The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC), in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Family and Youth Services Bureau, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, and SchoolHouse Connection, will host a webinar on May 7, 2019 from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. ET which will focus on preventing homelessness and supporting homeless youth. The webinar will review intervention strategies and how to interact with communities and local homelessness systems. It will conclude with a Q&A session. This event will be moderated by Francis Mendez, Project Director, NTTAC, and will include the following presenters:

• Christopher Holloway, Runaway and Homeless Youth Program Manager, Family and Youth Services Bureau
• Patricia Julianelle, Director of Program Advancement and Legal Affairs, SchoolHouse Connection
• Norman Suchar, Director, Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

This National Conference of State Legislatures blogpost identifies state initiatives and model programs that support early education and child care. Highlighted are initiatives on parental leave programs; home visiting; improving infant and toddler child care supply and quality; well-being and developmental physical and mental health screenings for 9-, 18-, and 30-month-olds; and child care funding and early education subsidies.

This Russell Sage Foundation research journal article identifies changes in the spatial distribution of returning citizens in greater Chicago. While traditional reintegration among ex-offenders typically occurs within urban communities, this article also identifies changes in the spatial makeup of metropolitan regions, such as demolition of public housing and greater poverty in suburbs. These changes dispel the conventional wisdom for the reintegration of formerly incarcerated persons using 16 years of prisoner release data.

This Mathematica literature review features the causal relationship between employment and health among low-income Americans. Instead of cause and effect, research has mostly emphasized the correlational relationship of changes in employment and health; this prior work mainly reflected findings from outside the United States. The research in this current review assessed whether a causal relationship exists between work environment and health, since a job’s nature and quality might affect one’s health. The review’s findings might help guide the design of programs to improve health or employment outcomes for U.S. low-income adults and children.

The Children's Bureau Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, and the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention developed this Resource Guide to help service providers prevent child abuse and neglect and promote child and family well-being. Content includes protective factors to strengthen individuals, families and communities; model programs that can be implemented when working with families and using the protective factor framework; ways the framework can build community partnerships; and how to protect children from abuse. The Resource Guide also provides parents and caregivers with English and Spanish tip sheets on building and sustaining a healthy home environment for children.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report highlights a study comparing the Back to Work (B2W) and Independent Job Search (IJS) programs administered by the New York City Department of Social Services/Human Resources Administration. B2W required daily attendance at the program office and offered a range of group and one-on-one job search services, while IJS program participants were required to attend weekly in-person meetings at the program office. The study examined the level and duration of job search assistance, services received, and job search tools that each program offered and explored the difference in outcomes regarding program participants’ employment, earnings, time to employment, and public assistance.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, Division of Youth Services will hold a webinar on April 29, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will cover technical assistance resources available to assist youth workforce development practitioners in delivering all-inclusive services to young people.

This Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation issue brief highlights local perspectives on how performance indicator alignment from federal programs promoting self-sufficiency could increase program efficiencies and service delivery across multiple federal agencies. This qualitative analysis is based on the EMPOWERED performance measurement study and identifies the challenges and opportunities associated with the alignment.

This Urban Institute study illustrates the financial costs and long-term effects of youth incarceration and suggests a new model to prevent and address illegal actions by youth. This new model calls for a continuum-based approach that includes restorative justice programming, family counseling and mentoring support, and interventions to address substance abuse. The brief reviews four areas to create this continuum, including: capturing and reinvesting savings resulting from youth detention facilities closures; repurposing youth detention facilities; maximizing existing state and federal funding sources; and identifying innovative funding strategies for opportunities for youth and their families.

This Upjohn Institute issue brief notes strategies to ensure SNAP benefit retention. Data from seven states showed that almost half of SNAP participants exit from assistance within one year, and one half of these exiters remain eligible but are dropped from caseloads since they fail to meet administrative filing requirements. The issue brief illustrates how many states, including Michigan, have tried to reduce administrative burdens by allowing participants to track and manage their benefits online.