Strengthening TANF engagement through early childhood development science

Helping TANF families access simple, science-based early-learning supports

Families taking part in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program often juggle the challenges of employment, parenting, and financial instability. Nearly 1.5 million children live in households receiving TANF, and about one-third of these children are under age 5—a period when their interactions with adults can have a powerful impact on their development.

Vroom Tips™, a science-based early learning resource from the Bezos Family Foundation, offers free tips and tools that can help parents and caregivers turn everyday activities into learning opportunities. The foundation saw a promising opportunity to connect with more families by introducing Vroom through TANF programs—reaching parents through the caseworkers who are already helping them with family stability and employment.

To test this idea, the Bezos Family Foundation partnered with Mathematica to evaluate whether Vroom could be successfully integrated into TANF services and whether doing so could boost parent engagement with Vroom and participation in TANF itself.

Testing practical ways for TANF programs to introduce parents to Vroom

Mathematica designed and implemented two experimental evaluations in partnership with county TANF agencies in Larimer County, Colorado, and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Each county tested different approaches for introducing Vroom to newly enrolled TANF participants.

• The Larimer County Works Program tested a brief mention of Vroom (among other resources) by a TANF coach compared with an intentional, coach-led introduction that included an invitation for participants to complete an action step in Vroom and set a related parenting goal.
• The Mecklenburg County Work First Program tested an introduction to Vroom by a TANF employment social worker during a home visit compared with a control group that received services as usual, with no mention of Vroom.

Mathematica tracked participants’ uptake of Vroom; how helpful they perceived Vroom to be; and their short-term TANF engagement outcomes, including reported TANF experiences and meeting attendance.

Intentional introductions to Vroom helped parents use the resource more and stay engaged with TANF

Mathematica found that an intentional, personalized introduction to Vroom increased parents’ engagement with Vroom and with TANF itself.

In Larimer County:

• Parents who received a coach-led introduction were significantly more likely than those who received only a brief mention of Vroom to explore Vroom (37 percent vs. 13 percent), use it at least twice per week (43 percent vs. 20 percent), set a Vroom action step (37 percent vs. 13 percent), and say it was “very helpful” for their family (67 percent vs. 29 percent).
• The parents who received the coach-led introduction were also more likely to return for a third TANF coaching session (40 percent vs. 32 percent) and to agree that learning about Vroom improved their overall experience with TANF (85 percent vs. 38 percent).

In Mecklenburg County:

• More than half of the parents introduced to Vroom said it enhanced their TANF experience (54 percent). Qualitative interviews suggested the resource resonated most with first-time parents.
• Once introduced to Vroom, 59 percent of parents reported independently accessing it, nearly one in three used Vroom at least twice per week (31 percent), and nearly half said it was “very helpful” for their family (49 percent).