The Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families has shared links to directly related resources on COVID-19 for child welfare workers and the clients they serve. Information available includes guidance on procurement for personal protective equipment, casework visit requirements during COVID-19 response, conducting effective remote hearings in child welfare cases and court improvement programs to assist dependency courts, and postponement of Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility reviews.

This issue brief identifies COVID-19’s impact on household income and the income insecurity resulting from the macroeconomic slowdown. The brief presents data on emergency savings; the number of low-wage workers; the percentage of earners in low-wage occupations by race, ethnicity, immigration status, and gender; and low-wage workers’ lack of access to economic supports and wage protections.

This strategy brief discusses how safety culture can assist child protection agencies in shifting their organizational culture to one characterized by open staff conversation; in this environment, staff feedback is valued and important in addressing their organizations’ concerns. One way to strengthen safety culture is through effective mindful organizing, described not only as staff’s understanding of their work, but also of their colleagues’ capabilities, which according to studies, results in reduced staff turnover and positive outcomes for children and their families. The brief highlights mindful organizing strategies used by child protection agency staff in Tennessee, including huddles and debriefs.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation webpage provides links to program snapshots that highlight program outcomes for the following Tribal HPOG 2.0 Program grantees: Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc. and Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, Turtle Mountain Community College, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe. These snapshots highlight descriptive results from the HPOG Participant Accomplishment and Grant Evaluation System (PAGES) as well as qualitative data from the Tribal HPOG 2.0 evaluation.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on May 4, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to discuss how to manage WIOA youth programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenters from the ETA will answer participant questions and share resources and best practices.

This letter from the Acting Commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement provides guidance on how individual tax rebates made under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to eligible noncustodial parents are subject to intercept for past-due child support payments. It also notes that TANF or Title IV-E foster care cases must have at least $150 in past-due support for the offset requirement to apply; non-TANF and non-Title IV-E cases must have at least $500 of past-due support for the offset requirement to apply.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Jobs for the Future (JFF) planned to convene individuals working in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in person for its biennial workforce development and education summit on June 9 and June 10, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, JFF has decided to transition to a free virtual event to be held in June 2020. JFF plans to reconvene in person in New Orleans in June of 2021.

This research-to-practice brief profiles a needs assessment of TANF child-only cases undertaken as part of the Office of Family Assistance’s Assisting Special Populations to Improve Readiness and Engagement (ASPIRE) project. Researchers first conducted a literature search and then select interviews with state and local TANF agency officials in California, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington State. The brief describes three major categories of child-only TANF cases and provides a historical overview of how the TANF child-only caseload has changed in size over time. Additionally, the brief identifies needs pertaining to specific types of TANF child-only families, including non-parent caregivers, ineligible immigrant parents, and SSI recipient parents. Innovative models for alternative service delivery are highlighted.

This podcast, part of the Skilled America Podcast weekly series, offers a field report on how the Center for Employment Opportunities in New York and JEVS Human Services in Philadelphia are addressing increased demand for re-entry services as the jail and prison populations reduce to slow the spread of COVID-19. The podcast includes an interview with a JEVS Looking Forward Philadelphia program participant who shares his experiences in re-entry and what supports returning citizens need now and beyond their current circumstances.

This evaluation report provides summary findings of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program. Awarded by the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families, RPG grants are partnerships between child welfare providers, entities that offer substance abuse disorder treatment, and other social service agencies that enhance child welfare for those children who are in or at risk of out-of-home placement because of a parent’s or caretaker’s substance abuse disorder. The study assesses results from 17 partnerships in 15 states that were initially funded in 2012. Continuing evaluations will be made for partnerships funded in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.