This virtual roundtable, to be convened on December 6 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST, is a continuation of technical assistance around the requirements of the one-stop delivery system's memorandum of understanding (MOU) negotiations as called for under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The goal of this roundtable is to break down silos, bring partner programs to the table, and have a larger discussion on their experiences with local negotiations.

For long-term employment and career advancement, it is important that clients are placed in jobs that align with their education, experience, interests, and skills, as well as local labor market information (LMI). Workers can utilize assessment data and labor market information (LMI) to help clients make informed decisions about their career aspirations, including potential earnings, projected number of job openings, and entry level education needed.

The Online Work Readiness Assessment (OWRA) has linked work experiences and career interests of individuals with LMI to strengthen client pathways toward self-sufficiency. In this facilitated webinar, attendees learned how programs have used assessment data and LMI to enhance the types of services offered to clients and improve employment outcomes. The webinar also explored the comprehensive OWRA tool and its LMI functionality. The interactive webinar was held on December 6, 2017 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

To learn more about OWRA and access a variety of resources, visit https://peerta.acf.hhs.gov/owra.

This practice brief highlights the efforts of four Office of Family Assistance, Systems to Family Stability National Policy Academy teams that redesigned their TANF case management systems to support client coaching and motivational interviewing strategies. The Academy was an 18-month initiative that supported TANF programs in designing and creating collaborative systems across agencies to improve family economic security.

A virtual roundtable was held on November 30, 2017 from 1:00-5:00 p.m. EST, co-presented by the Office of Family Assistance, the Office of Child Support Enforcement, and the Family and Youth Services Bureau. Via plenaries and breakout sessions, the roundtable  defined family violence, explained good cause, and highlighted examples of excellence across the nation.

The Opening Plenary Session was titled, "Family Violence and Accessing and Applying for Public Benefits and Work Supports: Challenges and Solutions," and was led by Dr. Janet Mickish, Lead Trainer and Manager of Staff Development, Colorado Department of Human Services and Krista Del Gallo, Public Policy Manager, Texas Council on Family Violence (TCFV).

The Plenary was followed by 4 breakout sessions to include:

• Breakout Session #1: Discussion Around Building Good Relationships with DV Coalitions and Programs
• Breakout Session #2: Promoting Disclosure and Safety for Victims Accessing Child Support
• Breakout Session #3: Establishing Good Cause
• Breakout Session #4: Family Violence with Native American Populations

The roundtable closed with a plenary titled, "State and Local TANF/Child Support Programs of Excellence," led by Meghan McCann, National Conference of State Legislatures; Amber Harchuk, Temporary Assistance to Domestic Violence Survivor’s (TA-DVS) Policy Analyst and DHS Domestic Violence Co-Located Advocates Program Coordinator; Belit Burke, Self-Sufficiency Program Administrator, Oregon Department of Human Services; and Traci Underwood, Program Coordinator, Economic Justice Project, Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 

This toolkit from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families provides resources on trauma-informed care that are tailored to the needs of AI/AN communities. The resources are divided into sections based on the different stages of the process of implementing trauma-informed human services. For example, an agency in the beginning phases could use the resources in the “What do we mean by trauma-informed services and why is such an approach important?” section. An agency that has already started implementing trauma-informed services could find resources in the “We’ve begun working on theses, issues, but are trying to decide what to tackle next. How can I figure out next steps?” section. The toolkit also includes examples of treatments for trauma that have been adapted specifically for AI/AN communities.

This report from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University highlights three principles that, in light of recent advances in the science of brain development of children, can guide policy change that most supports healthy brain development. The three evidence-based principles include supporting responsive relationships for children and adults, strengthening core life skills, and reducing sources of stress in the lives of children and families. Policymakers can use these principles at all levels to improve outcomes for children, which improves adult outcomes and economic productivity.

While youth involved in Child Welfare or Runaway and Homeless Youth systems are at high risk of being trafficked, there has been no consensus screening tool available for providers to use to identify victims of human trafficking. This Urban Institute report describes the pretesting of a Human Trafficking Screening Tool (HTST) for 617 youth involved in the child welfare or runaway and homeless youth systems in New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. The HTST took about two minutes to administer, and the researchers found that it covered key dimensions of youth’s trafficking experiences, could be used in both child welfare and runaway and homeless youth settings, and correctly predicted trafficking victimization. The researchers conclude that the HTST is an effective, accessible tool for youth ages 12-24, but they recommend additional testing for youth under age 18 in child welfare settings.

Children who are exposed to violence can experience negative effects throughout their lives, regardless of whether it is violence in the community or domestic violence or abuse at home. This RAND report, sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, details the Safe Start project, which evaluated evidence-based programs aimed at mitigating the negative impact of violence on children. Safe Start consisted of two phases: the first phase was a demonstration of promising practices to address children’s exposure to violence and the second phase implemented those promising practices in 15 cities across the country. All sites were able to implement their programs, but families received fewer services than planned. The report includes these implementation challenges and offers recommendations for future programs serving children who have been exposed to violence.

This guide from the Child Welfare Information Gateway is designed to help practitioners implement Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM). In FGDM, child welfare agencies actively engage families in developing a case plan to ensure the safety of their children. There are six elements that are critical to success in FGDM: having an independent facilitator, recognizing that the family is the key decision-making partner in the child welfare process, including private family time, prioritizing the case plan that the family develops, providing services to implement that case plan, and following up afterward until the desired outcomes have been achieved. The guide describes the challenges involved with implementing FGDM, and provides strategies and resources for overcoming those challenges.