For the tens of millions of American adults that lack basic literacy, numeracy, and digital skills, most cannot access employment opportunities in high-wage, high-demand occupations and industries that are increasingly focusing on skills in their hiring processes. Year Up provides its participants with the opportunity to develop essential career readiness and business skills, build foundational technical capabilities, and complete an immersive, work-based learning experience with a leading employer partner. American Institutes for Research’s (AIR’s) PROMISE Center is partnering with Year Up to expand its nationwide program with fidelity. In this Q&A, AIR shares how this work could help scale up effective skills-based training programs, expand and diversify the workforce, and support employers’ skills-based hiring practices.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will host a virtual training on anxiety and depression in children and youth designed for parents and caregivers on July 19, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET. This training will provide:

• Information on anxiety and depression in children and youth from parents, caregivers, and behavioral health professionals;
• Useful skills to recognize and respond to children and youth managing anxiety and depression;
• Information on how to access mental health resources and guidance to help children and families; and 
• An overview of resources available to support parents and caregivers.

The training is a continuation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to provide important and useful information an resources about child, youth, and family mental health and includes remarks from ACF Assistant Secretary January Contreras and SAMHSA Assistant Secretary Miriam Delphin-Rittmon. For additional information, see this flyer.

As the COVID-19 pandemic entered its third year, the initial shocks of closures and layoffs had subsided, and indicators suggested the U.S. economy was on the rebound. Unemployment was at historical lows, wages were rising, and employers were expanding hiring practices, attempting to open doors to more job seekers. Yet, there were approximately two job openings for every one job seeker, indicating there were not enough workers in the job market. The Worker Voices Project is a Federal Reserve System research effort, started in May 2022, engaging low-wage workers and nondegree job seekers through focus groups across the country to understand their experiences of the economy in the recovery. This report offers a nuanced perspective on how these workers and job seekers navigate employment and strive for economic stability in the labor market.

Safe, reliable childcare has been inaccessible and unaffordable for too many Americans. Disparities between who can and cannot afford childcare reflect structural inequities in the United States. Shift workers, single parents, student parents, and families of color are especially affected by the failings of the childcare system. Inadequacies of the childcare system hinder family economic mobility and perpetuate generational wealth gaps. The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS Count® Data Book describes how the country’s lack of affordable and accessible childcare negatively affects children, families, and U.S. businesses. The report presents national and state data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community — and ranks states in overall child well-being.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) provides programming and support to help ensure that individuals released from federal custody can successfully transition from prison to the community. This transition can be challenging, and many returning citizens ultimately reengage with the criminal justice system at some point. Preparing returning citizens for employment and supporting them through the reentry and employment processes can improve reentry outcomes and strengthen communities. To explore challenges and opportunities associated with improving employment outcomes among BOP releasees, the National Institute of Justice hosted a virtual workshop of BOP staff, community-based reentry service providers, researchers, national employers, and other experts. This RAND Corporation report summarizes discussion points from the workshop and presents a wide-ranging set of needs identified by workshop participants.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, unemployment in the American economy spiked to 20 million in mid-2020. While it dropped to 5.7 million in December 2022, the labor market is still in flux, and jobs in some fields remain unfilled. In response, higher education systems and states across the country are turning to community colleges to provide both long- and short-term workforce training programs in high-demand fields. The Virginia Community College System has developed programs for helping adults access training and earn credentials that improve their labor market prospects and provide on-ramps to further education. Two of these programs include FastForward and Get a Skill, Get a Job, Get Ahead. This Accelerating Recovery in Community Colleges Network blogpost introduces two research projects on the programs that will provide information about the associations between postsecondary student aid and student education and workforce outcomes, and how community colleges can build pathways to high-opportunity jobs and careers.

Despite notably high levels of job vacancies due to the Great Resignation, the current job market favors individuals with four-year degrees and advanced credentials. This creates barriers for individuals who are unable to access traditional college degrees, a population that is disproportionally represented by racial and ethnic minorities as well as members of marginalized communities. Registered apprenticeships are a recognized sustainable solution to increase equitable hiring of skilled workers from diverse backgrounds. This UnidosUS fact sheet highlights the existing need for apprenticeship to be incorporated as best practices for recruitment, employee retention, and sustainable hiring practices.

On June 3, 2023, the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 was signed into law, a legislative package previously agreed upon by the White House and House Speaker to suspend the national debt ceiling limit through January 1, 2025 in exchange for a package of spending cuts and policy changes, including changes to work requirements in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and TANF. The American Public Human Services Association has developed a summary of relevant human services provisions and the corresponding effective dates.

The New Jersey Keeping Families Together (KFT) program is a supportive housing program that combines subsidized housing with voluntary supportive services for child welfare-involved families at risk of homelessness. Urban Institute conducted an evaluation of New Jersey’s KFT program, including the interviews of staff members representing all eight service providers as well as local departments involved in the development and implementation of the program to examine the program model. This report explores the findings of their evaluation, which can be helpful at both the policy and programmatic levels in developing program changes to most effectively ensure consistent and standard models of practice across KFT service providers.