“Do You Wanna Breathe or Eat?”: Parent Perspectives on Child Health Consequences of Food Insecurity, Trade-Offs, and Toxic Stress

Record Description
This study investigated how parents characterize trade-offs associated with food insecurity with regard to parents’ mental health and child well-being. The results, published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, suggest that parents in food insecure households recognize that trade-offs between food and other basic necessities are associated with their personal stress and poor mental health, which in turn affects their children’s health and development. Partnerships between health care providers, policymakers, and parents are essential to successfully address and prevent the poor child health outcomes of toxic stress associated with food insecurity and poverty.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2015-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10995-015-1797-8.pdf
Publication Date
2016-01-01

Building Skills through SNAP Employment & Training: Recommendations from Lessons Learned in Four States

Record Description
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) program supports employment and training activities to increase self-sufficiency for SNAP participants. In 2015, the National Skills Coalition and Seattle Jobs Initiative partnered with Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, and Oregon to help them expand their skills-based SNAP E&T programs. This policy brief shares the following recommendations based on lessons learned from that work: 1) Staff and stakeholders should work with SNAP E&T agency leadership to develop a vision for a skills-focused program and implement a strategy to achieve that vision; 2) States should use pilot programs to test strategies for expanding SNAP E&T programs; 3) SNAP E&T programs should build on the strengths of existing workforce development efforts and align with other programs, such as TANF; and 4) SNAP E&T programs should use federal funding and administrative tools to partner with community colleges and community-based organizations to provide services.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-03-31T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.nationalskillscoalition.org/resources/publications/file/SNAP_lessons…
Publication Date
2016-04-01

Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability Research Consortium Year in Review – 2015

Record Description
This Year in Review from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) highlights the Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability Research Consortium’s individual and collective efforts to make meaningful contributions to the family self-sufficiency field in 2015. The goal of the Consortium is to improve the lives of low-income families and children by integrating research, policy, and practice on family self-sufficiency and stability. The projects within the Consortium include the Advancing Welfare and Family Self-Sufficiency Research Project, the Family Self-Sufficiency and Stability Research Scholars Network, and the Family Self-Sufficiency Data Center.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-03-10T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/family-self-sufficiency-and-stability-rese…
Publication Date
2016-03-11

Motivational Interviewing Training New Trainers Manual

Record Description
The goal of this manual, created by the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, is to provide guidance on training staff to utilize motivational interviewing techniques in their work with clients. It includes training exercises and activities, which can also be translated for work with adolescent and young adult clients.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-08-31T20:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
SFS Category
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.motivationalinterviewing.org/sites/default/files/tnt_manual_2014_d10…
Publication Date
2014-09-01

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): “Driving Innovation, Collaboration, and Performance”

Record Description

This overview of WIOA from the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) provides an introduction to the law, including a cross-comparison of WIA and WIOA and descriptions of the core programs.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-07-31T20:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
Region
City/County
URL
http://nawb.org/documents/WIOA_Overview-090314.pdf
Publication Date
2014-08-01

Early care, early education, and home visiting in American Indian and Alaska Native communities: Design options for assessing early childhood needs

Record Description

This report describes three potential designs for studies to assess the needs for early care and education and home visiting among American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.

For each of the three options, the report presents:

  • the key research questions,
  • the population of interest,
  • suggested measures, and,
  • potential data sources, including primary data collection or existing data sources available for secondary analysis.

The report concludes with a summary of each design and future considerations. (author abstract)

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2015-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/early-care-early-education-home-visiting-a…
Publication Date
2016-01-01

Working Toward Well-Being: Community Approaches to Toxic Stress

Record Description
In recent years, significant focus has been placed on the concept of toxic stress and the impact of adverse experiences in childhood on lifelong health and development. As scientific understanding continues to grow, community leaders are searching for ways to prevent and respond to toxic stress in the lives of young children and their families, in order to achieve healthy development and well-being for all children. Leaders from six communities worked together in 2015 with the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) through the Early Childhood-LINC Learning Lab on Community Approaches to Toxic Stress. The communities learned from each other’s experiences, discussed the challenges and opportunities they face, and generated ideas to improve the response to toxic stress in their own communities and in others. This issue brief presents their experiences and recommendations.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-03-31T20:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
SFS Category
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.cssp.org/reform/early-childhood/early-childhood-linc/working-toward-…
Publication Date
2016-04-01

OFA Issues Program Instruction on Ensuring Access to Cash Assistance

Record Description
The Office of Family Assistance published a Program Instruction (PI) on the adequate access provisions of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) EBT regulation. Section 4004 of Pub. L. 112-96, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, requires states to maintain policies and practices that prevent TANF-funded assistance from being used in any electronic benefit transfer (EBT) transaction in any liquor store, casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment, or any retail establishment that provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment. Public Law 112-96 also requires states to include in their state TANF plans an explanation of how the state will ensure that recipients of TANF assistance: have adequate access to their cash assistance; have access to using or withdrawing assistance with minimal fees or charges, including an opportunity to access assistance with no fees or charges; and are provided information on applicable fees and surcharges that apply to electronic fund transactions involving the assistance. The state must also ensure that such information is made publicly available. This PI provides examples of strategies that state TANF agencies may use to ensure access to cash assistance and minimize or eliminate fees for recipients, as required by law.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-04-25T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ofa/resource/tanf-acf-pi-2016-02
Publication Date
2016-04-26

H-PACT: A descriptive study of Responsible Fatherhood programs serving Hispanic men

Record Description

This report describes four Responsible Fatherhood programs that focus primarily on low-income Hispanic fathers:

  1. Futuro Now from KidWorks, a partner of The East Los Angeles Community Union, in Santa Ana, California
  2. Project Fatherhood at The Children’s Institute, Inc., in Los Angeles County, California
  3. Project Padres at Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program in Imperial County, California
  4. Responsible Fatherhood Program at Southwest Key in San Antonio, Texas

This study provides information about how these federally funded programs are implemented in a culturally relevant way and insights into the participating fathers’ program experiences. (author abstract)

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/h-pact-a-descriptive-study-of-responsible-…
https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/our-publications-and-findings/publications/hpac…
Publication Date
2015-01-01

Serving young fathers in home visiting programs: Highlights from a research study

Record Description

This brief summarizes findings from a qualitative research study that explored the strategies five home visiting programs use to engage fathers and the fathers’ experiences with the programs. Interviews with program staff and clients revealed that young fathers’ motivations to participate are similar to those of older and experienced fathers, and that they benefit similarly from the program. However, young fathers present unique challenges, including relationship instability, family resistance, logistics, and developmental immaturity. The lessons programs shared may help other programs that serve low-income families in their efforts to engage young fathers. (author abstract)

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-12-31T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/serving-young-fathers-home-visiting-highli…
http://www.urban.org/research/publication/serving-young-fathers-home-visiting-p…
Publication Date
2015-01-01