Evaluation of SNAP Employment and Training Pilots: Fiscal Year 2018 Annual Report to Congress

Record Description
This study, prepared by Mathematica, is the fourth annual report to Congress that evaluates 10 SNAP Pilot Projects in California, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. The report identifies grantees’ enrollment goals and services, as well as their respective programs’ achievements and challenges. The evaluation used a random assignment research design to assess the level of support offered to SNAP participants on job search assistance, training, and basic and vocational education, as well as subsidized and unsubsidized work experience.
Record Type
Combined Date
2019-07-16T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.mathematica-mpr.com/our-publications-and-findings/publications/eval…
Publication Date
2019-07-17
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Parents and Children Together: Effects of Four Responsible Fatherhood Programs for Low-Income Fathers

Record Description
This Mathematica study, conducted on behalf of the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, examines the impact of four federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood programs: Connections to Success in Kansas and Missouri; Fathers’ Support Center in Missouri; FATHER Project at Goodwill–Easter Seals Minnesota; and Urban Ventures in Minnesota.
Record Type
Combined Date
2018-06-03T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/resource/parents-and-children-together-effects-of-…
Publication Date
2018-06-04
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)
Innovative Programs

Connections to Success

Mission/Goal of Program

Originally founded in 1998 as Dress for Success Midwest, Connections to Success is a nonprofit organization serving Kansas, Missouri and Illinois that empowers individuals in their transformation to economic stability. As an OFA Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education grantee, CTS provides workforce training, life coaching, relationship education, and intergenerational support to low-resourced individuals and families.

Their mission is to break the cycle of generational poverty by helping people living in challenging situations re-establish hope, get connected with needed resources and implement a plan to reach economic independence.

Programs/Services Offered

Connections to Success (CTS) uses a holistic, evidence-based model to help individuals and families gain social capital and achieve economic independence. The organization’s approach is intergenerational, focused on improving outcomes for both parents and their children through programming and collaborations with other service providers. CTS’s model integrates training opportunities, life transformation coaching, support services and job development to equip participants for long-term success. CTS offers ongoing support to foster continued growth and career advancement. Through its holistic Pathways to Success model, CTS targets families impacted by generational poverty, incarceration, and unemployment. The model includes a Personal and Professional Development workforce training and focuses on healthy relationships, parenting, employment services, life coaching, education and skills training, volunteer engagement, and mentoring.

Interagency collaboration has been key to the program’s success. By having multiple partners involved, the team has been able to help remove barriers many individuals coming out of prison face. For example, the team helped enroll the men in SNAP, secure housing, and meet with Child Support and Probation and Parole. Additionally, employers participated in mock interviews and representatives from an apprenticeship program shared opportunities. CTS also provided new suits to each of the men, and many received job offers.

CTS focuses on intergenerational impact to ensure outcomes extend beyond the immediate future and empower the next generation. Of CTS program graduates, 74% become employed and 70% retain employment at nine months following initial employment. Additionally, 82% of those employed received earnings increase within six months of employment. CTS participants involved in the organization’s reentry programs have experienced a 14% recidivism in 12 months after release from incarceration, and for those who also participated in their mentoring program, the recidivism rate is only 8% (compared to the national average of 44%). 

Start Date
Thursday, January 1, 1998
Type of Agency/Organization
Community-Based Organization
City
St. Charles
State
Illinois
Kansas
Missouri
Geographic Reach
Multistate
Clientele/Population Served
Low-income individuals and families transitioning from generational poverty, incarceration, domestic violence and other challenging and disadvantaged situations
Topics/Subtopics
Employment
Assessment
Job Readiness
Mentoring
Supportive Services
Post-employment Supports
Special Populations
Homeless Families
Incarcerated and Individuals with a Criminal Record
URL
https://connectionstosuccess.org/

An Evaluation of the Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative

Record Description
This report from MDRC provides an evaluation of the state of Kansas' Child Support Savings Initiative (CSSI) which was created to help parents pay off child support debt while contributing to their children's future higher education costs. It encourages parents to make direct deposits into 529 accounts, and in return, they receive matching reductions in their child support debt from the state. The search showed a common finding: that it is difficult to engage low- and middle-income families in saving money, as they already face other financial burdens. This is explored in depth in the report.
Record Type
Combined Date
2017-11-30T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.mdrc.org/sites/default/files/KansasCityCSI_2017_Report_REVISED.pdf
Publication Date
2017-12-01
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Findings from the Accelerating Opportunity Evaluation

Record Description
This brief examines the Accelerating Opportunity initiative that began in 2011, which helps adults with low basic skills obtain well-paying jobs through increasing their credentials. It reviews the implementation, impact, and cost benefits evaluations of the program in Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, and Louisiana. It showed promising gains for low-skilled adults in the area of education, but earnings impacts were mixed.
Record Type
Combined Date
2018-01-29T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.urban.org/research/publication/findings-accelerating-opportunity-ev…
Publication Date
2018-01-30
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

OFA Regions IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting

Record Description
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), Regions IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII hosted the Tribal Technical Assistance Meeting on May 3‐5, 2016 at the Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The meeting brought together Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Native Employment Works (NEW) stakeholders to discuss innovative strategies and collaborations to promote economic and social well‐being for individuals, families, and tribal communities. During the meeting, tribal representatives engaged in talking circles and listening sessions, shared best practices, and participated in workshops and action planning in order to more successfully serve the program participants in their communities.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-06-08T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2016-06-09
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Agenda 706.05 KB
Participant List 521.82 KB
TANF Drug Testing FY2014 - Elaine TopSky 228.35 KB
TANF Drug Testing FY2016 - Elaine TopSky 196.85 KB
Intake Process for Clients - Elaine TopSky 94.08 KB
OFA Regions IV-VIII Tribal TA Meeting Action Planning Template 352.18 KB
2Gen in Tribal Communities - Holly Snowball Morales 1.44 MB
Employment Strategies for Youth and the Hard-to-Employ - Charles Modiano 825.51 KB
Human Trafficking in Indian Country - Sadie YoungBird-Barusto_Linda Thompson 3.47 MB
Opportunity Link: Havre, Montana - Barbara Stiffarm 1.88 MB
Building Individual and Community Prosperity in Northcentral Montana - Barbara Stiffarm 1.05 MB
Case Management Strategies for Participation and Engagement in Career Pathways Programs, Pt. 1 - Jodie Sue Kelly 4.12 MB
Case Management Strategies for Participation and Engagement in Career Pathways Programs, Pt. 2 - Jodie Sue Kelly 3.79 MB
Garden of Truth_The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota - Nicole Matthews 817.74 KB
Speaker Biographies 519.53 KB
Tribal Talking Session_Start-Up and Planning 235.88 KB
WECARE_White Earth Coordination Assessment Resources and Education - Kim Turner 3.64 MB
Workin with Tradition_Barbara Stiffarm 1.82 MB
Summary Report 1.44 MB

Webinar: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Other Child-Only Issues

Record Description
The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII hosted a webinar, "Grandparents Raising Grandchildren and Other Child-Only Issues" on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. This webinar was the second in the 2014 Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal TANF webinar series "Addressing the Needs of Children." The Webinar provided strategies for addressing the needs of the growing population of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, particularly those with child-only, TANF-eligible grandchildren. The speakers provided strategies and resources that were relevant to both social service providers and grandparents.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-08-20T10:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Presentation 3.8 MB
Transcript 258.04 KB

Webinar: TANF Children Endangered by Drug Use

Record Description
The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII hosted a webinar, "TANF Children Endangered by Drug Use" on Tuesday, August 12, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT. This webinar was the first in the 2014 Regions V, VI, VII, and VIII Tribal TANF webinar series: "Addressing the Needs of Children." It addressed the growing issue of protecting children in environments of increasing drug use. Key topics included: identifying when a child is exposed to drug use in his/her home; implementing processes for addressing the needs of drug endangered children; and strategies for keeping a child's life stable when his/her family is unstable.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-08-12T10:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Transcript 313.86 KB
Presentation 5.21 MB

TANF Directors Midwest Meeting: Building Bridges to Self-Sufficiency: Tools for ACF Region V and VII TANF Programs, September 2014

Record Description
The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions V and VII convened a meeting in Chicago, Illinois entitled “Building Bridges to Self-Sufficiency: Tools for ACF Region V and VII TANF Programs” from September 4 - 5, 2014. This one and one-half day in-person technical assistance meeting was aimed at State TANF managers and State leadership. Participants were provided technical assistance and training that would contribute to and facilitate improvements in their States’ ability to meet TANF program goals and Federal requirements. The Region’s focus was provided through facilitated collaboration, communication, and problem-solving sessions. Region V and VII managers shared lessons learned and gathered strategies that can improve their own programs’ ability to identify and address multiple barriers, including assisting the homeless community, understanding the foundations of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and how executive functioning and soft skills can led to economic success. Participants were provided an opportunity to interact with presenters, while receiving new information on programmatic changes and updates, and practical approaches to take to their home States dealing with TANF Programs.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-11-23T19:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-11-24
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Final Summary Report 808.73 KB
Agenda 1.23 MB
Building Bridges to Self-Sufficiency Scenarios 1.18 MB
Speaker Biographies 1.25 MB
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Fact Sheet 969.08 KB
Housing and Urban Development Presentation 49.12 KB
Health Profession Opportunity Grants Presentation 751.49 KB
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Presentation 1.01 MB
United States Interagency Council on Homelessness Presentation 906.74 KB
Department of Labor Presentation 484.11 KB
Dorcas International Presentation 793.54 KB
Nebraska Subsidized Employment Pilot Project Presentation 275.8 KB

Webinar: Strategies To Assist Noncustodial Parents In Improving Economic Well-Being

Record Description

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the "Strategies to Assist Noncustodial Parents in Improving Economic Well-Being" webinar. This webinar showcased several programs making headway in this area. TANF programs and their safety-net partners increasingly understand the importance of engaging noncustodial parents while also holding them accountable for the economic and social growth of their children. Barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, or incarceration can hinder noncustodial parents from providing for their children even when many want to do so. The Webinar featured three programs.

1. North Dakota PRIDE is a partnership between North Dakota's Department of Human Services, Job Service North Dakota, the Child Support Enforcement Division, and eight judicial district courts throughout the state. The program refers parents with unpaid child support obligations to Job Service North Dakota for employment support.

2. Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative is a partnership between Kansas Child Support Services and the state Treasurer's Office to empower noncustodial parents to save money for their children's education. Noncustodial parents open 529 savings accounts for their children and for every dollar they put into the account, the State reduces their child support arrears by two dollars.

3. Couples Advancing Together is a program of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, Maryland that provides employment development, case management services, and healthy relationship skills training to couples with children who currently receive public benefits through the Maryland Department of Social Services. Completion of the Couples Advancing Together program qualifies participants for a 10% reduction in any child support arrears they owe to the State of Maryland, which is helpful to those who are noncustodial parents to children outside their primary family unit.

Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2014-10-15T10:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
Region
City/County
Publication Date
2014-10-15
Upload Files
Attachment Size
Webinar Audio 37.47 MB
Webinar Slides 1.87 MB
Webinar Transcript 203.27 KB