Self-regulation skills are the skills needed to finish tasks, stay organized, and control emotions, and they are critical in finding and maintaining employment. Poverty and other chronic stressors can hinder the development and use of these skills, but coaching can promote self-regulation skills and help adults with low incomes become economically secure. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report presents findings from a study of four employment coaching programs conducted as part of the Evaluation of Employment Coaching for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Related Populations. The report presents estimates of impacts of coaching on participants’ self-regulation skills, employment, earnings, self-sufficiency, and other measures of personal and family well-being throughout the 21 months after enrollment.

Lead exposure for children can lead to lower IQ, slowed or stunted growth, and hearing problems or other long-lasting health effects. The United States’ Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is partnering with communities across the country to host a series of free educational sessions on the dangers of lead and how to reduce and prevent lead exposure. Upcoming awareness sessions will provide:
• Important information about lead exposure and its impacts on health;
• Specific actions to protect children and communities from lead exposure;
• Practical resources in English and Spanish; and
• Opportunity to network with other community leaders and members with shared interests.

The Office in Planning, Research and Evaluation released eight infographics, which describe the experiences of families with children enrolled in Head Start FACES programs during the 2021-2022 program year, with a focus on how the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in family health and well-being. The data in the infographics provide a window into the experiences of a sample of Head Start parents who were able to respond to the survey during this time.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) information brief aims to demystify research terms for fatherhood practitioners. In the brief, NRFC provides a comprehensive description of the different types of program data and their purpose, offers practical guidance for collecting and using data, and underscores the importance of routinely evaluating program services and outcomes to enhance programming and disseminate program impacts. Additionally, this brief emphasizes the value of using program data in a meaningful way and offers recommendations on how to leverage this data to improve program effectiveness and better support program participants.

The ways child welfare supervisors interact and supervise their teams are correlated with staff wellness, retention rates and job satisfaction, program operations, service delivery, and client outcomes. A key to engaging in trauma-informed supervisory practices in tribal child welfare is to make sure there are trauma-responsive practices in place to meet the needs of all staff. When staff are supported through the professional hazard of trauma exposure, they are better able to deliver responsive and quality services to our relatives and communities. This Center for Tribes resource highlights programmatic and supervisory tips that align with the six principles of a trauma-informed approach: safety, trust, culture and history, empowerment, peer support, and collaboration.

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) children and families continue to be impacted by social policies and social work practices that seldom include their diverse cultural values, knowledge, and norms. This National Child Welfare Workforce Institute guide provides a curricular framework based upon the Council on Social Work Education’s 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, focusing on knowledge, skills, values, and evidence-based practices that social workers and social work students must apply when working with AI/AN children and families.

The Center for Native Child and Family Resilience (CNCFR) worked alongside a group of experts in cultural resilience, Tribal child welfare, and trauma-informed practice to review the current trauma-informed care literature and existing programs with the intention of creating a trauma-informed training specifically for use in Tribal child welfare (TCW) programs. Through discussions on their research, the group noted many trauma-informed programs and practices were already in place. The workgroup decided that instead of centering on trauma, they wanted to create a training that centers and builds upon the resilience in the community. This CNCFR training promotes and centers the healing and wellness of individuals, families, and communities—and encourages the community to build their own vision for a resilience-oriented TCW organization.

This Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development video highlights an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians elder explaining historical trauma and why child welfare workers must address historical trauma to be successful in their work.