It has been 20 years since the U.S. Congress passed welfare reform, and throughout these two decades, Maryland has provided cash assistance to families whose incomes do not meet their basic needs. In this way, the Temporary Cash Assistance program (…

When TANF became law in 1996, welfare recipients were required to engage in work participation activities, and states were required to have 50 percent of their TANF cases meet these participation requirements. The intention of requiring individuals…

This article attempts to answer whether moving into poor quality employment (i.e., low security, low wages, low autonomy) is better for one’s physical and mental health than staying unemployed. Researchers examined employment outcomes and health…

This blog post from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse provides information on opioid abuse among older adults ages 55 to 64. Older adults have experienced the greatest increase in drug-related deaths. A pattern of opioid misuse…

…

This toolkit from Workforce GPS provides ideas, strategies, and resources for integrating service delivery in the public workforce system under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). This toolkit provides workforce partners across…

Post-employment services that align with individual’s interests, strengths, and abilities are necessary to ensure they can maintain or advance in employment. Unfortunately, many TANF participants tend to obtain low-skill/low-wage jobs with little…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation released this brief to detail the policy differences in child care subsidies across states. The Child Care and…

Low-income families and people of color often struggle to find safe neighborhoods to live in due to high housing costs and discrimination. These challenges lead to economically segregated neighborhoods that suffer from neglect, inadequate services,…