This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network primer was developed to offer service providers basic information about federal programs that can be used to finance kinship services and programs. Information for each source includes which federal agency administers the funding source, services the funding source can finance, and basic eligibility information. This funding primer is not intended to be an in-depth explanation of each source but, rather, a high-level overview that can be used to aid further research.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is hosting a webinar on January 21, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET, which will address the economic stability of service members, Veterans, and their families (SMVF). This webinar will explore critical areas such as employment opportunities, income supports, SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) for Veterans, and housing solutions, providing valuable information and resources to support maintaining or achieving economic stability among the SMVF community.

This Office on Trafficking in Persons fact sheet provides an overview of community resources and highlights programs assisting with job training, food, energy bills, housing, childcare, and recovery services for those affected by trafficking. Support for disaster recovery and access to social services such as substance use treatment and mental health care are also included.

In the U.S., 1 in 10 young adults experience homelessness each year, with disproportionate impacts on American Indian and Alaska Native, Black, multiracial, and Hispanic youth and youth who have been involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems. Current housing solutions for youth homelessness often lack flexibility or are not readily available, leaving many young adults waiting long periods of time without stable housing. However, the Cash Plus Model offers a promising alternative — pairing direct cash transfers with youth-driven supportive services to empower young adults in securing safe, stable housing. Chapin Hall has developed two briefs: one describing the Cash Plus Model and the second evaluating the Cash Plus Model implementation in New York City and San Francisco.

Many young people transition to adulthood without access to familial resources and struggle to meet their basic needs. Public benefit programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing subsidies, and Medicaid can help young people meet these needs at a critical time in their lives. Young people also need sufficient cash income to meet specific needs these in-kind programs do not provide, and some may receive this through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. However, many young people do not access programs they are eligible for. This Urban Institute report presents the results of a literature scan for evidence about what works to expand young people’s access to public benefits. This report highlights various promising approaches, including targeted youth outreach, benefit navigation, cross-organizational partnerships, simplifying or expanding eligibility, and enhancing administrative efficiency and effectiveness.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance hosted the Regions IX and X State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Technical Assistance Meeting from August 29 to August 30, 2024 in Portland, Oregon. This meeting was designed to amplify programs’ wisdom in the room by fostering peer-to-peer learning and collaborative planning that will help jurisdictions innovate solutions that improve outcomes for families.

In 2016, the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP™), a national initiative that helps youth and young adults who have been involved in the foster care or justice systems or who have experienced homelessness succeed in school and work by building and expanding education and employment pathways. Through partnerships with public agencies, postsecondary education, housing, service providers and more, LEAP partners are working toward improving policies and practices that place more systems-involved young people on positive economic trajectories. This Annie E. Casey Foundation brief shares the key takeaways from an evaluation conducted to better understand their efforts in tackling the root causes of disconnection from education and careers with systems-involved youth.

Qualitative data indicate guaranteed income programs—which provide cash directly to beneficiaries—provide real stability to people in need. But, while waiting for the quantitative data to come in, researchers are brainstorming on how to maximize this approach. This Abt podcast episode discusses two outstanding questions that researchers have: What do we still have to learn about cash transfers as a means of empowering people, and can making payments directly to households be a more effective way of providing rent subsidies?

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. The 2024 theme is "Doing Things Differently: Moving from the Challenge to the Change,” which was designed to encourage Administration of Children and Families (ACF) partners to continue building communities that ensure families have access to fundamental supports, such as housing, food, transportation, and child care. This ACF resource highlights supporting families with a holistic perspective that recognizes the interdependence between parents and children, and offers outreach materials.

The social safety net includes numerous programs that families with lower incomes can access to obtain cash income, resources for food, and help with housing, child care expenses, and energy costs. However, many people who are eligible for these programs do not receive help. This Urban Institute report uses the Analysis of Transfers, Taxes, and Income Security microsimulation model to hypothetically assess the aggregate benefit dollars and reductions in poverty if there was 100% participation in the following means-tested programs:

• Supplemental Security Income;
• The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program;
• The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children;
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families;
• Child care subsidies supported by the Child Care and Development Fund;
• The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program; and
• Public and subsidized housing programs.

Results are provided nationally and at the state level, as well as by age group and race and ethnicity.