When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020, researchers were already conducting a text message survey of service workers who had children. With the start of lockdowns and business closures, the researchers pivoted to start asking these workers about job and income loss, challenges that stemmed from school and childcare shifts, their mental health, and whether they were able to access government benefits. This podcast presents an overview of survey findings and discusses how what researchers learned fits within the larger context of low-wage work in the United States. The podcast is hosted by Anna Gassman Pines, Duke University, and reflects research that she and Elizabeth Ananat, Barnard College, conducted.

The Child and Family Data Archive and the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation hosted a webinar on January 19, 2022 on the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) and Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation-Strong Start (MIHOPE-Strong Start). MIHOPE was launched in 2011 to assess the effectiveness of early childhood home visiting funded by the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Program. MIHOPE-Strong Start was launched in 2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based home visiting (MIECHV- and non-MIECHV-funded) in improving birth outcomes and health outcomes during pregnancy and the year after birth. The webinar provided an overview of MIHOPE and MIHOPE-Strong Start; MIHOPE and MIHOPE-Strong Start research design and key findings; information on the MIHOPE and MIHOPE-Strong Start restricted access files; protections for the restricted access files; and information on accessing the MIHOPE and MIHOPE-Strong Start datasets and MIHOPE video files.

This report presents findings from a national survey of families with children ages 0-17 living at home who were eligible to receive the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC). Conducted in October 2021, the survey asked parents questions about tax filing behavior, receipt of monthly CTC payments, how the monthly payments have impacted their family, and how families are hearing about the CTC. The survey was designed in consultation with representatives of the Children’s Defense Fund, the Center for the Study of Social Policy, the Center for Law and Social Policy, National Women’s Law Center, Prosperity Now, and the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center.

Partnerships between child care providers and food access initiatives are a promising approach to supporting young children’s nutrition. This brief illustrates two of these partnerships that received funding from the Walmart Healthier Food Access grant and highlights three promising strategies those partnerships employ: supporting children and families directly, fostering the capacity of child care providers and their ability to support child nutrition in their own care settings, and organizing at a systems level to better coordinate efforts that target families with young children. Evidence-based recommendations are offered for building these partnerships in local communities.

This U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration directive provides a resource guide to workforce investment practitioners who assist job seekers in finding and applying for financial assistance and other supportive services. The guide assists workforce professionals in accurately locating emergency and long-term resources for workforce program customers to gain economic stability. It includes information on rental assistance, supports for utilities and broadband, child care, the child tax credit, earned income tax credit, nutrition and food security, health care resources, and legal aid, among other resources.

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 innovation station presentation, the speaker showcased Workforce 1 Connect (WF1), a communication tool created by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). WF1 Connect is a pilot application that participants receiving TANF, SNAP E&T, Childcare Assistance, and DEED Employment and Training Programs such as Blind and Vocational Rehabilitation Services, can download to their phone or tablet. It is a participant-driven tool that can be used to communicate with both county and tribal staff.

This brief highlights an evaluation of the Healthy Food Alliance for Early Education (HFAEE), a program designed to improve nutrition and health practices in early care and education centers and the homes of children facing food insecurity in St. Louis, Missouri. The brief describes the HFAEE program, its approach, and findings from the program evaluation. Considerations for equitable community work, based on the HFAEE model, are also identified to guide similar community efforts.

The Office of Family Assistance has made available preliminary FY 2020 TANF and state maintenance-of-effort (MOE) expenditures and transfer data. The data is available in tables and an interactive map, as well as national and state pie charts. Data is broken down by category of activity, including basic assistance; work, education, and training activities; and child care (including funds that states transferred to the Child Care and Development Discretionary Fund).

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 panel-style session comprised of “success snapshots,” speakers presented innovative strategies that enable programs to link people to jobs, to better communicate and respond to participant needs, and to provide training and skills development to the community. Presenters shared various strategies for finding employment opportunities, including work activities that are culturally relevant and responsive to the needs of their participants. This session also explored the option of Tribal TANF and NEW programs partnering with local organizations to fulfill community needs.

This research brief presents findings from a fall 2020 survey of parents in Maryland on child care needs, access to child care, continuity of care, and child care costs for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and school-age children during the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey was conducted with families who received child care scholarships and families with children enrolled with a licensed child care provider. The survey defined “continuity of care” for young children as child care with the same provider before and during the COVID-19 pandemic; “continuity of care” has been associated with decreased parental and caregiver stress and stronger family-caregiver relationships.