The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program was established by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA) to provide training programs in high-demand health care professions to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other low-income individuals. Beginning in 2010, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided five-year grants to 32 grantees in 23 states across the United States. HPOG grantees include post-secondary educational institutions, workforce investment boards (WIBs), state or local government agencies, and non-profit organizations (NPOs). Five grantees are Tribal organizations. In their first year of funding, HPOG grantees were able to launch their programs and enroll and train substantial numbers of participants. This brief describes the HPOG Program and progress made by grantees in the first year of funding. It also describes the evaluation efforts sponsored by ACF to assess the success of the HPOG Program. (author abstract)

How can programs advance the self-sufficiency and well-being of at-risk youth? This report attempts to answer this important question by presenting a research-based framework for efforts to help at-risk youth enter a career workforce trajectory and prepare to become well-functioning, self-sufficient adults. The framework presented is particularly relevant for youth who are or could be served by ACF programs—especially homeless youth, youth in the foster care system, and teen parents—but it may also apply to other programs. The framework suggests the possibility of using evidence-informed interventions to address two primary areas: youths’ resilience and human capital development. It suggests finding tailored solutions grounded in a trusting relationship between youth and program staff to help move youth toward both healthy functioning and economic self-sufficiency as they transition to adulthood. This report was written as part of the Youth Demonstration Development project being conducted by Mathematica Policy Research and Chapin Hall Center for Children. (author abstract)

For many youth, the path to economic self-sufficiency in adulthood is challenging. For those who lack stable family support, have grown up in deep poverty, or have been exposed to repeated violence and abuse as children, the path can seem insurmountable. Such youth, and youth who are severely disadvantaged in other ways, are at high risk of dropping out of school, engaging in delinquent or criminal behavior, becoming homeless, abusing drugs or alcohol, or becoming teen parents—further limiting their prospects for labor market success).

Programs to help at-risk youth take a wide range of approaches. Although we know a lot about the needs of such youth, we often lack solid scientific evidence about what approaches work. This brief summarizes a research-based framework that can serve as the foundation for efforts to move at-risk youth toward positive social, emotional and economic functioning in adulthood. The framework suggests the possibility of using evidence-informed interventions to address two primary areas: youth’s resilience and human capital development, and reflects existing knowledge from research and practice across many fields. (author abstract)

MDRC released a policy memo as part of their "Looking Forward" series, providing policymakers with suggested ways to make progress on critical issues. This policy memo describes some promising college readiness programs that can provide students with the skills they need to successfully complete college.

Through secondary analysis, this study examines which benefits and financial supports low-income families access, with a particular focus on child support. The aim is to explore how families create their own economic safety net package from among the existing benefit programs. It was found that higher levels of child support receipt corresponded with higher levels of work, however that child support did not replace any type of welfare benefit but rather, complements it.

This study sought to investigate if the current practice of offering assistance to low income families through tax credits and other transfer methods which are conditional on the recipient working, have financially hurt these families when the labor market is particularly bad, as during the Great Recession. The authors found that work incentives are not helpful to low-income individuals during times when unemployment is high. It is suggested that work incentive policies should be better tied to the ups and downs in the labor market.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is one of the single most important social insurance programs in place in the U.S. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the insurance and incentive effects of the EITC on a central class of recipients: single mothers. To the authors of the paper, it is to their knowledge, the first attempt to analyze the EITC in a life-cycle decision problem with risky wages, risky family-composition, and limited self-insurance. The results indicate that the EITC provides substantial insurance to young single mothers and does not significantly distort labor supply decisions.

This Webinar from the National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families discussed why financial management is a critical healthy marriage and relationship skill. It explored useful tools and resources to help clients build assets and increase financial literacy, and discussed ways to help clients use these tools to increase self-sufficiency and strengthen relationships. Examples of helpful integration strategies for safety-net service providers were provided. This Webinar also provided an overview of new resources and products available from the National Resource Center.

The United States Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration released a resource to help case managers guide jobseekers through the career exploration and planning process. Components of the guide include three ideas about how case managers can organize career exploration and planning, eight "At-A-Glance" templates that help case managers determine which electronic tools are most helpful to meet customers' needs, three "Career Transition Roadmaps" that show how case managers provide career exploration in three distinct scenarios, and an "E-Learning Resource Chart" that highlights additional resources for case managers who want to learn more.

The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) updated their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Policy Brief, addressing the new TANF block grants that have been authorized under a series of short-term extensions. This brief discusses the goals of the reauthorization and provides a summary of recommendations along with brief descriptions of each of the nine recommendations made.