This guide from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a comprehensive list of Federal resources in rural communities for community leaders to use when combatting opioid addiction and seeking available treatment options. The resource list is broken down into 26 categories to reflect the efforts of multiple Federal agencies, as well as the complex set of direct and indirect needs related to opioid misuse.

This Urban Institute report notes the positive effect that safety net programs have on program recipients and their families. When reviewing program participation in TANF, SNAP, and public health insurance, the researchers discovered that the number of hardships that participating low-income families with children faced dropped by 48 percent, and food insufficiency decreased by 72 percent. The number of hardships was defined as the inability to meet essential expenses such as rent and utilities.

This Urban Institute brief provides guidance on the uses and practices of evidence-based policymaking made at the state government level. The discussion notes how these applications are drawn from the private sector and are implemented for program design and budgeting. Further, as a guide for state-level executives, there are recommendations about how to value evidence in the strategy and implementation of a policy agenda against competing demands for Governors.

This Homeless Families Research Brief by Abt Associates highlights the Family Options Study, which surveyed homeless families living in shelters with their children. The study found that family characteristics and experiences that predict another episode of homelessness after a shelter stay seldom predict doubling up with another household. Another finding was that while physical, emotional, and mental health conditions are prevalent in chronic homelessness for single adults, they seem less related to repeated homelessness for families with children.

Based on a prior report on associations of time in extended foster care with youth outcomes, researchers at Chapin Hall examined data of more than 40,000 youth from California’s Child Welfare Services/Case Management System, including youth who had been in foster care for at least six months sometime after their 16th birthday. Researchers were unable to discover negative consequences of extended foster care beyond age 18. Instead, they reported that remaining in care past age 18 assists in meeting youths’ basic needs, reduces the chance of becoming a young parent and interacting with the criminal justice system, and helps them advance their education, acquire additional work experience, and save money.

This National Association of Counties (NACo) report discusses counties’ role in funding and administering the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. The report also identifies counties’ challenges, including restraints by states limiting their ability to raise funds to meet social service needs.

Apprenticeships play an important role in preparing workers for successful and sustainable careers. This set of three tools, created by the U.S. Department of Labor, provides guidance on developing and expanding apprenticeship programs that can engage potential new workers. Within the toolkit are Strategies in Action, which provides examples of how apprenticeship programs can be promoted and address organizational challenges in their design; Talking to Businesses, which gives guidance on how to speak the employers’ language when engaging with potential and participating employers; and a Business Engagement Quick Guide, which outlines three phases of working successfully with employers towards the goal of apprenticeship.

An MDRC infographic provides initial findings of the Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) initiative, which targets youth ages 15-25 who have been involved in the child welfare and justice systems, or who are homeless. The infographic identifies components of two established national programs – Jobs for America’s Graduates and the Jobs for the Future Back on Track – and the LEAP enhancements for case management and training that are offered locally to support youth in employment and postsecondary educational opportunities.

This Casey Family Programs report outlines strategies for keeping American Indian and Alaska Native children in tribal foster homes and approaches to find tribal parents for an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The report emphasizes the importance for Native children to have connections with families sharing their same culture, especially in cases where the children are not in safe or healthy home environments.

This report on a study from the University of California, Davis, Center for Poverty Research identifies that 14 to 16 percent of the U.S. population has been unable to pay fully and on-time for either utilities or housing. The study also found that utility hardship is more prevalent than housing hardship, and households with solely utility hardship are more disadvantaged than households with housing hardship only. Also, poor health is the strongest predictor of both utility and housing hardships.