The Institute for Research on Poverty recently released a short report that provides an overview of the evidence on employment instability in the United States. The report also includes information about some opportunities and challenges facing policymakers and researchers interested in promoting employment stability in the current economic and political context.

This paper reviews the literature on the policy context of the HPOG program and the challenges and opportunities related to developing healthcare occupational training and support programs. It discusses the structure of the healthcare industry and trends in healthcare employment, implications of ACA for entry-level employment in healthcare, and resulting challenges and opportunities for training programs. (author overview)

In this testimony before the State of Vermont House Committee on Human Resources, Heather Hahn discusses proposed changes to Vermont's TANF program, and more generally, the "benefits cliff" and work incentives that participants experience as they strive for self-sufficiency. Hahn explains how the key policy levers - asset tests and the earned income disregards - affect the benefits cliff and work incentives. She also places Vermont's Reach Up rules in the context of other states' TANF rules and discusses other important issues to consider in conjunction with changes in these rules. (author abstract) 

This brief examines how provider training and education are related to parent- and provider-reported indicators of quality in home-based and center-based care for toddlers using data from a nationally representative sample of low-income children. (author abstract)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently held a workshop to examine the broadband needs of rural populations, including the unique challenges of deploying and adopting broadband in rural areas. The event included panel discussions on the economic, educational, and healthcare benefits of deployment and adoption of broadband.

Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago hosted a webcast that explored the connection between healthy child development and well-being. The event organizers noted that a large body of research and science points to the need to create nurturing environments where children can develop along a healthy trajectory physically, cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially. When adverse childhood experiences and trauma occur, development can be derailed. Webcast speakers provided several frameworks for understanding the domains and measurable indicators of well-being, and considered steps that can be taken to improve well-being and developmental functioning. Participants were encouraged to explore how policies, practices, assessments, and interventions in their work could be organized around a well-being framework to more effectively ensure a positive life course for children.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury created the Financial Empowerment Innovation Fund, an initiative designed to facilitate informed decision making amongst American families by providing increased access to knowledge and tools that promote financial capability. The Treasury will be allocating approximately six million dollars to research contracts that explore and test promising practices in this field. The Treasury is particularly interested in strategies that incorporate technology and focus on the needs of low- and moderate-income households.

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program, established by the Affordable Care Act of 2010, funds training programs in high-demand healthcare professions, targeted to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals. In 2010, the Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded 32 HPOG grantees in 23 states with five-year grants. This Annual Report provides an overview of HPOG grantees, characteristics of participants, activities in which participants were engaged, training and employment outcomes, and how grantee programs continued to evolve in the second year of the program. (author abstract)

There is longstanding interest among policy makers and program operators in finding ways to increase the skill levels of low-income individuals, improve their enrollment in and completion of post-secondary education, and improve their economic prospects. The career pathways approach is gaining steady acceptance as a promising strategy to address these challenges and improve post-secondary education and training for low-income and low-skilled adults.

This brief focuses on the Innovative Strategies for Increasing Self-Sufficiency project; a major national effort to evaluate the effectiveness of nine career pathways programs using an experimental design. It summarizes the framework used to describe the career pathways approach and the theory of change that guides the evaluation. It then describes the nine programs in the evaluation, and concludes with the study’s research questions and data sources. Later reports and briefs will present findings from the evaluation and will be posted on the project website. (author abstract)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau recently released a media toolkit that includes materials to spread the message about preventing child maltreatment and to promote well-being. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and the toolkit contains several media strategies to help organizations and community partnerships spread the word about events, reach potential supporters, and build relationships. The toolkit contains sample messages for Facebook posts, tweets, press releases, PSAs, and e-mail signatures.