Most people working in human services accept that gathering and using family input improves direct service programs. However, this approach is still emerging and has a limited evidence base. Some human services programs already engage families in…

Millions of food and cash assistance customers rely on cash transfers each month to meet their family’s needs. Much of today’s benefits available to families are deposited directly onto Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that are assigned to…

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) are aware of increasing reports of benefit theft through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card skimming schemes. These…

This letter from the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to its colleagues states that losing a parent or caregiver has become an ongoing tragedy for children and youth caused by the co-occurring COVID-19 and drug overdose crises, as…

Social services programs are increasingly looking for ways to forecast which participants are likely to reach major milestones so they can tailor services and allocate resources. In recent years, some programs have explored advanced predictive…

This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration guide focuses on the process of adapting evidence-based practices (EBPs) for under-resourced populations who experience obstacles in obtaining healthcare services because of their…

Through the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), states administer child care subsidy programs to support low-income parents’ employment and expand children’s access to high-quality child care. Many Hispanic children stand to benefit…

Human-Centered Design (HCD) is a process and a mindset for addressing complex problems by designing solutions with those who will ultimately use the solution (i.e., end users). Because of its inherent focus on end users or recipients of services…

In the face of a public health emergency, economic downturn, or other unexpected circumstance, TANF agencies and other human services providers are required to reimagine and adapt previous expectations, behaviors, and service provision for a…

When it comes to cash transfer programs like welfare for single parents and especially mothers, most of the evaluation and economic modeling efforts have focused on how those programs impact the amount of paid work single parents do. However,…