The U.S. Department of Labor convened a webinar on December 5, 2018 that outlined how to leverage free and open educational resources to design and implement training and workforce development programs targeted toward youth. These materials are useful to sustain trainee participation and engagement in youth workforce programs.

This Prosperity Now report provides lessons learned for enhancing credit building activities for youth leaving foster care. Beyond explaining the need for financial independence and credit’s role among this population, the report highlights five organizations that successfully integrate programs for youth and asset building: the Children’s Home Society of Florida, DePelchin Children’s Center, First Place for Youth, the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, and the RightWay Foundation.

This Annie E. Casey Foundation report examines young returning citizens’ complex set of needs upon reintegration from the juvenile justice system. The report offers model programs and anticipated outcomes, as well as systems that address health, housing, education, and employment needs of formerly incarcerated youth.

This Urban Institute study documents the spatial mismatch between where hourly workers live and where the jobs are. In addition to maps that illustrate the issue in Columbus, Ohio and San Francisco, California, this study also presents data to identify the prevalence of the geographical divide throughout the country. Economists suggest that spatial mismatches can lead to higher unemployment rates and prolonged joblessness for those with limited access to transportation across geographical regions. The analysis concludes with successful strategies that some cities and regions have implemented to address spatial mismatch.

This National Skills Coalition research-to-practice brief identifies ways that adult education, vocational rehabilitation, and workforce development partners can collaborate and strengthen each respective system to create and enhance educational and economic opportunities for adults with physical or mental disabilities. The brief also describes an example of how this alignment and collaboration has been implemented in the Rural Capital area near Austin, Texas.

This U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness report provides a set of 9 action steps and a list of recommended resources pertaining to each action step that community groups can use to integrate affordable housing with approaches to end homelessness. These steps reflect a strategic approach that: aligns efforts; sets goals; encourages messaging to build awareness; promotes development; leverages federal, state, and local funding; integrates health and housing resources; and ensures access to affordable housing for persons with housing barriers.

Piloted in Michigan and expanded to other communities nationally, Double Up Food Bucks is an innovative program for reducing food insecurity and has generated benefits for families relying on SNAP, farmers, and the communities in which they live. The program doubles the value of SNAP benefits spent on locally grown fruits and vegetables at participating farmers markets and grocery stores; this enables families to purchase healthy produce in greater quantities and at the same time supports local farmers.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has created National Nutrition Month, an annual nutrition education and information campaign. Celebrated during March, this campaign highlights the importance of choosing food wisely and maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits.

This data set from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service identifies national level participation in and costs for SNAP from 1969-2018, national and/or state level monthly and/or annual data on the number of persons and households receiving SNAP and total benefits and average monthly SNAP benefits from FY 1969 to FY 2019 (until December 2018), and state and county SNAP participation rates.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service report analyzes preliminary data from the agency’s Food and Nutrition Service and highlights trends in food insecurity and the utilization of Federal nutritional and food assistance programs through fiscal year 2017.