This research-to-practice brief highlights the Louisiana-based My Community Cares (MCC) initiative. The initiative brings together parents experienced with the child welfare system, foster parents, and residents of neighborhoods with high concentrations of children in foster care. MCC asked these individuals to lead and co-design initiatives to prevent other neighborhood families from involvement in the child welfare system. The brief identifies the initiative’s origins, its core components, and implementation considerations.

This blogpost highlights a new partnership between the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Chief Probation Officers of California that supports strategies to change juvenile probation in California. The partnership is exploring how county-level probation can work with community partners to connect young people to the guidance, opportunities and support they require to thrive at home. The partnership will include training and other technical assistance to county probation leaders and staff.

Working families, administrators of public benefits, and grassroots service practitioners have been at the forefront of federal policy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This July 19, 2021 webinar recording examines challenges providing and receiving services within the federal safety net. The recording also identifies opportunities for federal benefits reform under the expanded child tax credit and other federal cash assistance programs, and includes discussions with Mary Bogle of the Urban Institute; George Jones of Bread for the City; Laura Zeilinger of the DC Department of Human Services; and Yamila Ruiz of One Fair Wage.

Program services, such as health care, nutritious food, housing, early care, and education, are often delivered in silos, creating access barriers for families. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation blogpost presents an interactive map that documents 95 state and local coordinated service approaches nationally. The map is part of the Assessing Models of Coordinated Services project which promotes children’s healthy development.

The National Association of Counties will host a webinar on August 4, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET to discuss how state and local leaders can leverage American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds as part of their COVID-19 recovery plans to support the needs of infants, toddlers, and their families. The new ARPA funding provides an opportunity for collaborations across levels of government to maximize efficiency and return on investment. Representatives from Washington State, Skagit County, and the city of Seattle will make presentations.

This report documents the first phase of a multiphase initiative to identify and invest in California’s “high road employers,” whose business models emphasize worker power, job quality, and career advancement. It includes the worker-led development of a new framework for assessing job quality and an interactive tool to help employers design rewarding and fulfilling jobs that reflect worker experiences and perspectives.

This brief reviews historical policy context and provides an overview of policy, programmatic, and engagement strategies for utilizing economic supports to promote family well-being and prevent child maltreatment. It recommends economic and concrete supports as an alternative to address child maltreatment.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act includes $150 million in funding support for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV). This blogpost outlines how MIECHV ARP funds will be distributed and allowable uses. Under the MIECHV ARP provisions, expanded services offered to enrolled families include home visiting services, technology for virtual visits, emergency supplies (including personal protective equipment, hand sanitizers, and diapers), and prepaid grocery cards. This additional funding can also be used to support the training and expansion of the home visiting workforce.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report presents evaluation findings of Washington State’s Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program. I-Best increases access to and completion of college-level occupational training for adults with low skills. The OPRE report examines the I-BEST program’s impacts on education, earnings, and other life outcomes. I-BEST is one of nine programs examined under the Administration for Children and Families’ Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education project.

The U.S. Department of Education seeks applications for the Performance Partnerships Pilots for Disconnected Youth (P3). The FY 2021 P3 authorization allows pilot programs to utilize waivers of requirements that hinder service delivery or impede a holistic approach. These waivers include, for example, blending and use of other federal funds, flexibility in age or income eligibility requirements, use of alternative outcome measures, and others requested in a submitted application. P3 pilots are required to include at least two Federal programs which target disconnected youth or are designed to prevent youth from disconnecting with educational, workforce, or social services supports. Applications are due by August 23, 2021.