Report
This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report, a summary of the Job Search Assistance (JSA) Strategies Evaluation, compares the effectiveness of different approaches for finding and keeping jobs among individuals applying for or receiving assistance under TANF. The report reviews findings from three sites: Genesee and Wayne Counties in Michigan; New York City; and Sacramento County, California. In each of these sites, TANF applicants or recipients were randomly assigned to one of two programs that provided employment-related services.
November, 2020
Webinar / Webcast
The Urban Institute will convene a virtual panel on September 29, 2020 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss how cities are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic in light of revenue shortfalls, constraints on local authorities to direct federal aid, and equity challenges for affordable housing, homelessness, and access to economic opportunities.
September, 2020
Research-To-Practice Brief
This research-to-practice brief identifies lessons learned from six child support agencies in Arizona, California, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia as they implemented the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) model of child support enforcement. The PJAC model incorporates fairness in dispute resolution over child support payments and suggests that if a non-custodial parent perceives the process to be fair, he or she is more likely to comply with the order, regardless if the outcome of the process is favorable to them.
September, 2020
Profile / Case Study
This report examines lessons learned and strategies adopted for service delivery by social services organizations in Los Angeles County, California that support the needs of homeless individuals (or at risk of becoming homeless) and those involved in the criminal justice system, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers the shift to providing virtual services, including video- and telephone-based care, and the barriers to delivering these services to those lacking technology access.
August, 2020
Report
This report is an initial evaluation of the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program in San Francisco, California, which is a state-funded initiative that provides permanent housing and supportive services for homeless families or families with unstable housing who are engaged with the child welfare system. (Bringing Families Home is the sustained version of Families Moving Forward, a federally funded demonstration project.) Participating families under BFH receive in-home services to prevent their children from being placed in foster care.
August, 2020
Stakeholder Resource
This blogpost reviews the operations and procedures of the Safe & Sound Family Resource Center in San Francisco. The blogpost notes the intake interview process where families identify what they perceive as their needs and helps to illustrate how the families are functioning, including their support network, what types of concrete supports they need, and what they see as their strengths.
June, 2020
Podcast
This podcast, as part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families project, includes interviews with developers of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model in San Diego County, California on the model’s implementation. IPS intends to help people with serious mental illness access and find employment. The podcast discussion also reflects IPS’ impact in serving individuals with a range of physical disabilities and health conditions other than mental illness.
April, 2020
Stakeholder Resource
This blogpost features shared housing -- where two or more unrelated persons live in common space and divide housing costs -- as a potential option to address homelessness in high-cost housing markets. It illustrates four successful shared housing programs in Fredericksburg, Virginia; West Palm Beach, Florida; and Los Angeles and Orange County, California. Common elements of these models include a client-centered approach, ability to fund landlord engagement resources flexibly, conflict resolution training, and adaptable roommate matching.
March, 2020
Report
This evaluation report provides early findings of the Breaking Barriers pilot program that provides adults on probation with a time-limited rental housing subsidy and housing retention services, along with case management and employment support. The report reviews the program’s impact on reducing recidivism, improving housing stability among program participants, and increasing employment incomes enough for participants to take over rental payments without the subsidy at the end of the two-year program period.
March, 2020
Research-To-Practice Brief
This research-to-practice brief describes the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration project and its integration of procedural justice principles into enforcement practices in six child support agencies in Arizona, California, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia. The premise of PJAC is that if defendants perceive the dispute resolution process to be fair, they will comply with the outcome of the process, regardless of whether the decision was favorable to the defendant.
March, 2020
