New research from the Center for Poverty Research illuminates the links between low socioeconomic status (SES) and metabolic syndrome, a family of conditions that make a person more likely to experience heart disease, strokes, and diabetes. These conditions affect nearly one-fourth of the world’s population, and children raised in poverty are 83% more likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome than children of a high SES after controlling for other factors. Adult SES has a less pronounced effect on metabolic syndrome risk. This poses to policymakers an evidence-backed opportunity to improve long-term productivity, health, and well-being outcomes by targeting young children currently growing up in poverty.

This Urban Institute brief reviews states’ efforts to curb opioid misuse from 2012 through 2015. The brief covers the insights and experiences collected in 2015 from the first seven states participating in the National Governors Association’s Prescription Drug Abuse Reduction Policy Academy.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) Regions I through IV hosted the OFA Regions I-IV East Coast TANF Directors’ Meeting, Leveraging Partnerships to Help Families Achieve Economic Stability, on July 24-26, 2018 at the Westin Boston Waterfront in Boston, Massachusetts. The meeting convened representatives from TANF programs from Regions I-IV and provided TANF representatives with an opportunity to learn about promising practices, discuss shared challenges faced by TANF programs, and share ideas with peers from other states about how to respond to the needs of low-income families. The meeting also included practitioners and researchers who shared information about their own work, and who looked to TANF representatives and federal partners for future research opportunities. Representatives attended presentations from experts and program administrators, and worked with other states to think of innovative practices during Team Work sessions.

This guide from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a comprehensive list of Federal resources in rural communities for community leaders to use when combatting opioid addiction and seeking available treatment options. The resource list is broken down into 26 categories to reflect the efforts of multiple Federal agencies, as well as the complex set of direct and indirect needs related to opioid misuse.

This Urban Institute report notes the positive effect that safety net programs have on program recipients and their families. When reviewing program participation in TANF, SNAP, and public health insurance, the researchers discovered that the number of hardships that participating low-income families with children faced dropped by 48 percent, and food insufficiency decreased by 72 percent. The number of hardships was defined as the inability to meet essential expenses such as rent and utilities.

This interactive dashboard developed by Mathematica Policy Research depicts the death rate, risk factors, and treatment facilities for opioid use in the United States. S.T.Op NextGen allows users to search by zip code, helping individuals and communities to make informed, data-driven decisions. It also includes a map showing nearby treatment facilities, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator data.

This joint report by the Center for Law and Social Policy and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities offers guidance on how to improve the administration of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid at the state and local levels. Rather than critiquing existing programs, this report illustrates implementation of management reforms in the intake and renewal processes.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report explores the importance of the relationship between self-regulation and improved economic outcomes. The report identifies the psychological insights behind self-regulation, which refers to the personality factors and skills that allow individuals to intentionally control their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. This control enables people to set goals and solve problems. Also included is a discussion of ways to increase this internal capacity.

This kit is a comprehensive set of tools that includes: strategy guides about how to prevent overdoses and make early interventions for treatment and recovery; a case study of a response; survivor stories from five former addicts; fact sheets for use at home and the workplace; posters and graphics; and informative videos from the medical community.

Visitors can use the online order form on this National Safety Council webpage to order free resources to help them reduce opioid risk. Resources include: envelopes that can be used to send up to 8 ounces of unused prescription medication to a compliance company that will dispose of the medication using a safe process and Warn-Me Label Cards and Sheets containing self-stick labels that can be used to inform medical professionals that patients want to discuss the risks of prescribed opioids and possible safer alternatives.