Health services have been a priority for Head Start since its inception and remain a core need for the more than 1 million children enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs each year.

Drawing on survey data from 73% of Head Start and Early Head Start program health managers, the 2012-2013 Head Start Health Manager Descriptive Study explores the context and delivery of health-related activities and programming for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This is the first study to look at the role of the health manager in nearly 20 years.

The report also reveals the insights and needs of staff who implement health components. Health managers are well-credentialed, with two-thirds holding at least a bachelor's degree and 86% reporting a health-related educational background. They describe their work as demanding but fulfilling, requiring coordination with program staff and community stakeholders, as well as the trust of Head Start families. Most cite a need for ongoing training and professional development in evidence-based health services and more streamlined access to standards and resources. These and other insights should help inform program managers to better support these front-line professionals. (author abstract)

This report presents findings from the Systems Change Analysis of the 27 non-tribal HPOG grantees funded in 2010, which operated 49 programs. This study addresses the major research question: What changes to the service delivery system are associated with program implementation? This report considers the following topics:

•  Inclusion of partners and stakeholders in HPOG networks;

•  Roles and responsibilities of partners and stakeholders;

•  Changes in collaboration within HPOG networks during the grant period;

•  HPOG networks, local labor markets, and employer perspectives;

•  Effectiveness and sustainability of programs and network relationships; and

•  Lessons and policy implications.

The Systems Change Analysis represents one of the first efforts to evaluate comprehensively the systems that can support career-pathways-based training programs for low-income adults. While this analysis is exploratory, it takes an initial step toward understanding systems change for training programs and offers some key lessons for future efforts as well as policy implications. (Author abstract)

In this podcast from MDRC, researchers discuss behavioral science and how it can be used to improve the effectiveness and impact of social programs. They discuss these insights with a particular focus on child support programs.

Work-based learning includes workplace activities through which individuals gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for entry or advancement in a particular field. Though work-based learning provides many benefits for job-seekers, those opportunities are more likely to go to the more highly educated and socially connected segments of the population. This paper from Jobs from the Future offers strategies to implement effective models of work-based learning that expand access for the many populations who do not currently benefit.

The U.S. Department of Education wrote this blog post about five key parts of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Notably, WIOA will provide improved services for approximately 20 million people each year.

This toolkit from the Workforce Data Quality Campaign provides information for states to improve data infrastructure and promote the use of data. The toolkit includes details of state data policies, case studies, and legislative templates.

Cultural competence refers to “a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be developed over time in order to work with those who appear and may be different from us.” This addition to the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit provides tips for programs to integrate cultural competence into their activities and service delivery.

This newly revised toolkit from the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration now aligns with the new vision and requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Additionally, it incorporates promising practices in the career pathways field from throughout the past five years.

The Office of Family Assistance recently published the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload and application for the third quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. During that quarter, an average of 1.5 million families were receiving TANF and Separate State Program (SSP) assistance per month. This indicates a decrease of about seven and a half percent from the same time period in FY 2015.

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is the primary federal funding stream for State and Territorial Domestic Violence Coalitions, which coordinate state- and territory-wide improvements within local communities, social service systems, and programming regarding the prevention and intervention of domestic violence. Every Coalition provides comprehensive training and technical assistance on a multitude of social, legal, and economic issues that affect victims’ safety and well-being. Each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, have a FVPSA-funded Domestic Violence Coalition. These coalitions are connected to more than 2,000 local domestic violence programs receiving FVPSA funding across the country. Every coalition provides comprehensive training and technical assistance on a multitude of social, legal, and economic issues that affect victims’ safety and well-being. Coalitions collaborate with government, private industry, non-profit organizations, faith-based communities, and other stakeholders to effectively coordinate and improve the safety net of services available to victims and their dependents.