Through the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), states administer child care subsidy programs to support low-income parents’ employment and expand children’s access to high-quality child care. Many Hispanic children stand to benefit from this key public investment, given that most live with an employed parent and more than half live in low-income households. This brief examines how CCDF policies are interpreted and implemented on the ground by local caseworkers and administrators who work directly with families seeking subsidies. Using an online survey to assess the administrative burden for Hispanic applicants, researchers found that all local subsidy staff identified employment as an approved activity; most (80% or more) considered education, job training, and activities related to the TANF program to be approved; and fewer (60% to 70%) considered job searching and activities related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to be approved.

Millions of food and cash assistance customers rely on cash transfers each month to meet their family’s needs. Much of today’s benefits available to families are deposited directly onto Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards that are assigned to customers. EBT card skimming is a growing challenge to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants, putting them at risk of losing crucial benefits. Challenges related to protecting beneficiaries from theft have increased for human services programs as they seek to improve the level of customer protections similar to those afforded credit cards.

The Office of Family Assistance Project IMPROVE team hosted a webinar in November 2022 that brought together a panel representing TANF and SNAP programs as well as experts on EBT card skimming prevention. Panelists discussed ways agencies can educate participants on how to protect their benefits from theft, and responded to questions around challenges, best practices, and lessons learned. Panelists included: Michael Cole, Deputy Commissioner for Policy & Programs, Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance; Jennifer Reynolds, Program Manager, Utah Department of Workforce Services; Kristi Manseau, Program Specialist, Utah Department of Workforce Services; and Ernest Baca, Deputy Systems Administrator, Arizona Department of Economic Security.

This report provides statistics on food security in U.S. households throughout 2021 based on the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement data collected in December 2021. Statistics showed that 10.2 percent of households were food insecure at least some time during the year, including 3.8 percent with very low food security. About 56 percent of food-insecure households participated in one or more of the three largest Federal nutrition assistance programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); and the National School Lunch Program during the month prior to the 2021 survey.

Supporting healthy development begins in early childhood. To support their children and optimize family well-being, parents need access to high-quality early care and education (ECE) services, as well as support for broader family needs, such as nutrition, home visiting, parenting skills, or employment. ACF sponsored the Assessing Models of Coordinated Services (AMCS) study to deepen understanding of programs, groups, agencies, or organizations that coordinate ECE with other health and human services (referred to in this report as coordinated services approaches). This report describes the study’s qualitative data collection, presents models of coordinated services at the state and local level, and reports findings about state and local coordinated services approaches.

Code for America’s Safety Net Innovation Lab (the Lab), funded by $100 million through philanthropic support, partners with government agencies and community organizations to reimagine the delivery of government services that are equitable, easy-to-use, and built for the digital age. The Lab will work with 15 states (five states per cohort) over seven years to reach 13 million people and unlock $30 billion in benefits in the areas of food assistance, health care, and other basic needs. California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Louisiana have committed to partnering with the Lab to transform how social safety net services are delivered. These four states will focus on three primary areas: improving SNAP service delivery, increasing WIC participation, and developing and improving single, integrated benefits applications.

In response to food insecurity’s significance and the opportunity costs of not comprehensively addressing it, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Food Research & Action Center embarked on an Assessment of the Landscape of Hunger and Its Solutions in New Jersey. This statewide assessment of New Jersey’s existing food access and hunger landscape aims to inform state and local policymakers, state agency leaders, community and nonprofit groups, philanthropic organizations, leaders in the private sector, and community members about which policies, systems changes, cross-sector outreach, and programmatic initiatives, if implemented in the coming years, would result in the most significant gains in food security.

To serve jobseekers effectively, employment and training programs may need to incorporate essential supportive services. These three Workforce System Strategies resources – Local Workforce Development Boards and Child Care, Evaluation of SNAP Employment and Training Pilots, and Implementing Healthcare Career Pathway Training Programs in Rural Settings – document supportive services such as childcare, training materials, transportation assistance, rental assistance, and work clothing to increase jobseeker abilities to access, prepare for, and obtain employment.

Economic assistance programs help provide low-income individuals and families with income stability, with benefits accruing not just to the families receiving assistance but to the economy as a whole. This paper reviews how cash assistance programs—the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, and TANF—and other in-kind supports, such as SNAP, Medicaid, and housing assistance, serve as a backstop for unpredictable income, low income, and joblessness among low-income households who face economic transitions. The paper also highlights the critical role of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which provided families a monthly cash payment between July and December 2021.

This report includes a review of effective employment and training (E&T) program components and practices published between 2016 and 2020 to provide information that can be used to align SNAP E&T policy and programs to achieve the best training, employment, and wage gains for SNAP participants and integrate the E&T program within the broader public workforce system. The report also provides specific recommendations for building effective SNAP E&T programs, including recommendations related to developing successful workforce system partnerships and identifying the right mix of services to meet participants’ needs.

Providing access to tangible resources can strengthen families and communities by avoiding and de-escalating crises, reducing parental stress, increasing access to safe housing and reliable childcare, and ensuring children have the material items they need to thrive. This brief discusses the impact of community-based strategies, connections, and collaborations that offer economic supports to address families’ basic needs, keeping children safe and families together. These include housing supports, food assistance, financial supports, employment assistance, early care and education services, legal services, and medical and behavioral health care.