In 2012, the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) launched a major research initiative designed to enhance understanding of how policies and programs can build economic self-sufficiency by increasing employment, wages, labor market skills, and earnings. It is one of three such integrated research projects that extend over three-year periods with a range of activities that are focused on topics related to three themes identified by IRP as key trends in poverty and policy: Economic Self-Sufficiency, Family Change and Poverty, and the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty.

Based on data reported by more than 3,000 cities and counties across the United States, HUD recently released their report on the national estimate of homelessness for 2012. While the United States was experiencing a historic housing and economic downturn, local communities reported a statistically significant seven percent decline in the number of homeless veterans and individuals experiencing long-term chronic homelessness.

America's children and their families are showing greater resilience and support in the face of rising poverty that has now wiped out the historic financial gains of the 1990s, according to the Foundation for Child Development's annual child well-being index. The New York City-based group announced that overall child well-being is up more than five percent both from 2001 and the index's beginning a generation ago, in 1975. The index is a composite of 28 indicators of both children's environmental and economic environments and their own behaviors.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for low-income disabled children are back in the news. Unfortunately, the program is being subject to some sharp criticism that is based on misunderstanding of key issues related to SSI for poor children with disabilities. Discussion and debates concerning this program should be rooted in facts and data; therefore, the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities presents in this report basic facts about the program and try to clear up some significant misunderstandings.

Mathematica's family support experts recently completed the Building Strong Families (BSF) evaluation. Sponsored by the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the project used a random assignment research design to test eight voluntary programs that offer relationship skills education and other support services to unwed couples who are expecting or have just had a baby. After three years, the study showed that BSF had no effect on the quality of couples' relationships and did not make them more likely to stay together or get married.

WorkforceOne held a Webinar presentation walking through the CareerOneStop online center. CareerOneStop is a suite of tools to help job seekers explore careers, investigate salary and benefit information, research education and training opportunities, plan a job search and browse job sites, write and improve resumes and cover letters, prepare for a job interview, and search for jobs. In addition, the CareerOneStop Web site provides links to workforce and labor market information Web sites that contain local information resources and tools.

This toolkit is a step-by-step guide to designing and implementing employee learning and career advancement projects for frontline workers. Created by Jobs for the Future, the toolkit is a guidebook for job-site practitioners of workforce development: human resources managers, staff developers, and others responsible for employee learning through union-based programs, community colleges, technical schools, and community-based organizations. The toolkit is organized to serve newcomers to work-based earning and those with prior experience but seeking to learn more. It is also a resource for those seeking effective models on specific topics, such as designing curricula based on work objectives or training supervisors to coach or mentor frontline workers. While these resources and examples originate in health care, they are readily adaptable to other work settings and occupations.

The United States Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense's Office of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, launched the 2013 Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) database, a recruitment resource for employers seeking a diverse workforce that includes employees with disabilities. The database contains profiles of postsecondary students and recent graduates with disabilities, including veterans, representing a wide variety of academic backgrounds and degree levels. More than 20 federal government agencies regularly utilize the WRP as a recruiting source, with more than 6,500 students obtaining federal employment since 1995.