Federal benefits programs, such as TANF and SNAP, and tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit, can help encourage work and reduce poverty among working families. In the 2016 tax year, almost 26 million working families and individuals in every state received the EITC, which is available to low- and moderate-income families and individuals. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), families often use these credits to pay for necessities, repair homes or vehicles, and in some cases, obtain additional education or training to boost their employability and earnings. Additionally, research indicates that children in families receiving the tax credits do better in school, are likelier to attend college, and earn more as adults. Looking at the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), the Brookings Institution reports that these tax credits lowered the national poverty rate by three percent in 2015, equivalent to lifting 9.2 million people above the poverty line. Many states and municipalities also operate state tax credit and subsidy programs that can enhance the benefits associated with federal credits.

This facilitated webinar on January 30, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET shared how they use their state and local programs, strategies, and informational tools to deliver valuable services and disseminate information about the value of tax credits and their impacts on low-income, working families. Presenters discussed strategies for how TANF programs and others can promote and leverage these programs to support the families they work with.

This issue brief from the National Mentoring Partnership identifies the role that mentoring can play in the lives of youth through career exploration and workforce development activities leading to greater employability. It distinguishes between developmental mentoring, which focuses on healthy and positive social development, and instrumental mentoring, which promotes skill development and targeted goal setting.

This toolkit from the National Mentoring Partnership offers some tips and resources on how best to celebrate National Mentoring Partnership in January 2019.

This Jobs for the Future research report describes how short-term apprenticeship programs can be integrated into a full career ladder. It identifies how shorter apprenticeships (18 months or less) might represent stackable rungs on the career ladder, compared to more traditional apprenticeship programs that are longer in length. The report includes recommendations for employers as well as government to support expanding stackable apprenticeships.

This U.S. Government Accountability Office report reviews Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) programs from fiscal years 2008 through 2016 and outcomes from 2008 through 2017 from state reports. The report also highlights how state SNAP E&T programs have partnered with other workforce development programs using five state case studies. There are recommendations on data reliability systems and how to leverage partnerships with other workforce development programs.

This Office of Family Assistance-produced resource guide intends to support HPOG grantees’ ability to implement stronger employer engagement and employment services. The guide includes case studies and tools created as a result of the HPOG Employment Virtual Learning Cohort technical assistance activity that involved 10 HPOG grantees meeting virtually for learning opportunities.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposes data collection activities as part of the Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) program. ACF has developed a multi-faceted research and evaluation approach to better assess HPOG activities and their results. Under a second round of HPOG grants awarded in 2015, ACF provided grants to five tribal-affiliated organizations and 27 non-tribal entities. The Office of Management and Budget approved data collection for this round, and the first submission of data, approved in August 2015, included baseline data collection instruments and the grant performance management system, followed by a second submission approved in June 2017 that included additional data collection for the National Evaluation impact and descriptive studies and the Tribal Evaluation. A third submission for National Evaluation impact study data collection was approved in June 2018. The proposed data collection activities will provide data for the impact, descriptive, and cost-benefit studies of the non-tribal grantees. Comments are due to ACF by February 27, 2019.

This live webcast hosted by the Brookings Institution on January 24, 2019 will discuss potential workplace reforms for older workers and the supports necessary for labor force participation among those who want to work longer. Former U.S. Department of Labor officials and Social Security Administration staff will share presentations at the webcast moderated by the president and chief executive officer of the National Bureau of Economic Research.

This University of Maryland report, a part of the annual Life After Welfare series, reviews the outcomes of households that are no longer on TANF caseloads. The report examines the characteristics, employment, and earnings outcomes of 12,597 families who left Maryland’s Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA) program between January 2004 and March 2017. The findings suggest that these families improved their financial situations after exiting TCA, compared to their circumstances before TCA enrollment. However, these families still struggle to maintain independence from cash assistance following exit from the program.

Texas’s Summer Earn and Learn (SEAL) program and the Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) programs in Arkansas are identified as successful examples of collaboration between vocational rehabilitation agencies and workforce boards. This Mathematica report also identifies key features of the programs so that policymakers can choose, develop, and adapt similar partnerships within their own context.