The demands for parents and caregivers to adapt their caregiving roles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as their educational, occupational, and social responsibilities, have caused extended stress and uncertainty. This brief highlights how the pandemic has impacted parents and caregivers, especially those with trauma histories. The brief also identifies resiliency factors for these populations and shares guidance for policymakers, providers, agencies, and families on how to support these parents and caregivers throughout the pandemic and beyond.

This research-to-practice brief presents a new model for job search assistance based on delivering virtual job search services in New Jersey. The brief identifies how job search assistance must be understood in the context of what does and does not work for unemployed job seekers and explores the principles behind effective job search interventions. It also illustrates the components of a three-tiered job search model: the need for physical and psychological safety and stability; the foundations of a sustainable job search to create maintainable patterns and schedules for persons whose lives are in disarray as a result of COVID; and the creation of new job search skills to enhance the job seeker’s motivation, persistence, and self-efficacy.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews the creation of integrated employment services and treatment programs for persons with opioid and substance use disorders (SUDs) and covers the emerging evidence on this approach’s effectiveness in improving participant employment outcomes. Employment service delivery as part of SUD treatment intends to support individuals in their attainment of sustained recovery and improved economic well-being. The report was prepared as part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families (BEES) project which evaluates programs that combine employment services with SUD treatment and recovery services. Through these evaluations, BEES strives to increase awareness of effective interventions that support low-income individuals in finding jobs and advancing in the labor market.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an economic and emotional toll on many individuals, including parents working in the service sector. Convened by the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, this webinar will take place on April 15, 2021 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT. Anna Gassman Pines of Duke University will present her analysis and research on the effects of the pandemic on this segment of the population.

This blogpost illustrates how Jewish Family Services (JFS) of Columbus (Franklin County, Ohio) transitioned operations and adapted its practices as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The blogpost focuses on the JFS Journey program; Journey assists low-income individuals engaged with the Franklin County child support agency in obtaining new or better jobs, which helps them meet their support obligations. The discussion covers how JFS worked with local employers in the distribution industry to create placement opportunities for its clients, how JFS transitioned its group employment services digitally, and how new forms of staff and client engagement and procedures may be retained in a post-pandemic environment.

This research-to-practice brief focuses on a fatherhood engagement approach that was implemented in the Northeast Florida Healthy Start Coalition’s Fatherhood PRIDE program. The brief examines how Fatherhood PRIDE recruited, enrolled, and retained fathers by father-specific strategies and how the program partnered with other stakeholders that provide services to fathers. The brief also highlights the program’s intake process that captures and leverages participating fathers’ supports and networks.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 temporarily expands the size and eligibility guidelines of the Child Care Tax Credit. Due to this expansion, it is estimated that 27 million children in low-income families will qualify for expanded direct income support levels, which are anticipated to reduce child poverty by half in 2021. The National Association of Counties will host a webinar on April 6, 2021 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to discuss outreach and tax assistance strategies so that low-income families can access these new benefits. Speakers include representatives from the Franklin County (Ohio) Department of Health and Human Services, the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and the Field Engagement and Tax Opportunity Network at Prosperity Now.

This report presents findings of the First 5 California (FSCA) Home Visiting Workforce Study; it includes data and demographics to characterize home visitors and their supervisors, the implementation supports that exist for home visiting staff, and program needs for workforce recruitment, training, and retention of home visitors. The report is based on a survey of more than 900 home visiting staff members at 171 home visiting programs statewide.

Federal housing subsidies can support low-income and disadvantaged families in meeting their monthly rental needs through public housing and housing vouchers. Federal initiatives in the public housing system have also been used to incentivize work, boost earnings, and provide families with pathways to move out of poverty. This research-to-practice brief examines strategies that have incorporated housing subsidies to promote economic self-sufficiency with employment-focused supports and work-based rent incentives. The brief identifies program approaches used to engage persons receiving housing assistance, and presents program components that can be used when designing employment-related initiatives.

This Advisory, based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Treatment Improvement Protocol 42, Substance Use Disorder Treatment for People with Co-Occurring Disorders, presents guiding principles that counselors and administrators can follow to properly screen, assess, diagnose, and manage the treatment of individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders.