As part of their Rural Communities Initiative Technical Assistance Action Plan, the Montana team identified the prevalence of substance abuse challenges within their TANF caseload as among one of their chief concerns. The site was particularly interested in exploring new techniques that would simultaneously promote work attachment and higher work participation rates (WPR) along with facilitating overcoming drug and alcohol addiction. Based on these goals, the Montana team convened a substance abuse case management training where TANF staff from Roosevelt County and the Fort Peck Reservation were introduced to new and effective case management approaches for participants with substance abuse barriers. The training also included job development and job placement strategies tailored for TANF participants with substance abuse barriers. The training took place November 17-19, 2009 and was led by staff from the UC Davis Center for Human Services. As a result of the substance abuse centered TA they received, the Montana site developed new approaches to managing participants with substance abuse challenges. In addition to utilizing a more assets-based case management approach (e.g. motivational interviewing strategies), the site is also working to implement community involvement strategies that incorporate substance abuse prevention techniques.

As a strategy to provide asset-based training for caseworkers and serve New Mexico's growing population of individuals with substance abuse barriers, New Mexico Works requested a substance abuse case management training, with a focus on motivational interviewing techniques. The training was designed and delivered by Dr. Alyssa Forcehimes from the University of New Mexico Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse and Addictions. The curriculum was delivered over one day in April 2009 and two days in July 2009. The training provided participants with an overview of substance abuse in the TANF population, strategies for building self-efficacy in TANF participants, and ways to motivate participants to make positive behavioral changes. The New Mexico substance abuse case management training was attended by 35 caseworkers and managers. Evaluations from the training indicated that participants acquired a set of tools that can assist their clients in overcoming substance abuse barriers. A section of the training was also dedicated to strategies for conducting train-the-trainer sessions at participants' home sites.

From the National Poverty Center at the University of Michigan, this policy brief outlines the health effects of social and economic policy. Non-health related policies may have positive impacts on the health and wellbeing of the beneficiaries of certain policies. Specifically, social and economic policy that may not be health-related can help supplement health care spending by helping participants maintain and improve their health.

From the U.S. Census Bureau, this report offers the latest statistics on income, poverty, and health insurance in the United States. The real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. Additionally, the nation’s official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, which is up from 12.5 percent in 2007. The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008.

This issue brief is from HealthReform.gov, a Web site maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In rural America, around 50 million residents have challenges accessing health care and in recent years, poverty and access to adequate health care providers has been increasing in rural areas. Due to the economic crisis, rural areas are particularly vulnerable, and this issue brief offers information on the current state of health care in rural areas.

This report is from the Urban Institute and outlines how the tax system can be used to enroll uninsured children into Medicaid and SCHIP programs. In 2004, 89.4 percent of uninsured children who qualified for Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program lived in families who filed Federal income tax forms, and this method can be an effective outreach strategy to reach these vulnerable families.

The National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) is sponsored through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and Administration for Children and Families. NCSACW works with States and Tribes to improve their service delivery for expanding cross-systems collaboration in an effort to improve outcomes for children and families in their states. TANF agencies can learn a framework, tools, and strategies for increasing cross-systems collaboration.

This report from the Government Accountability Office reviews the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Authors provide information on how States cover adults under SCHIP, approaches employed by States to reach all individuals eligible for SCHIP and how States have evaluated their outreach approaches.

Researchers at the Department of Human Development, California State University East Bay, conducted this study examining a model of income poverty, material hardship, parenting factors, and child health status to understand how material hardship and parental factors mediate the effects of poverty on child health. Utilizing data from the 2002 National Survey of American Families, researchers found that poverty has an independent effect on health, and its effects are partially explained by material hardship, parental depression and parental behaviors.

In 2006, the number of uninsured Americans rose to 47.0 million, and the number of uninsured children rose to 8.7 million, according to Census data. This policy brief, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reviews trends in health insurance and coverage through Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Low-income adults are more likely to be uninsured, as around 25 percent of people with incomes below $25,000 were uninsured in 2006, which is almost triple the rate among people with incomes over $75,000.