Supportive services are one of 14 program elements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program that enable individuals to participate in WIOA activities. This second set of resources on providing supportive services to youth includes information on: addressing the needs of runaway or homeless youth; youth exiting the juvenile justice system; legal aid, including children’s law programs; transportation; domestic and intimate partner violence; and youth assessment and case management.

(See also Resources on "domestic violence" in the Resource Library)

Supportive services are one of 14 program elements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program that enable individuals to participate in WIOA activities. This first set of resources on providing supportive services to youth includes information on: Supportive Services Guides and Locators; the TANF Program and state contacts; the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) and State CCDF contacts; the State Child Support Enforcement Program; guidance and support for individuals with disabilities; the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; the Foster Care to Success Education Training Voucher Program; and health, mental health, and substance abuse resources.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes results from a 2019 needs assessment of the capacity of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs in 54 states and territories. The assessment examined data used for program improvement, monitoring, and evidence-building. The assessment also noted areas for growth and recommends strategies TANF agencies may use to improve their data use.

TANF, enacted in 1996 as a flexible block grant with formula funding, provides states, territories, and tribes support to meet the need in the design of work at these local levels, has created a diverse set of services as well as varying benefit levels and eligibility requirements across states. On TANF’s 25th anniversary, JooYeun Chang, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families, notes in this blogpost the challenges TANF agencies face, such as low benefit levels and limited engagement in work activities, and proposes policies and practices agencies can adopt to help alleviate poverty and reduce racial inequity, prepare needy families for the challenges of a post-pandemic economy, and respond to emergency needs.

This report offers four case studies of rural youth apprenticeships in Maine, Arizona, Missouri, and Mississippi, the challenges for each of the respective regions, and their strategies for success. The report begins with a definition of youth apprenticeships and elaborates on the benefits and obstacles in designing, implementing, and sustaining rural apprenticeships.

These Casey Family Services infographics illustrate statewide data on the child welfare system. Information is provided on the rate of children in foster care; the number of children who are involved in investigations for child abuse, receive services, and who enter foster care; and a breakdown of how much is invested in foster care (Title IV-E) compared to prevention and permanency services (Title IV-B). Also provided are percentages for the reasons why children enter foster care and why they encounter repeated maltreatment; the number of children under the age of 18 who live in foster care; and a breakdown of reasons why children exited the foster care system. State-specific fact sheets also summarize these data.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is a case study of how the University of Florida’s ELEVATE program transitioned from a five-session, in-person Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education program to virtual delivery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers how the shift impacted staff training, participant recruitment and enrollment, program facilitation, participant retention strategies, and staff supervision and support.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocates additional resources for housing assistance and services and provides state and local jurisdictions with flexibility for spending on supplemental housing and service resources. This brief outlines how resources for supportive housing services can be used in prevention-oriented strategies for implementing a "Housing-First" approach for families experiencing homelessness or housing instability while also receiving child welfare prevention services. The brief also includes a chart that illustrates how ARPA funds can be used for housing and support services. Other topics include short-term opportunities for prioritizing child welfare-involved families with ARPA funding and long-term strategies for interagency collaboration.

This blogpost draws upon assessments of the Housing Opportunities and Services Together Initiative and the Family Centered Community Change program and presents four key elements that made their two-generation initiatives successful. These elements include employing engaged coaches or case managers to help families, providing “glue” money to support service partnerships and staff time for program coordination, developing strong partnerships focused on a common goal of supporting families, and selecting an effective backbone organization to provide for or raise funds to ensure the two-generation initiative’s sustainability.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report synthesizes lessons learned and initial findings from HPOG University Partnerships 2.0 (HPOG UP 2.0) research grants awarded in 2016 to Brandeis University, Loyola University-Chicago, and Northwestern University. Under HPOG UP 2.0, researchers were required to partner with HPOG grantees. The report identifies the research methodologies for each grantee and takeaways during the four years of project-related research. It also illustrates how the university partnerships with these grantees grew and how the research conducted was implemented in specific, action-oriented practice.