The State Workforce Development Board voted to move forward with a pilot to integrate the CLIF benefits‑cliff counseling tool into American Job Centers, beginning in Davidson County with staff training this winter and an anticipated launch in January.

"We're launching a pilot to integrate the benefits cliff tool into Tennessee's American Job Centers," Amy Mayberry, executive director for the board at the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said when introducing the plan. The pilot is a direct follow‑up to the board's August strategic planning session and work with the Atlanta Federal Reserve.

Britney Birkin of the Atlanta Federal Reserve, who joined the meeting virtually, said the CLIF tool does not itself retain client data but that the Fed will support Tennessee‑specific analysis and training. "The CLIF tools do not collect or retain data," Birkin said; she and state staff described plans to capture participant characteristics and outcomes in the state's Jobs for TN system so local teams can track outcomes without putting client data into the CLIF tool itself.

Marla Rime, executive director for the Northern Middle Tennessee Workforce Board, outlined Davidson County operational details: the pilot will begin on or around Jan. 12, staff training includes a CLIF Academy (four courses totaling roughly seven hours), and the AJC site (co‑located with Nashville State Community College) receives about 1,200 visitors per month. Rime said the local labor shed has about 3% unemployment (roughly 13,000 jobseekers) and about 30,000 families on SNAP—conditions that make Davidson County a viable test site.

The department and partners plan to gather pilot data through Jobs for TN and UI wage records to evaluate whether coaching and CLIF use help families avoid negative benefit cliffs. The board also discussed employer engagement—specifically a hospitality and tourism task force that could help employers provide supports (for example child care) that reduce cliff impacts.

Why it matters: Benefits cliffs—where a modest wage increase causes disproportionate loss of public assistance—can deter low‑wage workers from accepting higher paying but marginally higher‑paid jobs. The pilot pairs counseling, employer outreach and data tracking to test whether informed coaching and local employer practices can help jobseekers increase net resources and sustain employment.

The board requested progress reports at future meetings; Britney Birkin and state staff said they will return with Tennessee‑specific analysis and early pilot metrics.