This issue brief from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) highlights key points addressing intimate partner violence and child abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, where staying at home may not be safe for those who have previously experienced mistreatment or where current economic conditions might spark mistreatment that would not have otherwise existed. The brief also provides links to resources from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center, the National Hispanic and Latino Addiction Technology Transfer Center, and SAMHSA’s partner, the National Center on Domestic Violence, Trauma & Mental Health.

This blogpost suggests potential ways to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to support low-wage workers with increased income to enable them to have additional resources to weather the COVID-19 pandemic. The blogpost further notes ways that an expanded EITC might also encourage low-wage workers to file federal income tax returns and, in turn, be able to receive economic stimulus payments under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.

This set of audio interviews features birth parents and foster parents discussing the need for strong birth and foster parent relationships. Co-parenting approaches are being implemented by state and local child welfare and adoption agencies across the country, and these field interviews cover potential ways to help birth and foster parents directly work toward reunification. These first-hand accounts also illustrate ways to generate support to implement this co-parenting approach nationally.

This issue brief from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration discusses the impact of the opioid crisis on the Black/African American population. Key elements of the brief include: most recent data on the prevalence of opioid misuse and opioid overdose death rates; contextual factors that impact the opioid epidemic, including challenges in accessing early intervention and treatment; innovative outreach and engagement strategies for evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery; and the importance of the community voice to develop and implement solutions to the opioid crisis.

This research-to-practice brief summarizes interview findings from juvenile justice system administrators in communities that are moving away from youth prisons and toward investing in community-based solutions. The interviews from these agency administrators identified four key lessons: maximize windows of opportunity to establish a continuum of community care; develop strategic partnerships with advocates to prioritize relevant issues for juvenile justice reform; collaborate with youth, families, and community members who interact with juvenile ex-offenders; and use data and research to make the case for closing youth prisons. Interviews were conducted with juvenile justice administrators in Louisiana, Wisconsin, New York, and the District of Columbia.

This toolkit offers steps and guidance on how to use virtual communications for client engagement and internal staff management. Information is provided for voice and conference calls using Google Voice, FreeConferenceCall.com, and Google Hangouts; video conferencing using Zoom and WebEx; creating and sharing documents with Google Drive and Microsoft Office 365; and internal messaging using Slack and Google Hangouts Chat.

This podcast, as part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-Income Families project, includes interviews with developers of the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model in San Diego County, California on the model’s implementation. IPS intends to help people with serious mental illness access and find employment. The podcast discussion also reflects IPS’ impact in serving individuals with a range of physical disabilities and health conditions other than mental illness.

The National Association of Counties will host a webinar on May 21, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on county workers and county budgets and local economies and how counties are developing policies, programs, and services to save residents’ lives and prepare for recovery in the future.

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on May 7, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET to discuss benefits under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Presenters include representatives from the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, Employee Benefits Security Administration, and ETA’s Office of Unemployment Insurance.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has presented a set of resources and guidance for workforce development entities. These resources include updated requirements on grants management and performance reporting for all U.S. Department of Labor-funded programs. A set of frequently asked questions addresses the National Farmworker Jobs Program, the Indian and Native American Program, the Senior Community Service Employment Program, the Trade Act or Trade Adjustment Assistance Program, the operations of American Job Centers and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), WIOA-funded Layoff Aversion Activities and Rapid Response, WIOA-funded Youth grants, WIOA Dislocated Worker grants, WIOA Performance Outcomes, and WIOA waiver flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic.