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.

Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are community-based resource hubs where families can access support to promote child safety and child and family well-being. As conveniently located community or school-based hubs, FRCs bundle and co-locate many services, such as home visiting, parenting education, health screenings, childcare resources and referrals, playgroups, family counseling, government benefits screening, healthy eating and living activities, and food pantries. This Grandfamilies & Kinship Support Network resource highlights takeaways from learning collaboratives in three states that explored increased collaboration between kinship navigators and FRCs.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) have a shared goal of helping individuals/families achieve economic independence through employment. Coordinating SNAP E&T and TANF programs can enhance service delivery and improve employment outcomes for families with low incomes.

Generally, States cannot provide TANF cash assistance and SNAP E&T services to families simultaneously. However, four state agencies—Colorado, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin—are authorized under 7 CFR 273.7(d)(1)(ii)(H) to use SNAP E&T funds to support individuals who receive TANF cash assistance. This fact sheet highlights the work of Utah and Washington as well as explains how the integration of program administration, funding, and service delivery can enhance efficiency and may improve outcomes for participants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expanding its fraud prevention efforts with a pilot program designed to reduce out-of-state benefit theft in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While the majority of SNAP benefits are used as intended to provide critical nutrition support to families in need, USDA is committed to rooting out all program fraud, including stolen benefits. This resource describes a pilot to automatically block SNAP transactions in states where participants are unlikely to be shopping but empower participants to activate their card for out-of-state use when needed. It also mentions the ongoing initiatives to strengthen protections for SNAP benefits.

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 recent years, local, state, and federal child support offices started reexamining how their enforcement and collection roles can be paired with services that foster meaningful parental engagement and invest in the social and economic well-being of parents paying child support. In examining child support services, it is important to understand the reach they have throughout federal benefits. Across the continuum of human services programs, rules related to child support can impact whether someone qualifies for benefits, what amount they can receive, or the amount of child support they owe – including but not limited to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, childcare, and child welfare. Often, federal and state policies’ options regarding child support practices are made by individual programs in distinct silos from each other. This American Public Human Services Association resource discusses strategies that can help create the enabling conditions for continued progress in re-centering state and local child support collaborations with other human services program areas.

The Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is working closely with state and federal partners, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers, Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) processors, and other industry experts to protect SNAP benefits and combat SNAP fraud. Fraud will not be tolerated in FNS programs, as benefit theft victimizes low-income people who rely on these benefits to feed their families. This FNS webpage highlights resources for SNAP participants, state agencies, and SNAP retailers to minimize benefit theft or address stolen benefits. The resource also offers a Question-and-Answer section on benefit theft.

Healthy food choices are in abundance for most Americans. Fresh fruits and vegetables are just a short car ride away, if not within walking distance. But, for Native American citizens, that is not always the case. This PBS video highlights a chef representing the Pascua Yaqui tribe and a Partnership with Native Americans (PWNA) member discussing what they are doing to address food access and food sovereignty. This video also discusses how the Native American Food Movement is supporting a return to healthy and traditional diet in Indian county.

An estimated 10 percent of all workers are in households where someone participated in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the last year. In several occupations — including home health and personal care aides, school bus monitors, agricultural graders and sorters, and maids and housekeeping cleaners — more than 1 in 5 workers participate in SNAP. Some of the most common occupations in the country, though vital to the overall economy, have low pay, unpredictable scheduling, and few benefits. In this Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report is an analysis of data from the 2022 American Community Survey. The report discusses the support that SNAP provides to those who are working in low-paying jobs or are between jobs.