LINCOLN — Nebraska is one of five states the Trump administration selected to participate in a pilot program aimed at improving the way the nation carries out the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which is nearing its 30th year.

States tapped for the six-year pilot program — others are Iowa, Arizona, Ohio and Virginia — underwent a competitive process and were announced Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families.

“It’s great for Nebraska,” said Shannon Grotrian, director of Nebraska’s Office of Economic Assistance. “We’ll be able to lead the way in showing what works.”

No additional grant money comes with participation in the pilot, though Nebraska will get federal coaching and other support services.

Pillen Touts ‘Nebraska Way’

Grotrian envisions no change in the amount of benefits provided to the 2,700 Nebraska families participating in the TANF program, a federal block grant that provides cash and other support to eligible low-income families with children. The average grant per household is $466 a month and Nebraska has a 60-month lifetime limit, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The premise of the pilot is to explore different and better ways to gauge the outcome of TANF spending than the “work participation rate,” which is the current measure of accountability for the program. The WPR is the share of work-eligible recipients engaged in countable work activities. States typically must meet a minimum WPR or face financial penalties.

Grotrian said keeping track of hours can be onerous for participants, and she said, “now we can measure what truly matters: helping people to become self-sufficient.”

She said currently when an applicant seeks TANF, the state creates an employment plan focused on work participation hours that can include volunteerism and training.

As a pilot program, Grotrian said the state now will start with the end goal in mind: a job — and will develop connections and milestones to help get there. She said Nebraska will have the flexibility to redesign its program to “best meet new benchmarks related to increased employment and earnings, reduced dependency and improved family stability.”

When applying for the TANF pilot, officials said the state stood out for its alignment with Trump administration goals and its approach to reducing dependency and increasing workforce participation.

Acting Assistant Secretary of ACF Andrew Gradison, in a statement, highlighted Nebraska’s “employment first” emphasis and its integration of TANF with other federal programs such as Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood.

“The Trump administration recognizes the best economic program is a job, and Nebraska’s pilot reflects our shared commitment to promote personal responsibility and move families out of poverty,” he said.

State officials said Nebraska’s application emphasized employment as the most effective path out of poverty and government dependence. Central program elements include providing participants with individual coaching to identify goals, collaborating with business to connect participants with jobs, expansion of vocational training and internships.

Creating a more direct connection to an employer will also be a boost to the labor force and state economy, Grotrian said.

Participants are to continue to receive help with childcare, transportation and to overcome other barriers.

The state said the pilot allows for flexibility for participants with physical or mental health challenges to receive “tailored support” toward earning additional income.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen thanked the Trump administration and said in a statement that he has “insisted” that assistance programs ranging from Medicaid to food benefits be run the “Nebraska Way” of encouraging independence from government.

Earlier Biden Slate Nixed

Grotrian anticipates no resistance. “I truly believe we will be able to help people in a much better way than we’ve been able to before,” she said, in guiding a path toward self-sufficiency.

As authorized under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the pilot program is billed as an opportunity to strengthen state accountability “to the original core TANF values of work and self-sufficiency,” according to the document that invited states to apply.

“The pilot can play a pivotal role in the design of modern approaches to moving work-eligible individuals into the labor force, while providing critical insights” on ways to highlight “personal responsibility,” the guidelines said.

The pilot states announced Thursday replace a slate previously chosen by the Biden administration. Of the original five, Ohio was re-selected. Others in the first group that were nixed were California, Maine, Kentucky and Minnesota.

In explaining the decision to re-start the pilot, the Trump administration said it wanted to reshape welfare programs and sought proposals aligned with the administration’s key priorities and measures of success: promoting work and reducing dependency.

In a letter to the five original states, Gradison reportedly said the prior administration should not have proceeded with the pilots between the election and inauguration. A later administration statement said the Biden TANF pilot had “unverifiable and subjective metrics.”

The pilot program is to begin in October. The first year is to be spent finalizing design and target goals. Grotrian said a Nebraska website soon will launch to share more details.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom provid-ing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/09/25/trump-administration-taps-nebras...