MyMoney.gov is the U.S. government's web site dedicated to teaching all Americans the basics about financial education. Whether buying a home, balancing a checkbook, or investing in a 401(k), the resources on MyMoney.gov can help individuals maximize the benefits of their financial decisions. Throughout the site, users will find important information from 20 Federal agencies and Bureaus designed to help individuals make smart financial choices. MyMoney.gov organizes financial education help from over 20 different Federal web sites in one place. Content is organized by where people are in life ("Life Events"), who they are ("My Resources"), and by specific hands-on tools ("Tools"). Popular Topics are also highlighted. This site provides summaries of resources available at other official government sites and allows users to open those pages in a new window ("Learn More"). MyMoney.gov also offers an Outreach Tool Kit with sample materials for organizations to use to help their participants learn about free financial education available. The Outreach Tool Kit includes a sample press release, e-flyer, bookmark, Web buttons and banners, and ideas for other outreach.

In 2010, it is estimated that there were 45.9 million adults in the United States with mental illness. Of these 45.9 million adults, 32.9 percent received mental health services. NSDUH presents the results of interviews conducted with household residents, non-institutionalized individuals, and civilians living on military bases ages 12 and older from January to December 2010. These interviews measured the frequency of mental illnesses, treatments for depression, and mental health service utilization.

The New America Foundation authored this paper, which provides information on the “unbanked” population and how to help increase the use of bank accounts for low-income households. Recent data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) showed that nine million Americans do not have a checking or savings account and spend hundreds of dollars making financial transactions. Researchers conducted a qualitative study of the financial attitudes and behaviors of individuals currently receiving TANF, focusing on how they manage their money. The author concludes with findings that could impact policy and practice and helping to support these individuals in becoming banked.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T) was designed to help move individuals towards exiting SNAP and reaching economic self-sufficiency through gainful employment. Authored by the National Skills Coalition with funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this user’s guide was designed to provide workforce development stakeholders with information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T, formerly Food Stamp Employment & Training or FSET). Authors provide an overview as well as information for designing and implementing a SNAP E&T program.

In this paper, we examine how policy and structural changes states made in response to the DRA may influence the level and composition of the TANF caseload. This paper grew out of a 50-state survey Mathematica Policy Research conducted on diversion programs which revealed that states were providing cash assistance to some families with children outside of their TANF programs in order to meet the higher effective work participation rates established by the DRA (Rosenberg et al. 2008). This paper also draws on field visits Mathematica conducted to state and local welfare offices to study innovative strategies states were employing to increase the number of recipients participating in work activities (Pavetti et al. 2008). All analyses of caseload data rely on the official TANF caseload numbers published by the Administration for Children and Families. The audience for this paper includes researchers, policy makers, and program administrators who use TANF caseload data to assess the functioning of the program. The primary aim of the paper is to provide readers with background information that can improve their ability to interpret changes in the TANF caseload (or more broadly in the receipt of public cash assistance), especially during these challenging economic times and as policy makers consider the reauthorization of the program.

We start with a description of state cash assistance caseloads for families with children prior to the DRA, which provides important contextual information for understanding state responses to the DRA and their potential influence on TANF caseloads. In the second section, we describe the DRA provisions directly related to TANF. In the third section, we describe policy and structural changes made in response to the DRA and discuss their influence on state TANF caseloads. The final section offers our conclusions. (author abstract)

This report was authored through the National Institute for Early Education, and researchers used data from two waves of the National Household Education Surveys to examine school readiness from the parent’s perspective. Researchers test for differences between parent perceived school readiness and expectations for kindergarten with child development outcomes from 1993 to 2007. Over time, parents increased in their view of requirements from kindergarten entry, but researchers only found modest changes in parental effort for promoting such behaviors.

This resource guide was authored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect, its Child Welfare Information Gateway, the FRIENDS National Resource Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention, and the Center for the Study of Social Policy—Strengthening Families. The guide was designed to help community-based service providers better work with parents and children to prevent child abuse and neglect, and authors provide information on protective factors, how to engage the community, why child abuse and neglect occurs, and tips on strength-based approaches for working with parents and caregivers.

This report presents early implementation and operational lessons from the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) evaluation. Funded by the Administration for Children and Families, SHM uses a rigorous research design to test the effectiveness of a new approach to improving outcomes for low-income children: strengthening the marriages and relationships of their parents as a foundation for family well-being. It also uses implementation research to document and assess how the organizations that were selected to be in the study are implementing the SHM model. The SHM model is for low-income married couples and includes three components: relationship and marriage education workshops that teach strategies for managing conflict and effective communication, supplemental activities that build on workshop themes and skills through educational and social events, and family support services that pair couples with specialized staff who facilitate participation and connect couples with needed services. In the first year of program implementation, SHM providers focused on three main tasks: developing effective marketing and recruitment strategies, keeping couples engaged in the program, and building management structures and systems. Lessons in these three areas from implementation analyses are the focus of this report. (author abstract)

This study evaluates the initial implementation of the Couples Employment (CE) project in Baltimore, Maryland, a voluntary intervention to simultaneously address employment, financial literacy, and relationship issues, to capitalize on the ways that success in each might affect the other. Initial experiences highlighted the importance of defining a program model integrating family stability and economic success; identifying a strong program director; achieving an appropriate staff mix; and maintaining a focus on couples. (author abstract)