The Center for Law and Social Policy’s (CLASP) mental health work has consistently shown that young people strongly prefer to receive support from peers and to receive support in trusted community-based settings, including youth workforce development programs. This blogpost from CLASP highlights a promising program aimed at young adults in Los Angeles (LA) County that will launch in the summer of 2023. It will bring together two sectors that are often siloed: workforce development and mental health services. LA County has 14 Youth CareerSource Centers that serve as hubs for youth workforce development programs. As part of this new program to support mental health, each center will recruit 3 to 5 young people ages 18-24 to participate in a peer youth support certification program. The partnership between the youth workforce system and the county-level mental health system in LA County demonstrates an expansion of mental health care for opportunity youth enrolled in workforce development programs, while also building career opportunities for young people who want to provide much-needed support to their peers.

Labor force participation (the percentage of people working or looking for work) plummeted by more than 3 percentage points during the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, representing a decline of more than 8.2 million people. While about half of the drop was quickly regained, participation has stagnated at about 1 percentage point below its pre-pandemic level. This Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity highlights a paper entitled “Where are the Missing Workers?”. During the podcast, researchers discuss several possible explanations, including fear of COVID-19 and shifting work-life balance preferences.

Child poverty is associated with both short- and long-term health and well-being. Poverty affects child health directly through the experience of deprivation, such as through food insufficiency or lack of housing, but also indirectly through the availability of parental or community resources. Economic resources also shape children's access to health-promoting policies, like education, child care, parental leave, and health care, which affect both current and later-life health and mortality. Many income support policies also reduce poverty and improve economic well-being, which in turn improves child health. This free open access article reviews the evidence on income support policies in the United States and their effects on child health. This paper is not an exhaustive literature review but paints a broad picture of findings related to income support and child health. It also outlines policy considerations and areas where additional research is needed to understand how income support and poverty reduction might best support child health.

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, 45% of rural adults say they have been impacted by the opioid epidemic, and 74% of farmers and farmworkers have been directly affected. Rural communities encounter unique challenges when combating substance misuse in the community and the workplace. Rural areas typically have a high poverty rate, are sparsely located, and lack access to healthcare, mental health, and recovery services. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Workforce Investment (OWI), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Appalachian Regional Commission, and the First Tennessee Development District and its partners, will host a webinar on May 31, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET that will highlight how opioid addiction has impacted the rural workforce and the resources, promising practices, and grant opportunities available to support recovery through the workforce system.

It is estimated that 20 million youth are estimated to currently have a mental health disorder. Further, increasing rates of depression, obesity, gun violence, and sexual and emotional abuse are among the many factors harming children and having an impact on their mental health. Black, Hispanic, Native, American Indian, and LGBTQ+ children also experience disparities in many areas, including access to treatment. This National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation infographic explores these threats to child health as well as expert recommendations for improving child health and well-being.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration will host the third webinar in a series focused on trauma, healing-centered care, and the public workforce system on May 30, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. This webinar will provide an overview of healing-centered care and its importance for fostering a supportive and caring environment for youth program participants and workforce staff. Healing-centered care is a strengths-based approach to working with youth that acknowledges the trauma of an individual without defining them by their experiences. Webinar presenters will also share best practices for applying this knowledge to service delivery to better support youth program participants on their healing and their mental health.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration will host the second of three webinars focused on trauma, healing-centered care, and the public workforce system on May 11, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. This webinar will focus on the connection between trauma and substance use disorder and the role of the workforce system in supporting recovery. Speakers will discuss the intersection between trauma, toxic stress, and addiction, including neuroscience and best practices for workforce professionals in serving individuals with substance use disorders.

In recent years, many people have experienced poor mental health, with over 30% of adults in the United States reporting symptoms of anxiety and/or depression in February 2023. Drug overdose death rates increased by 50% from 2019 to 2021, primarily driven by fentanyl. Increases in drug overdose deaths and suicide deaths have disproportionately affected many people of color. Negative mental health and substance use outcomes have also affected youth and young adults. These state fact sheets examining state and national-level data on mental health and substance use illustrate how mental health and substance use outcomes and coverage vary from state to state.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Administration will host the first of a series of webinars related to trauma and healing on May 2, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. The webinar will discuss the neuroscience behind toxic stress, trauma, and healing, and offer practical strategies and tools for workforce professionals to cultivate healthy and more effective services and workplaces for staff, organizations, and participants in workforce programs. Presenters include guest speakers from the Trauma and Resilience at Work team at Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, the Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation, and the City of Detroit.