Authored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this report presents an innovative approach to reducing poverty. It describes methods to help low-income families connect with early childhood education and job training; achieve financial stability; and break the cycle of poverty. In addition, the report recommends new ways to better equip parents and children with what they need to thrive.

Emerging research from psychology and neuroscience suggests that healthy executive functioning is critical for behaviors such as goal-setting, self-regulation, planning, and problem-solving. This plenary session will address the implications of executive functioning research for human services programs and examine how emerging insights can strengthen programs designed to help families achieve self-sufficiency. LaDonna Pavetti (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) will moderate this session. Panelists are:

• Elisabeth Babcock (Crittenton Women’s Union)

• Adele Diamond (The University of British Columbia)

• John Padilla (New Paradigms Consulting, LLC) (conference program description)

This presentation was given at the 2014 Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference (WREC).

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance, Regions V and VII convened a meeting in Chicago, Illinois entitled “Building Bridges to Self-Sufficiency: Tools for ACF Region V and VII TANF Programs” from September 4 - 5, 2014. This one and one-half day in-person technical assistance meeting was aimed at State TANF managers and State leadership. Participants were provided technical assistance and training that would contribute to and facilitate improvements in their States’ ability to meet TANF program goals and Federal requirements. The Region’s focus was provided through facilitated collaboration, communication, and problem-solving sessions. Region V and VII managers shared lessons learned and gathered strategies that can improve their own programs’ ability to identify and address multiple barriers, including assisting the homeless community, understanding the foundations of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), and how executive functioning and soft skills can led to economic success. Participants were provided an opportunity to interact with presenters, while receiving new information on programmatic changes and updates, and practical approaches to take to their home States dealing with TANF Programs.

This report evaluates the implementation and results from the Newark Prisoner Re-entry Initiative Replication (NPRIR). Formally known as the Prisoner Re-entry Initiative (PRI) Model, it seeks to help ex-offenders successfully transition into paid employment opportunities. Offenders who participate in the initiative receive intensive case management and work readiness assistance. In addition, participants are assisted with their job searches as well as job placement. The final report includes extensive information on partnerships, project services, quantitative data on participants, and much more.

This interactive resource aims at pairing employers and highly skilled job seekers through the utilization of both a Web site and a mobile application. Paired with the Web site, www.mississippiworks.org, as well as iPhone and Android mobile applications, it creates a remote-based system that streamlines the employment process for job seekers and employers. In addition, job seekers are able to filter their search criteria based on job type, location, or education requirements.

The Administration for Children and Families' Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the "Strategies to Assist Noncustodial Parents in Improving Economic Well-Being" webinar. This webinar showcased several programs making headway in this area. TANF programs and their safety-net partners increasingly understand the importance of engaging noncustodial parents while also holding them accountable for the economic and social growth of their children. Barriers such as unemployment, underemployment, or incarceration can hinder noncustodial parents from providing for their children even when many want to do so. The Webinar featured three programs.

1. North Dakota PRIDE is a partnership between North Dakota's Department of Human Services, Job Service North Dakota, the Child Support Enforcement Division, and eight judicial district courts throughout the state. The program refers parents with unpaid child support obligations to Job Service North Dakota for employment support.

2. Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative is a partnership between Kansas Child Support Services and the state Treasurer's Office to empower noncustodial parents to save money for their children's education. Noncustodial parents open 529 savings accounts for their children and for every dollar they put into the account, the State reduces their child support arrears by two dollars.

3. Couples Advancing Together is a program of the Center for Urban Families in Baltimore, Maryland that provides employment development, case management services, and healthy relationship skills training to couples with children who currently receive public benefits through the Maryland Department of Social Services. Completion of the Couples Advancing Together program qualifies participants for a 10% reduction in any child support arrears they owe to the State of Maryland, which is helpful to those who are noncustodial parents to children outside their primary family unit.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released a spotlight web feature that provides statistics about wages and jobs in the United States. The feature pulls data from the Occupational Employment Statistics program and emphasizes STEM jobs. Users are able to view spotlight occupational data by required educational level.

The Pew Research Center outlines the characteristics of U.S. fathers who lived with their children younger than 18 in 2012 and did not work outside the home. The report juxtaposes this information with counterparts in earlier years and includes Census data about this population since 1989. Authors of the report also compare the characteristics of stay-at-home fathers with fathers who work for pay outside the home, as well as with stay-at-home mothers.