This U.S. Government Accountability Office report reviews Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) programs from fiscal years 2008 through 2016 and outcomes from 2008 through 2017 from state reports. The report also highlights how state SNAP E&T programs have partnered with other workforce development programs using five state case studies. There are recommendations on data reliability systems and how to leverage partnerships with other workforce development programs.

This Jobs for the Future issue brief includes data and infographics that outline Federal programs designed to serve opportunity youth in poverty by bridging improved educational and economic outcomes, including TANF, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and Pell Grants.

In this Brookings Paper on Economic Activity, the authors focus on children within the safety net programs of Medicaid, EITC, CTC, SNAP, and TANF, and how federal money has shifted over time to currently benefit families with earnings above the poverty line. Because much research has been done on the substantial and lasting effects of poverty on child development and later well-being, current social net programs may be negatively affecting the poorest children. Over the past twenty years, funds allocated toward children have mostly remained the same, as have the number of children in poverty, but social program benefits have been shifting to benefit those at or above the poverty line more than those below it. While the authors do not discuss many policy implications, they emphasize the harm that cuts to these programs may do and promote adaptable reforms that quickly supplement income during recessionary times.

This brief uses National Health Interview Survey data to identify key employment characteristics of SNAP participants with the goal of informing policymakers and stakeholders to create the best possible programs. Broad trends include lack of higher education, low incomes, and presence of a child in the household. Although most participants work, with employment being more likely for non-citizens, married, and healthy, only 50% report being food secure. Implications of these findings suggest that SNAP does not discourage work, but other barriers may prevent employment or job retention in vulnerable subgroups.

Stable and affordable housing continues to be an issue for low-income families as rental and home prices increase and wages may not rise in accordance. This webinar on September 25 is geared toward SNAP Employment and Training stakeholders to demonstrate ways in which SNAP programs can implement approaches to job training that facilitate housing stability for benefit recipients. Drawing on examples from Massachusetts and Arkansas State SNAP agencies, links between housing and workforce initiatives will be highlighted and their importance emphasized to overcome rent burden and homelessness for vulnerable populations.

This policy brief describes the opportunities for collaboration between SNAP Employment & Training programs and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. Because both serve overlapping populations, such as able-bodied adults without dependents, states can implement SNAP E&T through existing workforce training programs to overcome participants’ barriers to employment. The report details the benefits and challenges of cooperation, provides examples of states that are currently uniting the two initiatives, and suggests lessons for integration.

In accordance with federal interests, the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation funded a report on the challenges of and potential solutions for measuring TANF employment outcomes. Creating national standards would be a significant challenge due to the flexible nature of TANF funding; states have implemented many different programs within diverse local contexts and with unique eligibility criteria. Instead, federal agencies could help individual states design metrics to assess their employment outcomes, connect program leaders across states, and allow states to demonstrate their own processes as a learning tool for others. Understanding the breadth of programmatic diversity and range of potential state-specific solutions may allow for the most effective evaluation of TANF employment outcomes.

The Disaster Assistance Improvement Program (DAIP) offers a search tool by ZIP code for areas designated for Individual Assistance. The website also offers a “Find Assistance” tool where the user can answer an anonymous questionnaire to receive a personalized list of possible assistance.

Historically, low-income students have been identified in schools by receipt of the federal free or reduced lunch program, but this measure is becoming irrelevant and misleading as more districts offer “community eligible” free lunches to all students. As a result, some states have begun to identify low-income students by family participation in programs like TANF, SNAP, Medicaid, and foster care. The post’s authors at the Brookings Institution applaud these methodological changes because they will yield more accurate data on the achievements of disadvantaged students without including non low-income students who may be receiving free or reduced price lunch. This post highlights practices and data from states, such as Delaware, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Tennessee, as well as the District of Columbia, as exemplary initiatives of linked data measure systems.