Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which has the largest grant portfolio in the federal government, has taken internal steps to identify and address barriers to discretionary grants for faith-based organizations and community organizations and to track the progress in this area. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation conducted a study to identify potential underlying barriers perceived by faith-based applicants in accessing HHS grants, as well as the strategies grant recipients used to compete successfully for federal grant funds, by collecting information from faith-based applicants themselves.

Public agencies often turn to faith leaders to support their initiatives, and yet doing so often brings challenges: who to engage; how to build trust with partners; what they can and cannot do for you. This Center for Religion and Civic Culture infographic offers six principles to guide government officials in partnering with faith communities.

Governmental agencies often work with faith leaders because they are influential and well-connected to the people they serve. Their presence, coupled with their capacity to deliver critical services, allows them to mobilize communities and earn the communities’ trust, which makes them a vital stakeholder to create change. This Center for Religion and Civic Culture infographic offers ten tips to aid government officials in partnering with faith communities.

The Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) works to connect government resources and programs with faith-based and community entities. This webpage serves faith-based and community organizations throughout Oklahoma to give professionals a one-stop-shop for connecting with five state agencies to better navigate state programs.

Chapin Hall compiled a toolkit that promotes child and family well-being and prevents child welfare involvement. The following tools are focused on state-level policy:

• TANF & Child Welfare Innovations;
• State Policy Options to Increase Economic & Concrete Supports (ECS) as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy;
• Flexible Funds for Concrete Supports to Families as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy; and
• Providing ECS to Increase Effectiveness of Evidence-Based Services.

These tools are focused on federal-level policy:

• ECS Testimony from May 2024 Family First Hearing;
• ECS as Evidence-Based Service: Summary of Chapin Hall’s Submission to the 4E Clearinghouse;
• A Preventable Cost: The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment and Child Welfare Involvement; and
• ECS: Implications for Family First and Systems Change.

The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse released a toolkit which presents a compilation of resources that highlight the challenges and key issues associated with launching and sustaining a successful fatherhood program. This toolkit reflects the commitment of the Office of Family Assistance to improving outcomes for fathers, children, and families by providing strategic guidance to organizations that offer responsible fatherhood services.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) will host a national webinar for state TANF programs and partners entitled Building Strategic Partnerships and Maximizing TANF Flexibilities to Reduce Housing Stability on January 15, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. ET to roll out its newly released Dear Colleague Letter on Housing Stability. OFA will provide an overview of current and relevant research for TANF programs and will offer peer perspectives from two TANF programs investing in housing stability activities.   

The webinar also will help increase knowledge about approaches for addressing housing instability for families, facilitate the introduction of new partnerships, and share options for maximizing TANF flexibilities to reduce housing instability for families and children and achieve TANF purposes.

The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released this brief, which summarizes an expert convening focused on the child support program’s current ability and future potential to help address child poverty. The convening focused on the current state of child support services, how child support services intersect with other programs and institutions, and innovations in service design and provision.

The Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth) is hosting a webinar on December 5, 2024 at 2:00 PM ET. The virtual event will include a presentation of CAPE-Youth’s new research report which includes findings from a national study on collaboration and discussions on improving collaboration to better support youth and young adults with disabilities (Y&YAD).

Presenters will highlight how policymakers can: 
• Set a broad, common goal to guide work across agencies; 
• Initiate new collaborations across systems that serve Y&YAD; 
• Formalize interagency relationships to support service coordination; and 
• Add cross-training and information sharing opportunities with other agencies.

WorkForce GPS is hosting a webinar on November 22, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. ET to discuss what works to connect the military community with great employment options with the Department of Labor and Hampton Roads Workforce Council. The conversation will include what strategies they use to build employer commitments and strong partnerships that lead to: good job offers, supportive services for military spouses, women veterans, veterans with disabilities, and others in the military community.