The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of External Affairs and Office of Regional Operations hosted the “Less Poverty, More Prosperity: States Tackle Benefit Cliffs” convening, bringing together 17 states that have all taken steps to address the cliff effect in their communities, as well as parents with lived experience, businesses, and non-profit and philanthropic organizations. This ACF blogpost discusses how ACF and its partners are working to shed more light on this issue and how it impacts children, families, and communities.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines Used to Determine Financial Eligibility for Certain Programs for 2024. There are three tables, including poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. This webpage offers additional resources, prior Department of Health and Human Services’ poverty guidelines and Federal Register references, and frequently asked questions.

The U.S. Census Bureau released this resource for National Poverty in America Awareness Month to highlight statistics from the Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement that was released in 2023. This resource includes figures as well as statistics and stories on poverty.

To learn more about workforce supports for system-involved young people, Urban Institute researchers identified programs that were using effective strategies to help system-involved individuals avoid detention or incarceration and find employment. The purpose of the study was to highlight examples of successful partnerships and effective partnership strategies involving community-based workforce service providers, public agencies, and stakeholders. Part of a series using findings from a multiphase study on community-based workforce development programs for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 involved in the criminal legal system, this brief provides a practitioner perspective on the role strategic partnerships play in supporting workforce programs and the importance of establishing relationships with employers. It highlights lessons learned about engaging with employer partners and recommendations for future policy and practice.

The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program helps more than 800,000 people with disabilities obtain, maintain, and advance in employment each year, yet hundreds of millions of dollars in federal VR funding go unspent by state VR agencies. Unspent federal VR funding is problematic because it means that fewer people with disabilities can be served by the VR program. The VR program provides critical support for people with disabilities, and states should use the full funds available to them to maximize its impact. Various barriers such as complex and restrictive program rules, however, limit how states obtain and spend federal VR funding. This Mathematica resource provides solutions to increase states’ spending of federal VR funding.

While some secondary schools incorporate lessons on budgeting, saving, and investing into their curricula, often there is no formal venue to learn about money that is accessible to all communities. For those who experience economic victimization, including individuals who have experienced human trafficking, education and resources may also be needed to address the financial trauma to improve their relationship with money. Economic empowerment programming demystifies financial wellbeing by providing education, tools, and resources for people to attain financial literacy, stability, and professional growth. This Office of Planning, Research and Planning resource addresses strategies for survivor economic empowerment and provides additional resources, including a guide for anti-trafficking service providers.

The flexibility of a county’s workforce is crucial for success. The National Association of Counties will be hosting a webinar on January 18, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, to showcase successful workforce programs in coal and manufacturing communities. This webinar is a collaboration between NACo’s Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities (BRECC) National Network and Counties for Career Success initiatives.

To learn more about workforce supports for system-involved young people, Urban Institute researchers identified programs that were using effective strategies to help system-involved individuals avoid detention or incarceration and find employment. The purpose of the study was to highlight examples of successful partnerships and effective partnership strategies involving community-based workforce service providers, public agencies, and stakeholders. Part of a series using findings from a multiphase study on community-based workforce development programs for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 involved in the criminal legal system, this brief details the landscape of funding strategies and sources used by workforce programs, the blended funding approach and site-specific examples of what blending funding allows programs to do, and examples of how funders factor strategic planning and innovation into their funding decisions.

For people with disabilities, the decision to disclose information about a disability can be nuanced and complex. Creating an apprenticeship environment that is welcoming and inclusive for people with disabilities requires an understanding of an array of legal and ethical issues that are at play. This Jobs for the Future brief shares the various topics related to disability disclosure and self-identification, including the legal parameters regarding disclosure and other important matters that must be taken into consideration by apprenticeship sponsors, employers, providers of related technical instruction, and workforce partners, as well as program applicants and apprentices themselves.