In this article issued by the Institute for Research on Poverty, discussion highlights the effects of paid leave on mothers’ post-birth employment and on child well-being. Policies, such as work requirements, time limits, and child care subsidies, are effective levers for increasing employment. Yet this research also suggests that any assessments of these policies must consider not only benefits of increased maternal employment, but also the potential costs associated with reduced child well-being.

This blog post from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is part of the "Self-Sufficiency Series: Solutions from the Field" and highlights the Building Wealth and Health Network for the work they do to build social and financial capital of TANF recipients. Based on research that shows the beneficial effects of high social and monetary capital, the Network provides group financial empowerment classes and other resources with a specific focus on those overcoming violence or adversity in their past. There is also a peer support component that creates connections among participants, which increases social capital and helps members feel engaged and self-sufficient and makes the program sustainable. Randomized control trial results suggest that this program increased employment, earnings, and self-sufficiency while decreasing depression and economic hardship among members.

This research brief, drawn from the Homeless Families Research Briefs project out of the Office of Policy, Planning research & Evaluation, explores issues of family homelessness that are especially relevant to HHS, to state and local decision makers, and for programs. The Employment of Families Experiencing Homelessness brief explores parents’ earnings at the time the family was in emergency shelter, prior to becoming homeless and at 20 and 37 months after experiencing homelessness. This new brief examines employment rates, compares the employment rates of families experiencing homelessness to the employment rate of parents in deeply poor families in the same communities, discusses barriers parents identified for not working, and explores the relationship between employment, income, and continued housing instability.

New Census data comes out in mid-September, and this webinar hosted by the Coalition on Human Needs aims to forecast trends that may emerge and help stakeholders understand what to look for when the data is released. Specifically, the speakers and moderators will focus on how the data can answer questions about the best ways to raise incomes, reduce poverty, and evaluate the effectiveness of new work requirement policies for social support programs. They will also discuss which relevant data to watch for and how to find specific information of interest. Visit their website to register for the event on September 6, 2018.

The Ticket to Work program provides individuals with disabilities receiving disability benefits opportunities to return to work, stay employed, and increase earnings. As a result, beneficiaries with disabilities may reduce their dependency on public benefits and become more economically self-sufficient. This webinar (on September 12) focuses on how Ticket to Work operates and the different partnership models now available consistent with the goals of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

Stable and affordable housing continues to be an issue for low-income families as rental and home prices increase and wages may not rise in accordance. This webinar on September 25 is geared toward SNAP Employment and Training stakeholders to demonstrate ways in which SNAP programs can implement approaches to job training that facilitate housing stability for benefit recipients. Drawing on examples from Massachusetts and Arkansas State SNAP agencies, links between housing and workforce initiatives will be highlighted and their importance emphasized to overcome rent burden and homelessness for vulnerable populations.

An evaluation of a randomized control trial in Boston found significant decreases in criminal charges and arraignments for youth who participate in Summer Youth Employment Programs (SYEPs), particularly for African American and Latino males. These declines may be the result of improved social and emotional skills that the employment programs foster by giving participants a chance to learn healthy conflict and stress management. Youth also reported higher academic and career aspirations, better job skills, and more cognizance of future plans and goals, an effect which was pronounced for younger members and members of color.

This policy brief describes the opportunities for collaboration between SNAP Employment & Training programs and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Because both serve overlapping populations, such as able-bodied adults without dependents, states can implement SNAP E&T through existing workforce training programs to overcome participants’ barriers to employment. The report details the benefits and challenges of cooperation, provides examples of states that are currently uniting the two initiatives, and suggests lessons for integration.

This testimony from an Institute Fellow at the Urban Institute was presented to the Subcommittee on Human Resources within the Committee on Ways and Means in the U.S. House of Representatives. The author critiques TANF for not sufficiently reaching children in poverty, spending limited funds outside the original policy goals, and failing to offer training and education for good jobs, among other issues. She recommends TANF improvements such as setting spending floors for core benefits, furthering 21st century skills and education training, and writing in an explicit child poverty reduction goal. These changes, she argues, will help children in poverty and increase parental socioeconomic mobility as TANF originally intended.

This brief by the Urban Institute looks at how economic trends and the labor market have changed since the 1970s, when both the labor market and social safety supports were stronger. Because of such changes like fewer work benefits, stagnant wages, and declining labor force participation rates, social safety programs face increasing burdens. Furthermore, the trend toward more outsourced, nonstandard, temporary, and automated work creates further pressures on social safety nets to provide benefits traditionally obtained through stable employment. Some potential solutions include portable benefits for contractors or part-time workers, laws that require minimum benefit levels, state-operated social insurance programs, prorated unemployment benefits, and programs to make the work requirements of safety net programs easier to fulfill.