This recorded webinar from the U.S. Department of Labor covers unemployment compensation requirements and issues for persons and employers affected by COVID-19. Recorded on March 17, 2020, the webinar offers states guidance on: determining whether a person affected by COVID-19 is unemployed and able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work; examples for assessing unemployment compensation; employer charging and the issues facing unemployment insurance fund solvency; eliminating the waiting week before benefits can be issued; and promoting short-time compensation.

This report identifies a nexus between the physical, social, and economic conditions of low-income neighborhoods and the health and financial well-being of the people who live in these communities. Included are the importance of aligning these sectors to improve these community residents’ prospects as well as examples of where these alignments exist. The report also highlights opportunities for collaboration and integration across community, public health, and financial sectors and discusses challenges of fostering this alignment.

This brief describes a project highlighting the development and implementation of policies and practices aimed at reducing the impact of Illinois mothers’ incarceration on their children. From interviews with incarcerated mothers, researchers learned how incarceration creates barriers to parenting, and through interviews with program administrators and others, they discovered how programs across the U.S. are addressing these barriers. Ways to help incarcerated mothers maintain relationships with their children included supporting communication between mothers and children via mail or phone, improving visitation policies, and increasing support services’ availability.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report assesses initial findings of Paycheck Plus, a refundable tax credit program for low-income workers without dependent children. The report examines the effect of this demonstration program among low-wage earners in Atlanta by evaluating the effect of a bonus payment on employment rates, earnings, and income on a pre-tax and post-tax basis. The report also identifies the effect of the bonus by gender, level of disadvantage, and earnings of study participants before entering the study.

This post provides the most up-to-date information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about ways to prevent COVID-19 at home and in the community and answers frequently asked questions. There is also a set of resources about how to discuss COVID-19 with young children and how community- and faith-based organizations can get prepared to address service needs.

This Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation report assesses the impact and outcomes of the employment coaching model. Key questions in this evaluation include analysis about the intermediate outcomes related to pursuing goals and employment and economic security outcomes for low-income people and whether the impacts of the coaching interventions change over time or differ among the diverse groups of participants. The report also examines how employment coaching models were implemented and what contributes to how and whether employment coaching is implemented.

This research article illustrates the origins, processes and strategies of health coaching and motivational interviewing as well as identifies the similarities and differences within these approaches. The article also points how these approaches might be used in tandem or taken individually to support improvements in physical and emotional health.

This research-to-practice brief identifies programmatic solutions to support reentry for young adults who have been involved in the juvenile justice or criminal justice system as they navigate employment and education pathways. The brief summarizes best practices from nine communities under the three-year U.S. Department of Labor-funded Compass Rose Collaborative (CRC). CRC communities are: Southeast Arkansas; Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; St. Louis, Missouri; and Albany, New York.

This blogpost profiles the Louisiana Department of Child and Family Services’ efforts to connect birth families with resource families following child removal, with the hopes of improving child welfare and the likelihood and timeliness of reunification. This shared parenting reflects the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI), a Youth Law Center strategy to pave a new approach toward increasing reunification outcomes for families. This approach calls for a fundamental culture shift away from an “us-them” adversarial relationship between birth and resource families.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews current Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program approaches undertaken to prevent and tackle intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence. The report illustrates the programs’ strengths and gaps in their services and referrals and promising practices that may improve service provision to address IPV. There is also discussion about new directions for research in IPV prevention, given the success, challenges, and barriers in service delivery that RF programs experience.