MDRC’s new web series entitled “In Practice: Lessons for and from Practitioners” includes tips, tools, and stories based on program collaborations. This first blog post focuses on key questions that program managers should ask as they set benchmarks that provide short-term goals to measure progress towards longer-term goals integral to service delivery.

This Urban Institute study examines the effect of reinstating SNAP work-related time limits in Kentucky on a county-by-county basis. The review covers SNAP participation of able-bodied adults without dependents and reviews caseload data from January 2017 to September 2018.

The Jump$tart Coalition is comprised of more than 100 national organizations and 51 state coalitions united by the common goal of advancing youth financial literacy. The Coalition promotes Financial Literacy Month to its network of partners with a set of activities each April that are designed to recognize our nation’s achievement in financial literacy advancement and highlight financial education resources, tools, and efforts to support financial literacy.

This Prosperity Now blog post identifies Federal sources of funding (TANF, the former Workforce Investment Act, and the Community Development Block Grant program) that support microenterprise. A total of 28 states in 2014 provided support for microenterprise from one Federal source of funding, 10 states from two sources, and 2 states utilized all three Federal programs.

This Administration for Children and Families resource defines financial literacy and provides detailed information on ten key financial capability services: financial education, financial coaching, financial counseling, credit counseling, credit building, access to safe and affordable financial products, free tax preparation assistance, access to federal and state benefits, incentivized savings programs, and asset ownership programs.

This IMPAQ study for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy identifies trends in entrepreneurship programs in low-income communities by comparing the characteristics of self-employed workers and of small businesses (such as industry and payroll), as well as income levels of self-employed persons in low-income areas with the rest of the country.

This Brookings Institution study looks at youth financial literacy as a public policy issue. The comprehensive report presents a conceptual definition of financial literacy as well as state policies that incorporate financial education in the overall curriculum and course offerings to ensure that competency in basic financial literacy is attained upon graduation from high school. The report offers effective model programs and initiatives that have influenced the inclusion of financial education to K-12 students.

This Administration for Children and Families brief provides guidance on how financial capability services are integrated into existing programs that are delivered to TANF participants. The brief is divided into four sections: centering the client voice, securing buy-in from line staff for delivering financial capability services, identifying areas for integration of services, and using data for service delivery evaluation. Lessons from the field highlight TANF agencies’ experiences in Delaware, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington State.

This annual Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection report to Congress identifies programs and activities that the Bureau conducted to address its FY 2018 mandate. Mandated by Congress, the report covers three elements: providing financial education to the public through self-help resources and community channels, such as libraries and social service organizations; sharing research and resource guides on financial literacy to K-12 teachers and adult educators; and delivering information and technical assistance on financial security to servicemembers, older Americans, underserved consumers, and students.