Current Issue

CO-PRODUCTION, DIGITAL EXCLUSION, AND THE STRUCTURAL FRAGILITY OF TANF FUNDED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS: A CASE STUDY OF A  UNIVERSITY–AGENCY PARTNERSHIP (2005–2025)

Yolandra Plummer

Business Management

University of the District of Columbia

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Abstract

This article examines a two-decade partnership between a public urban university and a municipal human services agency designed to support Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients through education, workforce development, and wraparound services. Using a qualitative case study approach, the analysis situates the program within welfare state scholarship, highlighting how institutional coproduction (Osborne et al., 2016) and anchor institution theory (Manning et al., 2017) shaped program design and implementation. The article also draws on digital citizenship frameworks (Ribble, 2015) and research on digital exclusion among TANF recipients (Plummer, 2023) to interpret the program’s pandemic era pivot to contact tracing. Findings reveal that the program functioned as a hybrid welfare education intervention that mitigated structural barriers through culturally responsive supports yet remained vulnerable to the volatility of TANF funding. The program’s closure in 2025 underscores the precarity of mission-driven partnerships embedded within a block grant system characterized by political fluctuation and chronic underinvestment. The case contributes to social welfare scholarship by illustrating both the potential and the fragility of university and agency collaborations in the contemporary U.S. safety net.