This brief from the Urban Institute provides a framework for why workforce programs and employers must engage with one another. First, the brief presents the challenges that workforce programs may face when engaging employers. Employers may not see the value in partnering with workforce programs or may be wary of working with the government or nonprofits. Then, the brief discusses why employers become involved in workforce programs, why workforce programs engage employers, and how employers are involved in workforce programs. Employers can play a variety of roles in a workforce program, such as oversight, program design, program delivery, recruitment and hiring, and financial or in-kind resources. The report concludes by describing how employers can become partners with workforce programs under WIOA.

The Aspen Institute’s Workforce Strategies Initiative created this playbook to document lessons learned from the Communities that Work Partnership project. Seven regional teams were selected to participate in this project, which included workforce development leaders and representatives from private industry. Each team collaborated to advance a variety of industry-led workforce development strategies. The playbook includes information on building partnerships, collecting labor market information, business engagement and skills development, and additional strategies for improving the talent pipeline. Each play describes the strategy, includes an example of a site that used that strategy, and provides action steps for applying the strategy in regions.

This toolkit from the Heartland Alliance provides resources targeted toward organizations wanting to engage employers for transitional jobs or subsidized employment programs. These resources will help organizations plan and implement effective job development strategies, build relationships with employers, and serve participants with barriers to employment. The toolkit includes research briefs on six different topics, videos of employers describing how partnering with transitional jobs programs was good for business, and links to additional information by subtopic.

This interactive map from Feeding America describes the extent of food security by county across the United States. Using 2015 food insecurity data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this map illustrates how food insecurity rates differ across regions. The map includes the food insecurity rate, the estimated percentage of the population that is eligible for SNAP and other nutrition programs, the average cost per meal, and the additional money to meet that county’s food needs.

This report from Mathematica Policy Research details an evaluation of New Heights, a DC Public Schools program that supports parenting students’ educational attainment. New Heights’ program model includes a coordinator responsible for providing targeted school-based case management, weekly educational workshops, advocacy, and incentives to both male and female students who are either expecting or parenting. The researchers found that New Heights led to significantly better outcomes in school engagement and credit accumulation, and a marginally significant impact on graduation rates for parenting students.

While low-income parents face challenges, many manage to raise children with socio-emotional competence. This policy report from the National Center for Children in Poverty describes what can be learned from these resilient parents, and analyzes programs and policies that promote parents’ and children’s resiliency. The authors find that policies such as increasing access to health and mental health care, providing training in evidence-based parenting skills, and strengthening key safety net programs all contribute to strengthening resiliency in both parents and children.

Almost half of American families are financially insecure, and financial capability programs have the potential to provide solutions. This brief from The Pew Charitable Trusts analyzes four different types of financial capability programs for economically vulnerable Americans: literacy, counseling, coaching, and planning. Each section links to research and program examples of all four types of financial capability programs.

This fact sheet examines 2015 spending data to understand spending patterns nationally and to examine the wide variations across states in how TANF/MOE funds are used.

This handbook from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration provides tools for individuals suffering from opioid use disorder to use in their recovery. A key feature of this handbook is medication’s role in opioid abuse recovery; there are sections on whether medication supports recovery, which medications can work for recovery, and how those medications function. Each section contains interactive tools that individuals can use as they progress through recovery.

Many American families experience significant shifts in income from one year to the next. These shifts, known as income volatility, make it difficult for families to balance paying expenses and planning for the future. This report from The Pew Charitable Trusts analyzes the differences between families that experienced income volatility and those that did not. The researchers found that more than a third of American families experienced a large year-to-year change in income, but Hispanic families and families without a high school diploma were more likely to experience income volatility.