In 2020, for every 100 families in poverty, just 21 families received TANF cash assistance — down from 68 families when TANF was first enacted in 1996. The “TANF-to-poverty ratio” (TPR) is at the lowest point in TANF’s history. This interactive map allows users to click on a state for a fact sheet detailing trends in its TANF caseload and the program’s ability to reach families in poverty.

The National Governors Association launched the Strengthening Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Systems of Care (SUD Learning Collaborative) in June 2020. The purpose of the SUD Learning Collaborative was to improve coordination across the continuum of prevention, treatment, and recovery services for individuals affected by SUD and opioid use disorder. From June 2020 through March 2021, Governor-appointed teams from six states — Kentucky, New York, Oregon, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming — engaged in strategic planning analysis, with the goal of addressing their state’s respective linkage to SUD care and treatment priorities. This report helps states address challenges related to these focus areas.

Breaking Barriers was a San Diego-based program that provided employment services to individuals with low incomes and disabilities who were looking for work. The program used the Individual Placement and Support model. This report summarizes findings from an earlier program evaluation report and presents new impact findings based on administrative records from the National Directory of New Hires. These records include information on study participants’ quarterly employment and earnings over an extended, two-year follow-up period.

Today’s infants and toddlers have lived virtually their entire lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shaped every aspect of their growth and wellbeing. The pandemic has directly impacted them, through experiences such as delayed screenings for developmental issues, and indirectly impacted them through the circumstances of other members of their households, including increased parental stress, illness, and job loss. This brief examines how decision makers implementing the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) have used COVID relief funding and policy opportunities to lay the groundwork for longer-term, transformative change by equitably supporting infants, toddlers, and their families. The brief also offers guidance for how decision makers can leverage ARPA across myriad programs to support these children and families now and into the future.

Congress passed The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978 to protect American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families. ICWA recognized core values and principles of child welfare best practice by requiring active efforts to keep children safely in their homes and connected to their families, communities, and culture. The values and spirit embedded in ICWA are critical to the well-being of AI/AN children, youth, and families and should form the basis of child welfare practice for all. This brief describes four key principles inherent in ICWA, provides examples of these principles in practice, and offers questions for consideration to help agencies further explore how they should apply these principles to support the permanency and well-being of both Native and non-Native children, youth, and families.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation compendium provides detailed summaries of each family self-sufficiency research project that was active or newly funded during FY 2021, along with brief overviews of past projects, and highlights select findings released in FY 2021. The studies in this report are organized into five sections:

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
• Employment and the Labor Market
• Education and Training
• Behavioral Science
• Cross-Cutting and Other Safety Net Research

The University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty will host a webinar on April 27, 2022 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT which will examine the mental health of fathers. Fathers, like mothers, are vulnerable to depression in the period surrounding the birth of a new baby, and this depression can have serious consequences for children and families. Presenters will draw on their research and practice experience to discuss the prevalence and presentation of depression and other mental health challenges among new fathers, and the impacts of fathers’ mental health on parenting, family relationships, and child development.

In rural communities, widely dispersed populations face many access challenges. With a declining talent pool and lower educational attainment, coupled with rising poverty rates as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent need to prepare young people in rural areas for high-demand careers. The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship hosted a webinar on April 28, 2022, which focused on best practices and creative solutions for increasing pre-apprenticeship and youth apprenticeship access, enrollment, retention, and program completion for young people in rural areas. Featured youth apprenticeship intermediaries and partners shared their accomplishments in developing youth apprenticeship opportunities in rural areas, establishing support networks, and best utilizing resources to ensure pre- and youth apprenticeship success.