Interest in the career and technical education (CTE) field has experienced a resurgence over the last decade, as the global economy has grown increasingly competitive while students have continued to leave school unprepared for well-paying twenty-first century jobs. Working both together and separately, the education and workforce sectors have sought to address these challenges and better prepare students for viable economic futures. The results have been new, innovative programs at both the secondary and postsecondary education levels that aim to give students technical training, general training, and work-based learning opportunities where they can develop connections to the workforce. This MDRC paper captures the evidence that has emerged and identifies areas where there is more evidence as well as areas where gaps in evidence still exist.

Many effective services promote healthy development in early childhood and support families’ well-being that are located across sectors. These include high-quality childcare and early education (CCEE), and support for other family health, educational, and financial needs. It can be challenging for families to benefit from all these services because they all function separately, typically in different locations and with differing eligibility, enrollment, and service provision requirements. Potential roadblocks can exacerbate disparities because they affect marginalized families the most. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation study provided an in-depth look at different approaches to coordinating CCEE with other health and human services.

World Mental Health Day is October 10, 2023 and the objective is to raise awareness of mental health issues, as well as to mobilize efforts in support of mental health. The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals and Dynamic Works Institute will co-host two virtual sessions; the first being on October 10, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT and will provide tools for practitioners’ toolbox and reflection activities. The second part of the series will take place on October 24, 2023 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT and will develop potential self-care plans for those heading towards burn-out. There is a fee for registration.

In October 2023, the Office of Child Care (OCC) invited public comment on the rules and regulations of the Tribally administered Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program as part of the Administration for Children and Families' commitment to creating partnerships with Tribal Nations to identify and implement solutions that transcend traditional program boundaries. This Request for Information (RFI) specifically sought public comment on the following topics of the Tribal childcare program: CCDF Funding Policies for Tribes, CCDF Administration, Improving Families' Access to Child Care, and Increasing Child Care Supply in Tribal Communities—but input on any aspect of the Tribally administered CCDF program was encouraged. The OCC hosted a virtual listening session on October 25, 2023 to gather feedback from families and providers on the RFI topics. A copy of the RFI and related resources are available on their website.

Registration for this event is closed.

Finding and maintaining quality childcare is a challenge for many parents, and those living in low-income households often face even more obstacles. The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host a virtual session on October 4, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to introduce and discuss the current landscape of early care and education (ECE) as it pertains to low-income families. The panel will focus on policies and practices that offer support to low-income parents, an assessment of the current childcare subsidy program, and potential future measures could help to ensure access to affordable, high-quality ECE for all.

In recent years, policymakers and researchers have questioned the fairness and effectiveness of pursuing civil contempt to secure child support payments, particularly for parents with low incomes. Civil contempt proceedings are costly, burdensome, and often counterproductive to the goals of the child support program. They can impede employment, increase child support debt, alienate noncustodial parents from their children, and decrease parents’ future cooperation. Developed by the Office of Child Support Services, the Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) demonstration assessed a different approach to improving child support payments. PJAC services aimed to address noncustodial parents’ reasons for nonpayment, promote positive engagement with the child support program and the other parent, and improve the consistency and completeness of their payments. This MDRC report compares the benefits and costs of PJAC services with those of business-as-usual child support enforcement.

The federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), administered through individual states, subsidizes access to affordable early care and education for families with low incomes. CCDF subsidies can support parents’ ability to work and positively impact their children’s early development. Many Latino families tend to have high rates of parental employment but low levels of income. Latino families are underserved by the CCDF program in most states and could stand to benefit from these subsidies. This National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families brief is a part of a series focused on Latino families’ access to social assistance. This resource aims to improve understanding on families’ access to subsidies in California, including barriers and facilitators.

According to 2022 Census data, the rate of child poverty in the United States has more than doubled, from 5.2 percent in 2021 to 12.4 percent in 2022. The increase follows the expiration of many of the COVID-era programs that resulted in unprecedented reductions in child poverty. Despite high rates of unemployment during the pandemic, child poverty declined by 25 percent in 2020 and by nearly 50 percent in 2021, due to stimulus payments and temporary expansions to government programs. The expiration of these programs reverses the progress of the last two years. This Child Trends blogpost discusses how to prevent further loss of the progress made in reducing child poverty.

Kinship navigator programs are services that assist kinship caregivers in learning about and using programs and resources to meet the needs of the children they are raising, to provide support for the caregivers, and to promote partnerships among public and private agencies. These programs work to improve caregivers’ knowledge of services and assist them in accessing the services they need to support the family’s ongoing stability. This Chapin Hall brief reviews the four kinship navigator programs currently rated as either “promising” or “supported” on the Title IV-E Clearinghouse and the innovative practices and program components in developing models. It provides potential recommendations for child welfare leaders who are considering designing or implementing their own kinship navigator program.