantee in the manner a referral is made and

documented.  All of the Head Start grantees we visited give referrals to families in need of

services.  Head Start referral processes in the different grantees we visited include:

C  informal information sharing between staff and families

C  formal written procedures for documentation and follow-up

12 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  C  the FSW calls ahead to service providers to verify availability of service for the 
families 
C  Head Start staff make group decisions regarding what services families should 
access. 
In six of seven Head Start grantees we visited, FSWs determine which families should be 
given referrals for support services.  Two of these six grantees (Illinois and Texas) report 
that the FSW, teacher, education coordinator and/or health coordinator hold staffings to 
determine referrals.  Four Head Start grantees give the family a written referral, and two 
grantees make initial phone contact with the provider verifying availability of the needed 
service before referring the family.  At one Head Start grantee, teachers provide referrals 
to families.  Almost all of the Head Start grantees we visited indicate that they follow up 
on referrals.  Another grantee we visited provides referrals and follow up exclusively on 
services for children. 
While some Head Start grantees emphasize referrals to outside service providers, others 
elect to meet families needs through onsite workshops and services rather than through 
referring families to other community agencies.  Families and staff at these grantees report 
that workshops are well attended.  These grantees provide workshops on a variety of 
topics including those that families indicate on their needs assessment form are of concern 
to them. 
Although they may provide effective ways to identify or address families needs, the 
various models of assessments, referrals and provision of services that we observed do not 
ensure that everyones needs are identified and resolved.  For example, many Head Start 
grantees report that families often approach a teacher, rather than an FSW, with a problem 
or concern.  Teachers may not be specifically trained to help families access services or 
make appropriate referrals. 
Also, while most Head Start grantees we visited rely on FSWs to refer families to needed 
services,  some Head Start grantees provide information to their families by giving them 
copies of community resource books.  Though useful for some families, providing a list or 
book may not help families with low literacy levels or non-English speakers.  Additionally, 
a resource book alone may not help families find the providers who can best meet their 
needs.  Similarly, Head Start grantees that focus on providing workshops often do this in 
lieu of referring families to other community agencies.  Consequently, families needs may 
not be individually addressed and services already available in the community may be 
duplicated. 
Some Head Start grantees recognize the need to conduct the needs assessment 
later in the school year 
13 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Delaying the timing of assessing families needs may improve the ability of Head Start 
grantees to effectively provide services.  Historically, most Head Start grantees administer 
the needs assessment either during the Spring application period or at the beginning of the 
school year.  According to most agency staff and families that we interviewed, some 
families need to establish trust before feeling comfortable expressing their needs.  In 
response to this apprehension, beginning this year, Head Start families in the grantees we 
visited in California, Illinois and New York will complete the needs assessment later in the 
school year after relationships with Head Start staff are more established.  In Illinois, the 
FSW will conduct the needs assessment and discuss the childs educational and 
developmental screening at the same time later in the school year. 
Before the school year begins, families must complete large amounts of paperwork to 
enroll their child in Head Start and the needs assessment form may not hold importance to 
them at that time.  A few families we spoke with who had a completed needs assessment 
in their Head Start file and/or who should have completed an assessment at the time of our 
interview, report that they do not recall filling out a Head Start form asking them about 
their family needs.  Others report that they did not indicate needing any services when they 
filled out their form.  Parents may not recall completing the needs assessment or 
appreciate how Head Start uses it to help them meet their needs.  Consequently, the North 
Carolina grantee we visited encourages FSWs to focus more attention on the needs 
assessments form and process to make it more meaningful for parents. 
The Illinois and North Carolina Head Start grantees we visited periodically reassess 
families for additional needs.  These grantees regularly revisit the needs assessment at 
home visits and at other parent meetings.  These additional visits are important because 
families needs may have changed since the needs assessments were first completed, or 
families may not always indicate their needs on the assessment forms. 
Nearly all Head Start families we interviewed report receiving information, 
referrals and some services from Head Start grantees 
We found that low-income families enrolled in the Head Start program are more likely to 
have their needs assessed, be referred and access services than the families we interviewed 
receiving TANF or CCDF benefits.  Head Start families we interviewed report receiving 
referrals and some services including transportation, child care, General Equivalency 
Degree classes or English as a Second Language classes, counseling services, and health 
care.  One parent said she loves Head Start because even though its for children it helps 
parents.  Despite these successes, some Head Start parents we interviewed need support 
services, but do not know that they can ask Head Start grantees for assistance as problems 
arise or that Head Start may facilitate access to services. 
14 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  State and local TANF agency policies, as well as caseworker 
discretion, affect the needs assessments, referral processes 
and the provision of  support services that help families 
reach and maintain self-sufficiency 
The PRWORA legislation requires that TANF agencies make an initial assessment of the 
skills, prior work experience and employability of each recipient,and requires States to 
conduct a program ... that... provides parents with support services to enable them to 
leave the program and become self-sufficient.7  Most TANF agency policies indicate and 
staff respondents report that their focus is on assisting recipients make the transition from 
welfare to work.  Consequently, in four of the seven TANF offices we visited, needs 
assessments and services provided to families exclusively focus on child care and 
transportation, and not other barriers to employment, such as emergency assistance (e.g., 
food, housing, clothing, and transportation), intervention (e.g., mental health, substance 
abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence), as well as employment services, child care, 
transportation and health care. 
State and Local Policies 
While five of seven local TANF agencies we visited have policies and procedures for 
assessing the needs of recipients, the methods by which they assess and the content of 
their assessments vary.  At intake, most TANF recipients complete a brief skill and 
employability assessment and are asked if they have child care or transportation needs that 
would prevent them from holding a job.  In four of the seven TANF offices we visited, 
caseworkers report they are not required to refer families to support services.  In New 
York, the only referral obligation of caseworkers is to provide recipients with the names 
of two child care providers who have space available. 
There is no assurance that families are asked about their need for services.  In three TANF 
offices we visited, if a recipient identifies a domestic violence, substance abuse, or mental 
health problem, the caseworkers will refer them for professional treatment.  But these 
services are client driven, i.e., referrals for services are determined by what recipients 
indicate rather than caseworkers probing for support services that families need. 
Two TANF offices we visited in North Carolina and Illinois use needs assessment 
techniques similar to Head Start.  Recipients undergo a detailed assessment which 
addresses a wide range of support services.  In fact, North Carolina caseworkers go over a 
support services checklist with families every 6 months or at each meeting to determine if 
7Public Law 104-193, Section 402(a)(1)(i) 
15 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  family needs are being addressed.  Illinois is implementing a new process where 
caseworkers will informally update the assessment at every meeting with recipients.  No 
other TANF offices we visited reassess recipients needs. 
Caseworker Discretion 
In Illinois, caseworkers not only provide recipients with referrals for a broad range of 
services, but can only make referrals to providers with whom they verify the providers 
availability to serve the recipient.  Illinois caseworkers use a written referral form in 
triplicate with a copy for the caseworker, the family and the service provider.  They also 
contact the service provider by telephone, note the action in the case file and follow up to 
see if the family received the services. 
Some caseworkers we spoke with report they try to help meet recipients needs on a 
case-by-case basis even though their State procedures do not require them to help families 
find services.  In New York and California, caseworkers we interviewed report routinely 
using their own community lists and resources to help families access programs like Head 
Start and community food pantries.  However, this is not agency protocol. 
Recipient Responses 
Twenty-three of thirty-two TANF recipients interviewed report that TANF caseworkers 
had neither assessed nor addressed their families needs.  Most recipients report that 
caseworkers did not ask them if they need any support services, nor did they inform them 
of any available services through TANF or in the community.  One parent who needs 
housing, says that she did not learn about any services from the TANF agency and didnt 
know they could help with services.  Some recipients have seen multiple caseworkers and 
did not know who they should contact to ask for help.  Of the TANF recipients we 
interviewed who had been assessed, some were given referrals from their caseworkers. 
Most of these recipients found this information helpful. 
In some cases recipients face problems accessing needed services when services relate 
directly to employment.  In New York, one recipient says her TANF benefits stopped 
when the transportation subsidies she needed to get to work never materialized, causing 
her to lose her job.  Another recipient reports that she was only told about job training. 
When she asked her caseworker for help with transportation she was told to call 411 (the 
directory assistance phone number).  Most families do not know if they can get 
information about community resources and services from their TANF office.  A few 
caseworkers we interviewed report that they are not trained well enough to help families 
with the types of problems that arise. 
16 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Individual child care programs do not assess family needs. 
Child Care Resource and Referral agencies are not required 
to assess family needs, but some may make informal 
assessments and refer families to needed services 
Neither Federal nor State law require that families using CCDF child care subsidies be 
assessed for needs beyond child care or offered additional services.  In addition, CCDF 
does not provide specific funding for family needs assessments.  None of the child care 
providers we visited administer needs assessments to their families.  These child care 
providers do not consider it their responsibility to help families access support services. 
The child care directors we met with report little, if any, contact with community agencies. 
Further, most child care staff we interviewed know little about community services and do 
not routinely refer families to community services.  One director reports that she assumed 
that families would get information from public aid. 
However, one child care director we interviewed espouses views similar to Head Starts 
philosophy.  He believes that in order to educate children, he must help their families 
access services.  Along with other respondents, he feels: 
Families have lots of problems accessing services. They dont even receive child care subsidy 
information from the welfare office and dont know they are available. Families are intimidated 
to ask welfare caseworkers for help. 
Some low income families may get referral assistance for support services if they make 
their families needs known when they call a CCR&R for child care information.  The 
CCR&Rs we visited report that other family needs may emerge when determining 
eligibility for subsidized child care or when providing child care information.  These 
CCR&Rs will help families access needed services beyond child care, like family 
counseling, emergency services, transportation, education and job training.  Many 
CCR&R staff report families awareness of community resources and services is scarce. 
The Head Start, TANF, Child Care Resource and Referral and 
child care programs we visited do not coordinate around 
individual families needs assessments.  However, in some 
sites we visited, these agencies will make referrals to other 
agencies and frequently work together on community issues 
17 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Coordination of families needs assessments between agencies has not yet 
evolved 
The welfare reform legislation that created TANF affects not only needy families, but 
also intergovernmental relationships....It transforms the way agencies do business, 
requiring they engage in genuine partnerships with each other.8  Although they all serve 
low-income families, some of whom are the same families, none of  the Head Start, 
TANF, and child care providers we visited coordinate around an individual familys needs. 
Federal guidance on coordination around families needs is unfocused.  Head Start 
performance standards require that the Family Partnership Agreement consider and build 
on any other family plans from other community agencies.  However, only two of seven 
Head Start grantees we visited ask families if they have plans or agreements with other 
agencies.  There are no specific Federal requirements that TANF offices or individual child 
care programs coordinate around individual assessments.  The Child Care Bureau believes 
that State and local child care planning should promote comprehensive services to families 
by linking child care to critical services like health, family support services, employment 
services, transportation, housing, etc.  State Lead Child Care agencies are required to 
coordinate the provision of services with other programs including TANF and early 
childhood developmental programs. 
Very limited progress towards coordinating around families needs assessment has begun 
in some agencies.  In North Carolina, a Head Start respondent said they are developing a 
written agreement with the TANF agency to share information on families needs 
assessments.  The North Carolina TANF director indicated that they had considered 
including the Head Start Family Support Workers in their staffings to discuss families 
needs.  In Nebraska, Head Start grantees met once with the State TANF agency to 
suggest coordinating around families needs assessments, but no agreement resulted from 
this meeting. Two Head Start directors we met with indicated a willingness to coordinate 
with other agencies on needs assessments, but are unsure how to proceed. 
Not everyone agrees that agencies should exchange information on individual familys 
needs.  Some workers feel that confidentiality issues prohibit sharing of data between 
agencies.  One Head Start FSW said that it is not her job to discuss referrals with the 
welfare office and job services.  Other respondents fear that staff in other agencies may 
not be knowledgeable about where to refer families for services or trained to assess family 
needs.  Some Head Start employees believe they (or their contractors) can provide better 
service to families at the Head Start site, rather than referring families elsewhere for some 
services. 
8Preamble to final rule, 64 FR17722. 
18 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Lack of coordination may affect families access to resources 
Although Head Start, TANF and CCR&R agencies have different missions, they share a 
goal of helping families toward self-sufficiency.  The absence of coordination around a 
familys needs assessment may hinder a familys ability to become self-sufficient.  For 
example, one social service agency respondent reports that, in order to receive services, 
families may promise different things to different agencies on family partnership 
agreements or responsibility plans.  These agreements or plans may pose conflicts and/or 
confuse families regarding deadlines and priorities.  Moreover, agencies may penalize 
families for failing to live up to the terms of their contracts and agreements. 
Communities we visited varied in the extent of support services available to low-income 
families.  In communities without many services, the lack of coordination between 
agencies may strain finite resources, decreasing the likelihood of families finding and 
accessing services.  In contrast, in communities with more resources, duplication of 
services may result from a lack of coordination between Head Start, TANF and child care 
programs.  One Head Start grantee we visited, for example,  offered on-site services 
instead of referring families to other community agencies which provide the same service. 
Two additional respondents in other States were concerned about their agencies offering 
the same services that other community providers offered. 
In some communities that we visited, Head Start, TANF and CCR&R agencies 
communicate on matters not directly related to individual families and their needs 
assessments 
While there is no sharing of information on individual families needs, most Head Start, 
TANF and CCR&R staff routinely refer clients to each others agencies and some inform 
other agencies of a familys participation in their programs.  Almost all Head Start 
grantees we visited ask families if they access services at other community agencies.  In 
Illinois the TANF agency provides some Head Start grantees with lists of TANF 
participants in nearby zip code areas, allowing Head Start to target their recruitment 
efforts.  In California, TANF caseworkers visited Head Start grantees to inform staff and 
parents about welfare reform changes. Also in California, Head Start recruitment 
information is sometimes included with welfare checks. 
At some sites we visited, we found that numerous formal and informal agreements exist 
between agencies, including referrals from health services, child welfare, substance abuse, 
domestic violence and food pantries.  In Nebraska, the TANF office we visited contracts 
with 11 local hospitals to take Medicaid applications for emergency room patients, assess 
their needs and refer them to appropriate agencies for social services.  In North Carolina, 
Smart Start is a community partnership aimed at better preparing young children to enter 
school and is comprised of representatives from agencies such as Head Start, the 
19 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  Department of Social Services, and local health and mental health agencies. 
Head Start, TANF and CCR&R management staff often serve on community planning 
councils and interagency boards and workgroups, both locally and at the State level.  To 
overcome some of the problems created by the lack of coordination, some multi-agency 
partnerships evolved in some communities that focus on particular community needs.  In 
these instances, agencies sharing common goals are working together to serve children 
and their families.  However, these councils, boards and workgroups do not resolve all 
interagency communication and coordination issues.  One respondent states that the 
existing councils and projects are excellent networking vehicles, but none have broken 
through to a collaborative effort [because]... agencies are afraid of losing their identity. 
Dwindling resources make us come together to work together.  But some [agencies] are 
also competing for [clients]. 
20 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  O P P O R T U N I T I E S  
F O R   I M P R O V E M E N T  
Though they serve many of the same low-income families, Head Start, TANF and child

care programs vary substantially in the extent to which needs are assessed and addressed. 

Both Head Start grantees and TANF agencies are required by law to assess families needs

and provide families with support services.  We found that families enrolled in the Head

Start program are more likely to have their needs assessed, be referred to and access

services than families receiving TANF or CCDF benefits.  Needs assessments can be an

important tool in determining what services families need in order to become self-

sufficient.

Since the enactment of welfare reform, States have reduced welfare caseloads

substantially.  States efforts, as well as a healthy economy, have enabled many TANF

recipients to find employment and work towards self-sufficiency.  As economic conditions

change or the pool of easier-to-serve clients diminishes, all three agencies will face greater

difficulties in serving families trying to reach or maintain self-sufficiency.  We have

identified promising practices to encourage agencies to begin developing more effective

means to assess and address the needs of low-income families, including the coordination

of services to maximize the resources that enable families to realize 

self-sufficiency.

The Administration for Children and Families could further explore 
strategies that encourage and facilitate coordination between agencies 
around needs, referrals and provision of services for families 
The ACF could address current issues involving the coordination of families needs, 
referrals and provision of services and anticipate future trends that may require additional 
interagency coordination.  Coordination around families needs between Head Start, 
TANF and child care programs, as well as with other community social service agencies, 
will become increasingly important in providing needed services to families working 
towards self-sufficiency.  Agencies will face increased demands on their resources, both in 
the numbers of families needing services as well as the extent of their needs. 
Head Start, TANF and child care programs may benefit by coordinating with other 
agencies based on families needs.  Coordination may allow for increased awareness of 
existing community services, more efficient use of resources, and reduced duplication of 
21 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  services.  Further, coordination may permit agencies to specialize their services.  The ACF 
could devise methods to provide ongoing guidance and support to State, local and 
community agencies delivering services to low-income families.  Specific steps ACF could 
take include: 
C	 developing technical guidance addressing broad conceptual issues such as 
confidentiality, jurisdiction, and information sharing, 
C	 convening regional or national conferences highlighting the best coordinating and 
communicating practices among agencies, 
C	 disseminating best practices detailing the use of existing avenues for 
communication and coordination.  Planning commissions and/or interagency 
workgroups exist at every site we visited.  These entities provide many 
opportunities to resolve differences and share information on common and 
cross-cutting issues. 
The Administration for Children and Families could encourage Head 
Start grantees, TANF offices and child care programs to increase 
parent awareness about the resources they and other community 
agencies provide 
We found that families in all three programs lack knowledge about available services and

are uncomfortable expressing their families needs.  Many parents do not know where to

find needed services or that Head Start, TANF offices and child care programs are

potential resources that may help them identify available support services.  Further,

families indicate that they are often reluctant to make their needs known or pursue needed

services.

In order to meet Head Start, TANF and child care program goals and objectives relating

to these families, there is value in enhancing needs assessments, referrals and provision of

services.  While we recognize that each program has specific missions and relates to States

and grantees in different ways, these programs and missions converge around 

low-income families trying to reach and maintain self-sufficiency.  We suggest that ACF

encourage the following promising practices to increase parent awareness and access to

services through Head Start, TANF and child care:

C	 Complete the needs assessment at intake or eligibility determination and 
periodically measure family progress.  This may ensure that previously indicated 
needs, as well as emerging needs, are met.  In addition, families may be more 
22 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  comfortable expressing their needs as they become acquainted with a family 
service worker or caseworker. 
C  Include questions on the needs assessment regarding what other agencies and 
services families are currently accessing.  This may allow agencies to avoid 
duplication of services and conflicting service plans, as well as to facilitate the 
coordination of resources. 
C	 Increase staff and program awareness of available support services in the 
community through training, interagency information exchange and common 
resource books. 
C	 Include questions on the needs assessment that address general community needs. 
This may encourage families inhibited from expressing their personal needs to 
come forth with their problems and may help programs devise applicable 
workshops. 
C	 Sponsor on-site workshops and services for families if not accessible elsewhere in 
the community. 
C	 Establish formal referral processes and follow-up procedures to improve 
accountability of both staff and families. 
C	 Develop a comprehensive assessment tool for CCDF voucher management 
agencies.  Needs assessments may be an effective way for CCR&Rs and child care 
programs to gain greater knowledge about the needs of their families and to 
develop strategies toward linking families with appropriate services. 
In addition to these opportunities for improvement, there is one other area that the Office 
of Inspector General (OIG) will evaluate.  Since both agency and family interviews 
indicated that in most of the TANF agencies we visited, needs assessments and referrals to 
support services are not regularly being offered, the OIG will examine the degree to which 
States are complying with the law requiring them to make an initial assessment of the 
skills, prior work experience and employability of each [TANF] recipient and to conduct 
a program ... that... provides parents with support services to enable them to leave the 
program and become self-sufficient. 
23 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  A G E N C Y  C O M M E N T S  
In their written comments, ACF wanted to distinguish between their legal authority to 
require State compliance and their encouragement for States to move in directions viewed 
as model practices.  They also wanted to document certain actions they had already taken 
to address some of the underlying concerns expressed in our report.  The full ACF 
comments are contained in the Appendix.  Where appropriate, we changed the report to 
reflect their comments and concerns. 
We recognize that the  nature of the relationship between ACF and the States has 
significantly changed since PRWORA was implemented.  The ACFs primary role is to 
ensure States compliance with TANF and CCDF regulations, while PRWORA gives the 
States unprecedented authority to administer the programs according to their own policy 
choices.  The States TANF programs that have emerged are in various stages of 
development.  States are still experimenting with ways to meet the PRWORA goals of 
reducing welfare dependency and helping participants reach and maintain 
self-sufficiency. 
We agree with ACF that the nature, mission and goal of each States TANF program is 
not centered on family assessments.  We further agree with ACF that TANF does not 
require States to enter into an individual responsibility plan with their clients.  Our intent in 
the report is not to become overly focused on a certain kind of formal needs assessment, 
but rather to meet the self-sufficiency needs of low-income parents and families served by 
these three programs.  In order to help clients become self-sufficient, States first have to 
know what needs have to be met.  In reviewing case files and discussing individual parent 
and family needs, we did not find, for the most part, that needs were being appropriately 
identified, either in a formal or informal way.  Therefore, we have maintained our first 
suggested action but deleted the word assessment to avoid the impression we are 
encouraging TANF agencies and Child Care programs to conduct the same type of formal 
assessments as Head Start grantees. 
The ACF supports the concept that all child care providers have information on 
community resources to assist families with assessments.  We agree that many child care 
providers are not trained to do the assessment themselves, nor that they have sufficient 
resources to hire support service staff.  However, we did not find examples of child care 
programs or State agencies in the sites we visited which emphasize linking families to 
community services which can provide assessments or needed services.  We believe 
further attention should be focused on ensuring that parents receiving subsidized care have 
access to information about community resources. 
24 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  The ACF stated that some collaboration among these three programs takes place.  We 
support this collaboration.  We emphasize that focusing local-level collaboration around 
identifying and providing for families needs remains an opportunity for improvement.  If 
families participate in two or three of these programs, local-level coordination can ensure 
a more focused plan for individual families and improve the efficiency of resource 
utilization. 
Finally, as welfare caseloads continue to drop, States are increasingly looking for ways to 
help remaining recipients make the transition from welfare to work.  Many of the 
recipients remaining on the rolls face myriad personal and family problems which may 
hinder rapid employment and long-term attachment to the labor force.  Appropriate 
identification of needs can enable States to provide or refer recipients to the services 
which will help facilitate a successful transition to employment and self-sufficiency. 
The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget also commented on the 
report.  They conceptually agree with the report, but point out that limited funding and the 
reduced Federal role in welfare administration may hamper the coordination efforts we 
recommend. 
25 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540  APPENDIX 
Administration for Children and Families 

Comments on the Draft Report

26 
Families Needs Assessments  OEI-05-98-00540