The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse released this Driver’s Guide for Young Dads to engage teenage fathers and young adult fathers and support them as they strive to be good dads, adopt healthy lifestyles, and establish effective parenting practices. Young fathers often face more and different challenges than older or experienced fathers in preparing for their new role as fathers. Not only are they still growing emotionally and intellectually as they transition into adulthood, but they also need to learn the ropes of parenting while weighing educational and employment options.

The Administration for Native Americans (ANA) awarded $21.4 million to 26 Tribes and Native organizations to help improve their communities’ social and economic well-being and Native language programs in Fiscal Year 2024. This ANA resource announces the community partners who received funding for the Native Language Preservation and Maintenance programming, the Esther Martinez Language Immersion grant, Strategic Economic Development (SEDS), Strategic Economic Development — Alaska (SEDS-AK), and Environmental Regulatory Enhancement (ERE).

When several branches of a large social services organization are involved in providing a continuum of services, it can be challenging to optimize clients’ care. Communication between branches may be minimal, and individual services may have distinct eligibility criteria. People who are served initially may not be guaranteed access to future services, which can further complicate care coordination. This MDRC resource describes how Central City Concern (Portland, Oregon) confronted challenges in service integration.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 amended the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and significantly shifted how state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies offered services to youths with disabilities, particularly to students. WIOA requires state VR agencies to offer preemployment transition services (pre-ETS) to students with disabilities and to reserve at least 15 percent of their federal program funds for that purpose. This Social Security Administration resource describes the extent to which WIOA and pre-ETS access affected employment-related outcomes for youths with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income payments.

The Resilient Families Hub is a new initiative of the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) and exists to understand the role of direct cash transfers in advancing economic stability and mobility in the United States. This initiative works with federal, state, and local governments and community-based organizations to provide subject matter expertise, research findings and evidence-based policies and practices around the targeted use of direct cash. Resilient Families’ publications and learning series will be published on this OFA webpage as they become available.

The Office of Family Assistance published this Information Memorandum to transmit the Fiscal Year 2023 state work participation rates. All states were required to report work participation information for the months of October 2022 through September 2023.

The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse will host a webinar on December 18, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. ET to explore the components of grief and loss. Many unmarried fathers struggle to manage their emotions during the holidays when they are unable to spend time with their children. The webinar will offer practical, actionable strategies for identifying different losses in an individual's life and ways to manage the pain. Panelists will delve into the various forms of grief and loss that can affect an individual's physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral health.

The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse released a toolkit which presents a compilation of resources that highlight the challenges and key issues associated with launching and sustaining a successful fatherhood program. This toolkit reflects the commitment of the Office of Family Assistance to improving outcomes for fathers, children, and families by providing strategic guidance to organizations that offer responsible fatherhood services.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation infographic discusses how various potential downsides to increasing earnings play out in the likelihood that recipients of TANF would accept a higher-paying job. The infographic touches on benefit loss and benefit cliffs, job stability, and the burden of reapplying for benefits.

The Native Wellness Institute is hosting a virtual training on February 5 and 6, 2025 to highlight lessons learned over the decades of best practices in working with Native youth and there will be opportunities to learn from peers. Topics include: 

• Building Trust and Relationship; 
• Living in Balance; 
• Healing and Harmony; 
• Healthy Relationships; 
• Engaging with Youth; 
• Social Media; 
• Culture and Belonging; and 
• Vision. 

This training is intended for anyone who works with Native youth in any capacity. There is a fee for participation.