This U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service webpage summarizes actions the USDA has taken to ease program operations and protect the health of USDA nutrition program participants in response to COVID-19. Guidance and waiver information granting states flexibility and contingencies to best serve participants are provided for the 15 USDA nutrition programs, including WIC and SNAP.

The Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families has shared links to directly related resources on COVID-19 for child welfare workers and the clients they serve. Information available includes guidance on procurement for personal protective equipment, casework visit requirements during COVID-19 response, conducting effective remote hearings in child welfare cases and court improvement programs to assist dependency courts, and postponement of Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility reviews.

This issue brief identifies COVID-19’s impact on household income and the income insecurity resulting from the macroeconomic slowdown. The brief presents data on emergency savings; the number of low-wage workers; the percentage of earners in low-wage occupations by race, ethnicity, immigration status, and gender; and low-wage workers’ lack of access to economic supports and wage protections.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on May 4, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to discuss how to manage WIOA youth programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Presenters from the ETA will answer participant questions and share resources and best practices.

This letter from the Acting Commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement provides guidance on how individual tax rebates made under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to eligible noncustodial parents are subject to intercept for past-due child support payments. It also notes that TANF or Title IV-E foster care cases must have at least $150 in past-due support for the offset requirement to apply; non-TANF and non-Title IV-E cases must have at least $500 of past-due support for the offset requirement to apply.

This research-to-practice brief profiles a needs assessment of TANF child-only cases undertaken as part of the Office of Family Assistance’s Assisting Special Populations to Improve Readiness and Engagement (ASPIRE) project. Researchers first conducted a literature search and then select interviews with state and local TANF agency officials in California, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Washington State. The brief describes three major categories of child-only TANF cases and provides a historical overview of how the TANF child-only caseload has changed in size over time. Additionally, the brief identifies needs pertaining to specific types of TANF child-only families, including non-parent caregivers, ineligible immigrant parents, and SSI recipient parents. Innovative models for alternative service delivery are highlighted.

This podcast, part of the Skilled America Podcast weekly series, offers a field report on how the Center for Employment Opportunities in New York and JEVS Human Services in Philadelphia are addressing increased demand for re-entry services as the jail and prison populations reduce to slow the spread of COVID-19. The podcast includes an interview with a JEVS Looking Forward Philadelphia program participant who shares his experiences in re-entry and what supports returning citizens need now and beyond their current circumstances.

This evaluation report provides summary findings of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program. Awarded by the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families, RPG grants are partnerships between child welfare providers, entities that offer substance abuse disorder treatment, and other social service agencies that enhance child welfare for those children who are in or at risk of out-of-home placement because of a parent’s or caretaker’s substance abuse disorder. The study assesses results from 17 partnerships in 15 states that were initially funded in 2012. Continuing evaluations will be made for partnerships funded in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation will host a webinar on April 29, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET to discuss how states and counties can develop preventive child welfare practice models that are in alignment with the Family First Prevention Services Act. Discussion will cover Putting Family First, a working paper from the Annie E. Casey Foundation; core elements of child welfare practice models; the use of evidence-based case management strategies; roles of leaders in thinking about preventive services; and how to implement these models in the current COVID-19 pandemic environment. Presenters include representatives from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the National Implementation Research Network, and the Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) Department of Social Services.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has released a recording of a webinar hosted on April 2, 2020 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET which overviewed the Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL 12-19), National Dislocated Worker Grant Program. The webinar discussion covered changes from prior guidance, performance reporting requirements, and application guidelines.