Webinar / Webcast
Over 36 million adults in the United States cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. Further, 43 percent of adults with the lowest literacy levels live in poverty, and 70 percent of adult welfare recipients have low literacy rates. The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on December 12, 2019 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET exploring how programs are addressing these challenges and providing an overview of the current state of adult literacy and education in the United States.
December, 2019
Question / Response(s)
A representative from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is interested in learning what states and counties are currently implementing or have in the past implemented Mobility Mentoring.
December, 2019
Research-To-Practice Brief
This practice brief introduces three foundations for improving services for children and families in a human services environment that has become more complex and challenging. Investments in reducing complexity and bureaucracy, building skills of supervisors and staff, and putting humans back at the center of human service delivery can help programs meet the needs of families facing challenges like low educational attainment, unemployment, criminal records, mental and physical health issues, and children with special needs.
December, 2019
Research-To-Practice Brief
This practice brief shares strategies human services programs can use to improve customers’ experience and make their engagement in programming more meaningful. Drawing on Mathematica’s experience working with Philadelphia Works, Inc., the administering workforce development board for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)-funded services in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this brief provides a step-by-step guide to reduce the burden of paperwork and procedures for customers and staff while continuing to meet program environments.
November, 2019
Stakeholder Resource
This Administration for Children and Families (ACF) blogpost, published by the Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, summarizes findings of roundtables that have occurred across the country covering how to improve access to affordable, high-quality child care and offers opportunities for additional input with a Request for Information.
November, 2019
Policy Announcement / Memoranda
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is soliciting invitations from ACF program offices, state- or county-administered human services programs, and local ACF grantees for participation in a pilot study under the Human Centered Design for Human Services (HCD4HS) project. Human-centered design (HCD) is a means to generate innovative solutions to complex problems through new, creative ways of thinking about a problem, and through intentional engagement with the beneficiaries of the solution.
November, 2019
Policy Announcement / Memoranda
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) requests caseload data for October 2019 on the number of foster children supported with public funds and the number of children in families receiving TANF payments in excess of the poverty income level under the 2019 HHS Poverty Guidelines. The data will be used as part of a formula to allocate FY 2020 U.S. Department of Education, Title I, Part A of Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funds.
October, 2019
Question / Response(s)
A representative from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services is interested in learning how other states utilize third-party MOE, specifically: what MOE do they use (other than Pre-K), how do they set up the third-party MOE, and do they use Boys and Girls Clubs of America for MOE and if so, please describe that agreement and process.
October, 2019
Stakeholder Resource
The Larimer County Works Program has implemented a goal achievement coaching model (Goal4 It!) hand-in-glove with a technology-based coaching platform, TuaPath. The combined approach, referred to as My Journey to Success, has redirected TANF staff and participants’ time and energy toward employment outcomes. With online and in-person tools to plan and track action steps with coaches, this approach supports participants in building executive function skills, goal setting capacity, and accountability to reach employment and life goals.
October, 2019
Stakeholder Resource
This Administration for Children and Families blogpost, authored by the ACF Assistant Secretary, highlights a listening tour that provided the public an opportunity to discuss the challenge of improving access and increasing the affordability of child care. Represented at the listening tour were parents, employers, teachers, child care providers, state and local administration officials, and charities. Findings and feedback from these roundtable discussions will inform program and policy development, research and technical assistance, and proposed legislation to expand affordable child care.
October, 2019
