This report assesses the Families Forward Demonstration (FFD), which aimed to integrate employment and training within child support programs. The FFD program included free occupational skills training, employment services, and wraparound supports. FFD emphasized “responsive” child support services that helped parents understand their support obligations, and suspended some enforcement actions as parents participated in the program. FFD was implemented in five jurisdictions: Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Franklin County, Ohio; Calhoun and Jackson Counties, Michigan; Benton, Franklin, and Walla Walla Counties, Washington; and New York City.

This report examines how organizational culture, office design, and office procedures contribute to the client experience with TANF, the services offered, and the potential outcomes. It highlights examples of productive client-oriented office settings, organizational processes and culture, and the day-to-day influence of organizational culture on clients and frontline staff. The report’s findings are drawn from field interviews and observations at six TANF offices: Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services (Virginia); Mesa County’s Workforce Center (Colorado); New York City’s Human Resources Administration (New York); Owens Valley Career Development Center’s Tribal TANF Program (California); Santa Cruz County’s Human Services Department (California); and the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

This report covers the results of a study completed by the United States Government Accountability Office on challenges facing grandparents and other older kin becoming primary caregivers. The report examines the numbers of grandparents and other kin serving as primary caregivers for children and reasons for that care. It also notes challenges kinship caregivers face and how they are addressed, and the extent to which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services supports states’ efforts to use relevant programs and initiatives. The report highlights kinship care in four selected communities in New Mexico, New York, Mississippi, and Ohio.

The Performance Partnership Pilot (P3) in New York City targeted fathers and mothers between 17 and 24 years old who did not have a high school credential, lacked other basic skills or had other risk factors, and resided in the city. P3 supported participants’ efforts to complete high school equivalency and earn occupational credentials. This report examines how P3 augmented Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act services for out-of-school youth by allowing participants to receive these services for up to two years. The report also includes a program impact assessment of the use of child support navigators for P3 participants and the incorporation of waivers for funding and performance measures in data reporting.

This research-to-practice brief reviews lessons learned from Seedco’s Office of Family Assistance-funded Strong Fathers, Stronger Families (SFSF) program which adjusted its service delivery model resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. SFSF helps fathers achieve financial stability by providing services focused on responsible fatherhood, healthy relationships, and economic stability. Seedco utilized a Continuous Quality Improvement process to service delivery that included continuous reflection on program improvements. Lessons learned focus on changes in recruitment and enrollment of participants, how program providers can deliver virtual workshops, how other services and referrals can be delivered virtually, the ways staff can change practices and procedures to enhance program benefits and minimize program limitations, and participants’ responses to virtual programming.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Family-Centered Community Change® initiative used a two-generation approach to support parents and their children in three high-poverty communities. On April 29, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET, the Foundation will host a webinar with a panel discussion of practitioners and evaluators from the Urban Institute on how two-generation approaches influenced the practitioners’ work and how the approaches evolved during the initiative. Panelists also include representatives of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, Community Properties of Ohio Impact Corporation, and Buffalo Promise Neighborhood.

This report reviews lessons learned in the implementation of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s seven-year Family-Centered Community Change (FCCC) initiative in Buffalo, New York; Columbus, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. The FCCC is an integrated two-generation service model offering child care, job training, and financial and employment services. The report presents lessons about collaborating, integrating services, and building strong partnerships at the community level.

This research-to-practice brief discusses implementation of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) employment model by the Family Service League in New York and Asian Human Services in Chicago during the COVID-19 pandemic. The IPS model was initially developed to provide employment services to individuals with serious mental illness, but is now used for a broader range of populations who have significant barriers to employment. Four core components of the IPS model are rapid job search, coordination between employment services staff and mental health providers, identification of client preferences in the types of jobs, and smaller caseloads for case workers. According to interviews with organization leaders, IPS implementation included embracing remote communications and video conferencing, offering initial help to the most vulnerable to support their health and safety, developing new employment plans, and actively matching employees and employers.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report describes the STRIVE program in Westchester County, New York, which is a full-time, eight-week course that teaches job readiness and job search skills. The report discusses a study of the STRIVE program, which aimed to answer these research questions: what was the context in which the STRIVE program operated; how was the STRIVE program designed; how was the STRIVE program implemented, what were its most prominent features, and what challenges faced managers and staff; and what are the lessons for program administrators wanting to implement this approach.

This report offers key considerations on how to develop and evaluate direct cash transfer programs (DCTP) for youth experiencing homelessness. In designing a DCTP program in New York City, these considerations include centering on youth, boosting housing stability, flexibility in the implementation of delivery of payment and support systems, and identifying barriers to program success. This report’s findings are based on a literature review of DCTPs; focus groups with youth experiencing homelessness and a range of other stakeholders beyond affected youth; and a co-interpretation workshop with stakeholders, including young people, government agency representatives, funders, and advocates.