This report presents findings of the First 5 California (FSCA) Home Visiting Workforce Study; it includes data and demographics to characterize home visitors and their supervisors, the implementation supports that exist for home visiting staff, and program needs for workforce recruitment, training, and retention of home visitors. The report is based on a survey of more than 900 home visiting staff members at 171 home visiting programs statewide.

Federal housing subsidies can support low-income and disadvantaged families in meeting their monthly rental needs through public housing and housing vouchers. Federal initiatives in the public housing system have also been used to incentivize work, boost earnings, and provide families with pathways to move out of poverty. This research-to-practice brief examines strategies that have incorporated housing subsidies to promote economic self-sufficiency with employment-focused supports and work-based rent incentives. The brief identifies program approaches used to engage persons receiving housing assistance, and presents program components that can be used when designing employment-related initiatives.

This Advisory, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Treatment Improvement Protocol 42, Substance Use Disorder Treatment for People with Co-Occurring Disorders, presents guiding principles that counselors and administrators can follow to properly screen, assess, diagnose, and manage the treatment of individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.

Co-regulation is a process where practitioners create safe spaces and nurturing relationships and coach youth in the use of self-regulation. The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation has developed this guide to show how integrating co-regulation may improve program implementation and outcomes. The guide highlights the ACF-sponsored Self-Regulation Training Approaches and Resources to Improve Staff Capacity for Implementing Healthy Marriage Programs for Youth (SARHM) project, which builds on a set of resources for educators in the Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programs for youth ages 14 to 24. Research questions raised in the guide include what key elements of co-regulation strategies can program facilitators use to support youth self-regulation, what capacity building supports are needed by program facilitators, and how feasible are co-regulation strategies in the implementation of youth HMRE programs.

The Urban Institute hosted a virtual webinar on March 31, 2021 which covered findings from a new resource guide for practitioners highlighting how youth-serving organizations adapted their programs to engage youth virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenters from Jewish Vocational Service, i.c.stars, Baltimore’s Promise, and the Urban Institute illustrated strategies that the organizations used to provide education and training, employment, career readiness, and mental health services remotely to youth and young adults ages 16 to 24.

This April 9, 2020 webinar, hosted by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, was facilitated by Iain De Jong of OrgCode Consulting, Inc. The webinar highlighted several considerations for staff working in Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) programs to support individuals remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Webinar topics included: staff wellness; communicating with program participants; keeping connected; considerations regarding prioritizing time and who to serve; supporting harm reduction, financial matters, and landlords; helping with crisis planning, changing support plans; and addressing food security.

This report reviews lessons learned in the implementation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s seven-year Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC) initiative in Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. The FCCC is an integrated two-generation service model offering child care, job training, and financial and employment services. The report presents lessons about collaborating, integrating services, and building strong partnerships at the community level.

This Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report provides a summary of recent data to illustrate the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the rental and mortgage market and its effect on low-income and minority households. The report notes that over 11 million renter and homeowner households were significantly overdue on housing payments as of December 2020, placing them at greater risk of foreclosure or eviction.

The Iowa Department of Human Rights has implemented the Family Development and Self-Sufficiency (FaDSS) program for more than 30 years. Based on utilizing a coaching approach during home visits with families deemed at greatest risk of long-term welfare receipt, the FaDSS program assists participants with short- and long-term goal setting as they work toward economic self-sufficiency. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews the FaDSS program’s design and implementation and answers key questions about the intervention design, the factors that appeared to have impeded or facilitated the intervention’s implementation, and the clients’ experiences with coaching and the services they received.

The 20th Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) was held virtually on October 13–15 and October 19–22, 2020. The conference sessions were organized in six thematic tracks: TANF Programs, Policies, and Populations; Employment and Mobility in the Labor Market; Youth Well-Being and the Transition to Adulthood; Strengthening Families, Fatherhood, Marriages, and Relationships; Evaluating Social Programs, Building Evidence, and Using Data; and Approaches to Alleviate Poverty and Expand Opportunity. A complete set of videos covering plenary and breakout sessions and a career panel is now available online.