Building on previous work developing a roadmap for system-level change to better support young families, the American Public Human Services Association established the System Alignment for Young Families Learning Academy (SAYF) to support cross-systems teams from state and local human services agencies in establishing a System Alignment Plan to support young families. This blogpost notes how the SAYF Learning Academy was launched in March 2022 with six cross-sectional teams that included parent leadership representing Maryland, Maricopa County (Arizona), Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wake County (North Carolina). Through the development of targeted practice tools, peer-to-peer learning, and individualized planning, the teams worked to advance system alignment, so that young families experience seamless service delivery that meets their individual needs. An infographic in the blogpost spotlights each team’s vision statement.

This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares six pivotal strategies for coordinating and funding community efforts to support families at risk of entering the child welfare system: invest in infrastructure at the state and local levels, create funding structures that maximize prevention funds, support community-led planning and design, align programs at the state level to better serve families, invest in evaluation, and leverage private and local dedicated funding streams. Strategies presented in this brief include practices from Colorado, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nebraska, Washington State, and the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA) conducted the 2021 National TANF Directors’ Meeting from September 20 - 24, 2021. During this workshop, presenters included two economic mobility leaders in Georgia and Massachusetts who have changed the way they do business to better serve young parents and engage them in TANF, with the explicit goals of helping participants achieve greater economic mobility outcomes. The workshop also included interactive components where participants could consider how they might adjust some of their own operations in service of economic mobility.

This Office of Research, Planning and Evaluation report describes the design of the NextGen Project, which is evaluating the effectiveness of four programs that provide services for people with physical, mental, or emotional health challenges. Many of the people are potential applicants for Supplemental Security Income. The four programs highlighted are:
• Bridges from School to Work;
• Individual Placement and Support for Adults with Justice Involvement;
• Philadelphia Workforce Inclusion Networks; and
• Western Mass Mental Health Outreach for MotherS PartnershipSM.

Based on input from state TANF programs during the 2023 National TANF Directors’ Meeting, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) developed five virtual Learning Collaboratives (LCs) on topics best addressed through a cohort-based, peer learning format. These LCs were designed to be a progressive series of interactive meetings that facilitated reflection, peer sharing, connection with experts, and human-centered design and planning activities to deeply explore facets of the collaborative topic. Sessions were held monthly from March to August 2024 for 60-90 minutes.

The Building Strategic Partnerships with Child Welfare Services LC was connected TANF professionals interested in building strategic partnerships with child welfare partners with experts and one another. It was designed to prepare states to partner with child welfare services to jointly explore a key area for upstream prevention, given the growing body of evidence demonstrating how the concrete and economic supports available through TANF can prevent and reduce families’ involvement with the child welfare system. Participating states included Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

This OFA resource highlights the Building Strategic Partnerships with Child Welfare Services LC, including key takeaways and resources from each session as well as overall themes and future considerations for follow-up.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an annual recognition of the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities. In honor of this year’s theme, “Access to Good Jobs for All,” this resource by the Office of Disability Employment Policy’s Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth highlights an innovative Massachusetts Commission for the Blind program that provides youth and young adults with disabilities access to high-quality employment experiences.

The five-year initiative New Skills for Youth (NSFY) aimed to transform career readiness education and bridge the skills gap by supporting innovative strategies in 10 states across the United States. This Advance CTE report shares the successes and challenges of sustaining the work beyond the conclusion of the NSFY initiative, and through a global pandemic, in six of the states: Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. From the experiences of each of these states, the resource presents specific recommendations and action steps for state and local leaders on how to sustain career pathways for long-term success.

WorkForce GPS is hosting a virtual event on June 18, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Presenters from South Carolina and Massachusetts will discuss their implementation strategies of bringing services to rural workers and employers, which has long been a challenge in the workforce development system.

As part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies project, researchers conducted virtual interviews from November 2021 to April 2022 with staff members at ten workforce programs to learn how they were using technology to adapt their services during the pandemic. Most of the organizations used a hybrid model to blend in-person and virtual service delivery. This MDRC publication examines five key adaptations of the programs made to accommodate the new hiring context.