The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will hold a webinar on March 6, 2019 between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. ET to cover findings following the Family Options Study that was conducted for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Researchers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will review patterns of public assistance receipt, employment, family separations, the well-being of adolescents and young children, adult behavioral health, and predictions for reoccurrence of homelessness. Findings related to the experiences of homelessness in parents and children will also be presented.

This policy evaluation from the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison assesses the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration project. The report covers 18 implementation sites, where half of the 10,161 demonstration project enrollees received enhanced child support services, employment assistance, parenting education delivered in a peer-supported format, and case management. The other half of enrollees were in a control group and did not receive extra services. Report findings suggest that future programs might invest in strong partnerships and communication systems as well as support customer-oriented approaches for enrollees. There are also recommendations on recruiting staff who can manage large caseloads and designing and delivering services to support sustained engagement among program participants.

This Aspen Institute report describes The Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF), an initiative of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Collaborative approaches funded under this program represent multiple stakeholders working together to remove barriers for underserved youth by creating comprehensive pathways for education, family-sustaining careers, and successful adulthood. Launched in 2017, The Youth Entrepreneurship Fund responded to OYF by supporting youth entrepreneurship programs for school age youth; enhancing business development programs that provide educational, financial, and advisory services; and expanding experiential and social enterprise programs.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report is based on interviews conducted with over 80 Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (U.S. Department of Labor) and Subsidized Transitional Employment Demonstration (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) program participants. The research highlights how participants initially decided to engage in subsidized employment and how they felt these jobs were leading them toward unsubsidized work. The report’s findings contribute to a greater understanding of subsidized employment models and how these programs address participant barriers to the labor market so that these individuals might secure employment without other supports in the future.

This Urban Institute report illustrates the complexity of work requirements that parents encounter, either to comply with program regulations or to increase their work engagement. There is also discussion about how parents can access the supports necessary to comply with requirements and how assistance affects the economic well-being of parents and children as work requirements are implemented or expanded.

This newly released report from the Community Action Partnership, representing over 1,000 Community Action Agencies (CAA) nationwide, presents a broad landscape of the activities and impact of CAAs. It identifies several “spotlight stories” to reflect on initiatives undertaken relative to job creation and job training, asset building, supports for health and well-being, community development, and services to strengthen children and families. The emphasis is on community-wide solutions that are designed and implemented to address challenges that low-income families face.

This Corporation for a Skilled Workforce toolkit presents resources that address questions about workforce supply and demand and the workforce development system. The toolkit provides data sources and links to identify local demographics and economic indicators. The resource supports understanding of labor market projections and identifies populations served by workforce programs. The toolkit also illustrates asset mapping to demonstrate how workforce development systems are working.