Tribal Solutions: Subsidized Employment Programs Serving American Indians and Alaska Natives. OPRE Report 2018-94

People served by public assistance programs such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) often have difficulty finding jobs in the competitive labor market. This report describes the ways in which eight TANF programs primarily serving American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) families use subsidized employment. Subsidized employment programs rely on public funds to subsidize the wages that employers pay when they provide jobs to individuals who cannot find them in the competitive labor market. It can be used to create jobs in areas where there are more people interested in work than there are available jobs. It can also help individuals with barriers to employment gain work experience while earning income. The primary research questions of this report include the following: (1) How do Tribal TANF programs use subsidized employment to engage TANF recipients in work activities?; (2) What challenges do Tribal TANF programs face in implementing subsidized employment programs?; and (3) How do the approaches to subsidized employment taken by some Tribal TANF programs differ from other subsidized employment models used to serve low-income people?