Department of Health, Department of Health Facilities, and Department of Human Services

​Nancy Exline, Commissioner of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Children and Families (BCF) today announced it has been selected to participate in the Family Stability National Policy Academy to develop and implement improvements to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program.

“We are excited about this opportunity to continue strengthening our TANF Program as it provides important support to West Virginia families across the state,” said Exline. “Through the Academy, we will develop strategies to assess the needs of TANF participants and will come up with innovative approaches that build upon new knowledge and opportunities.”

Though TANF, West Virginia Works provides a variety of employment related services such as training assistance, occupational skills development, job search support and child care assistance.  

Expected outcomes of the Academy include:

• Improvement of service delivery models with family needs – including seamless ‘no wrong door’ approaches to whole-family service delivery;
• Creation of sustainable community partnerships and career pathways to increase employment/training supports to TANF families – including utilizing strong and stable employer engagements; and
• Efficient use of Labor Market Information (LMI) and demand date; improved communication structures among human services, workforce development and education; and training providers.

West Virginia is one of seven states selected for the Academy, which is hosted by the Federal Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance.