Child Trends will host a virtual session on September 20, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. EDT to unpack a decades-long decline in child poverty and more recent shifts that followed COVID-19 aid to probe how well common poverty indicators have captured changes in child and family well-being. This webinar will include a panel representing research, advocacy, direct service, philanthropy, and human services that will discuss what it takes to build a social safety net focused on economic well-being rather than poverty.

The Welfare and Family Self-Sufficiency Learning Agenda (WFSSLA) was developed by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation’s Division of Economic Independence and the Office of Family Assistance (OFA). It guides the development and execution of the Division and OFA’s activities to learn how TANF and other human services best support the self-sufficiency and economic well-being of children and families with low incomes. The WFSSLA includes briefs for workstreams, or focal domains, to build knowledge about effectively fostering family economic security, stability, and self-sufficiency. Each brief synthesizes learning to date in that area based on key Division of Economic Independence projects; discusses select remaining gaps in knowledge; lists learning questions to inform future learning activities; and includes a table listing current Division projects pertaining to the workstream.

The child support program serves parents in the context of their community. Child support agencies work with community-based organizations to help meet parent needs,and enhance the success of families in child support programs. This compendium reflects the diversity of child support partnerships across the country; it includes resources and fact sheets on employment, reentry, family violence, responsible fatherhood, homelessness, parental education, and preventing the need for child support services by addressing the importance of being emotionally and financially prepared to support a child.

This announcement from Tanguler Gray, Commissioner of the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) notes how whole-family, community based strategies are one of the five strategic goals of the Administration for Children and Families and that State, Tribal, and local child support programs are uniquely positioned to advance these strategies because of their extensive interactions with parents and caregivers. It references several OCSS goals for advancing whole-family strategies, as well as a Child Support Awareness Month webpage with a social media toolkit to help spread the word.

In support of the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) mission and strategic plan, ACF has developed a set of materials intended to provide guidance to hard-to-reach populations to increase their awareness and understanding of the array of resources that may be able to assist them. These resources are explicitly designed to be user-friendly and easy to digest. The materials include resources for transition-age youth exiting foster care, families with children ages 0-12, prospective Head Start participants, survivors of domestic violence looking to find and keep housing, fathers looking for benefits programs or parenting tips, and providers supporting those seeking post-disaster housing.

The number of children living in multigenerational households has been increasing steadily since the 1980s, and as of 2021, more than 10% of children share a home with two or more generations. About 30% of children will live in a multigenerational or skipped-generation household at some point during their childhood. This is even more common for children of color and for those whose adult family members are low income. The Institute for Research on Poverty will host a virtual session on September 6, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to examine the scope of the issue and its implications for child wellbeing and security, as well as opportunities in policy and practice to support these household members.

The Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) project used an iterative learning approach, or learning cycles, to build evidence on promising practices for increasing participation in fatherhood programs. Fatherhood programs participating in the SIRF study implemented promising approaches to increase fathers’ participation, worked with the study team to assess how the approaches could be strengthened, and applied what they learned from those assessments to the next cycle. Each program tested one of three broad approaches to improving fathers’ enrollment, engagement, and retention in services. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation reflection includes six videos featuring program staff members and mentors describing the SIRF approaches tested and how the participants responded to those approaches.

Safe, reliable childcare has been inaccessible and unaffordable for too many Americans. Disparities between who can and cannot afford childcare reflect structural inequities in the United States. Shift workers, single parents, student parents, and families of color are especially affected by the failings of the childcare system. Inadequacies of the childcare system hinder family economic mobility and perpetuate generational wealth gaps. The 2023 Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS Count® Data Book describes how the country’s lack of affordable and accessible childcare negatively affects children, families, and U.S. businesses. The report presents national and state data across four domains — economic well-being, education, health, and family and community — and ranks states in overall child well-being.

Regardless of their size, agencies and organizations need to demonstrate the success of their kinship programs to their funders and other stakeholders. Showing success requires a strategic approach and an understanding of general principles that support effective data collection and evaluation. The Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network will host a webinar on July 17, 2023 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET which will explore the foundational principles and strategies to demonstrate success.