A Question About TANF and School Districts

Family economic well-being — including financial, material, and related socio-emotional resources — can support a family’s long-term stability, a positive home environment, and children’s healthy development. Yet, 1 in 10 families with children live below the poverty line. Early childhood home visiting (ECHV) has the potential to support families’ economic well-being. The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation in collaboration with the Health Resources and Services Administration initiated the Supporting Family Economic Well-Being through Home Visiting project to better understand how to define and measure family economic well-being and to learn how ECHV agencies have supported or could support it. This report summarizes the findings from targeted reviews of literature and practice documents from ECHV and related fields, such as social work, child welfare, and employment- and income-focused supports.

The Launch Pathways Initiative (Launch) is a national college and career pathways initiative focused on advancing high-quality, equitable, and sustainable pathways models at scale. The Launch Partners provide technical assistance to twelve teams from eleven states, organized into two cohorts: the Impact Cohort and the Innovation Cohort. While state teams in both cohorts focus on building more equitable and sustainable college and career pathways systems, the cohorts will follow two distinct paths. This New America blogpost provides a glimpse into the work of the Impact Cohort.

The Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides states with unprecedented amounts of funding to deploy broadband infrastructure, improve affordability, and ensure meaningful adoption in communities. Governors are investing in high-speed internet to grow economies and empower people to fully participate in digital society. Yet up to 205,000 fiber optic technicians, as well as thousands of additional engineers and construction workers, will be needed over the next five years to realize these goals. During the National Governor Association’s (NGA) 2023 Broadband Leaders Workshop, participants gathered to share best practices and discuss opportunities and challenges presented by different broadband measures. This NGA commentary explores three promising models for expanding the broadband workforce: leveraging sector partnerships, investing in apprenticeship, and partnering with community colleges.

The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Program is at the forefront of federal efforts to promote ongoing program learning and improvement in workforce policy by incorporating evidence building as a permanent feature of the program. In 2018, amendments to Section 306(c) of the Social Security Act permanently authorized RESEA and allocated funding for state evaluations. RESEA Evidence-Building Week will consist of four virtual panel sessions between August 8 – 10, 2023 which will highlight and celebrate the efforts and accomplishments of states in evaluating their RESEA Programs.

The capacity to plan for, design, and conduct evaluations takes appropriately allocated resources, expertise, technical assistance, and tools to create over time. WorkforceGPS will host a virtual session on July 26, 2023, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET that will highlight the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s efforts and those of two state workforce agencies to expand or build evidence and implement evaluations as required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014. Along with representatives from Washington State and North Carolina, presenters will share insights about the evaluation and research community of practice, describe lessons learned from past Evaluation Peer Learning Cohorts (EvalPLC), and provide information about the next round of applications for the 2023 EvalPLC.

This alert is to ensure that NO family served by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) loses their medical coverage because of a lack of knowledge about the renewal process. Resources to support agencies as they help individuals renew coverage are provided below.

The key information that families need to receive:

• UPDATE contact information with the State Medicaid agency.
• RESPOND to the Medicaid renewal form when it comes in the mail. If they don't, they may lose their coverage even if they are still eligible.
• PARENTS should respond even if they are not eligible or enrolled in other coverage. Their children could still be eligible for coverage.
• CHECK OTHER OPTIONS: If no longer eligible for Medicaid, they should check if they can get coverage through their employer or through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov.
• To receive state-specific Medicaid renewal templates to help get the word out about the above information, contact a local Medicaid official.

For individual outreach, please consider these resources for office posting and distribution:

• State-specific Unwinding Flyers (in English and Spanish)
• State-specific information to help families update their contact information.

The Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services has developed a Communications Toolkit to help people with Medicaid or CHIP take steps to renew their health coverage or find other coverage options. This Toolkit includes important messages and sample materials (drop-in articles, social media messages, and flyers).

Looking for something that can give specific actions to different community partners? This Call to Action lets different groups (e.g., states, unions, employers, the health care community) know what they can do to spread the word and get people's heath care renewed.

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.