Families experiencing poverty and economic pressure have increased risk for child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and acts of violence by youth. This article highlights several programs that reduce rates of family and child poverty, including TANF, but it notes how TANF policies in particular have the greatest economic security policy discrepancies across states despite research that shows policies that increase access to money protect against family and youth violence. The article discusses research that indicates work requirements in TANF and other evidence-based interventions may protect against violence by increasing individual and family resources. However, one-size-fits-all work requirements may have unanticipated negative effects, such as an increase in sanctions that contribute to unemployment or under-employment when an individual cannot meet set requirements or leaving single mothers with less time to care for their children, which may increase the risk of child maltreatment.

This article identifies findings from a recent study which found that witnessing parental domestic violence can increase a child’s risk of depression and other mental health issues. The study included more than 17,700 Canadian adults who took part in a national survey on mental health. 22.5% of children who were exposed to chronic parental domestic violence during childhood had major depression at some point in their life, 15% had an anxiety disorder, and nearly 27% had a substance abuse disorder. In comparison, the rates among people with no history of violence between their parents were 9%, 7% and 19%, respectively.

This Mayo Clinic blogpost illustrates ways to recognize domestic violence in its many forms, including emotional, sexual, and physical abuse and threats of abuse. Further, the blogpost presents the cycle of an abusive situation, why the survivor should not take the blame in an abusive relationship, and challenges for special populations, and offers survivors tips on how to create a safety plan and where to find help.

This blogpost presents a broad set of information on what domestic violence is, how to recognize the warning signs of abuse, how to seek help for oneself or a loved one, and ways we can all work towards preventing intimate partner violence. There is also discussion on the short- and long-term impacts of domestic violence on physical health and the effect on a survivor’s mental health, screening tools, and ways to assess risk for further abuse. Special attention is paid toward understanding the impact of domestic violence on minority populations, LBGTQ+ people, and immigrants.

This guide complements federal efforts (such as the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s From Theory to Practice Project) to expand the use of administrative data for building evidence and is a resource to assist program evaluation teams in assessing the feasibility and potential value of examining long-term outcomes. The guide describes common steps for linking evaluation data and administrative data. Examples and case studies throughout the guide highlight efforts to research long-term economic outcomes such as participant employment and earnings, but the concepts presented should be applicable to a variety of social policy research contexts.

Linking government data between different agencies and departments is a powerful strategy to connect people to valuable benefits that they might otherwise miss. By linking data, the California Policy Lab helped the state of California measure how many Californians receiving safety-net benefits were at risk of not receiving federal stimulus payments, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the advanced Child Tax Credit – resulting in millions of dollars of federal aid delivered to non-filing Californians. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for government leadership and their staff on how to develop and execute cross-departmental data linkages by focusing on a case study on increasing the take-up of anti-poverty tax credits.

It is crucial for TANF agencies to use their data to understand how programs are working for the families they serve and how to improve those programs. Yet it is often difficult for agencies to prioritize and implement data use and analytics for program improvement. This brief discusses accessible and attainable strategies to increase data use and the dissemination of analyses, with the goal of supporting more evidence-based policymaking and improving programs for children and families participating in TANF.

The State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services Administration (DSHSA), Community Services Division (CSD), Office of Programs and Policy (OPP) is seeking a WorkFirst and TANF Cash Programs Policy Administrator to join their team. WorkFirst is Washington’s employment and training program for parents receiving TANF cash assistance. DSHSA is providing a gradual transition into full responsibility for management of this important and complex program. The selected candidate will collaborate with, be trained by, and learn the position from the outgoing Administrator until January 1, 2023, and then assume full supervisor and management responsibilities.

The State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services, Economic Services Administration (DSHSA), Community Services Division (CSD), Office of Programs and Policy (OPP) is seeking a WorkFirst and TANF Cash Programs Policy Administrator to join their team. WorkFirst is Washington’s employment and training program for parents receiving TANF cash assistance. DSHSA is providing a gradual transition into full responsibility for management of this important and complex program. The selected candidate will collaborate with, be trained by, and learn the position from the out-going Administrator until January 1, 2023, and then assume full supervisor and management responsibilities as WorkFirst and TANF Cash Programs and Policy Administrator.

<p>Research suggests that evidence capacity shows up in five key areas: leadership, organizational culture, organizational infrastructure, staff capabilities, and organizational engagement and communication. This set of five guides is designed to help practitioners of TANF and related human services programs work through a process for strengthening their organization’s capacity to use and build evidence in one or more of these areas. Each guide outlines a four-step process for reflecting on and assessing the evidence capacity domain, narrowing a focus for potential change, defining the desired change, and checking success. The guides are designed to be used by organizations themselves or in collaboration with a research and evaluation technical assistance provider.</p>