This article discusses challenges facing rural America. Although rural America has experienced population loss in recent years, the population is starting to grow again. In 2000, one in five Americans lived in rural areas, which is around 56.1 million people. Economic conditions are changing throughout rural areas in the US. Currently, fewer than one in ten rural families earns its livelihood from the land, and this article explores the many challenges facing rural America.

The National Center for Youth examines the extent to which TANF program assist adolescents, including teen parents, who are often overlooked in welfare debates. The authors give recommendations on ways that Legal Aid organizations can help with teens who need assistance.

This resource provides replication advice for organizations on running effective teen pregnancy prevention programs. By addressing key questions for implementation, authors offer examples of model programs and explain why these specific programs are effective.

This resource, through the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, outlines key steps to preventing teen pregnancy. Specifically, the paper reviews strategies to teach teens about healthy relationships-- a "success sequence" that will best promote the achievement of their future goals for family and work and practical skills to help teens successfully navigate the transition into adulthood, and engage parents as first teachers.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy authored this article for parents and stakeholders who work with teen parents. It provides useful information on parental influence on teenagers and gives suggestions for parents to delay sexual activity among their teenagers.

In 2005, the U.S. teen birth rate fell to its lowest level ever according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 fell from 40.4 births per 1,000, which was a 35 percent decrease from 1991.

Produced by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., the "Integrating Alcohol and Drug Treatment Into a Work-Oriented Welfare Program: Lessons from Oregon" publication is a case study of Oregon's approach to serving the needs of welfare recipients with substance abuse problems.

This issue brief highlights key facts about the impact of substance abuse on welfare reform and TANF recipients and describes innovative state welfare program attempting to lower barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.This brief is available on the National Health Policy Forum's Web site.

Authored by Rukmalie Jayakody, Kristin Seefeldt, Sheldon Danziger, and Harold Pollack. Citing new estimates of the extent of substance abuse among welfare recipients, the authors suggest that policymakers and analysts have likely overstated the contribution of substance dependence to welfare receipt. The authors note that while substance use, abuse, and dependence are barriers to self-sufficiency, so are poor education, lack of transportation, physical and mental health problems, and other difficulties that are more common than substance dependence among welfare recipients. The authors stress the need for comprehensive services to address the multiple barriers faced by the most disadvantaged welfare recipients.

The CalWORKs Project seeks to inform policy makers, using a variety of approaches, in order to positively influence CalWORKs policy and practice, particularly in the areas of identification, referral, and delivery of mental health (MH), alcohol and other drug (AOD), and domestic violence (DV) services to CalWORKs-eligible families.