This Aspen Institute report describes The Opportunity Youth Forum (OYF), an initiative of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions. Collaborative approaches funded under this program represent multiple stakeholders working together to remove barriers for underserved youth by creating comprehensive pathways for education, family-sustaining careers, and successful adulthood. Launched in 2017, The Youth Entrepreneurship Fund responded to OYF by supporting youth entrepreneurship programs for school age youth; enhancing business development programs that provide educational, financial, and advisory services; and expanding experiential and social enterprise programs.

This Casey Family Programs brief identifies a practice model for reducing the need for foster care and building permanent families. The practice model draws on input from professional staff, youth, biological parents, resource families, and community partners. The model identifies potential strategies and program interventions that advance legal and relationship permanency and proposes approaches that strengthen families and improve the processes for individualized case management and integrated service delivery.

This Urban Institute report illustrates the complexity of work requirements that parents encounter, either to comply with program regulations or to increase their work engagement. There is also discussion about how parents can access the supports necessary to comply with requirements and how assistance affects the economic well-being of parents and children as work requirements are implemented or expanded.

This National Institute of Justice report identifies how the standard functional family therapy (FFT) manual was tailored to address issues common to the gang population. Prior to this study, there had been a lack of any in-depth evaluations of therapeutic programs targeting an urban and mostly minority population at high risk of or currently involved in gangs. The study “was intended to provide a rigorous test of FFT under contemporary natural conditions, with an urban, predominantly minority population selected for its high risk of gang involvement.”

This updated and expanded report from the Congressional Research Service provides a summary of TANF block grant information and addresses frequently asked questions. The report covers TANF funding and expenditures, TANF caseload data, level of TANF cash benefits, and TANF work participation standards.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) webinar on February 6, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET will discuss fatherhood programs that support returning fathers and their families with the multiple challenges they face following incarceration. Presenters include a researcher, practitioners, and two program participants.

This issue brief from the National Mentoring Partnership identifies the role that mentoring can play in the lives of youth through career exploration and workforce development activities leading to greater employability. It distinguishes between developmental mentoring, which focuses on healthy and positive social development, and instrumental mentoring, which promotes skill development and targeted goal setting.

This toolkit from the National Mentoring Partnership offers some tips and resources on how best to celebrate National Mentoring Partnership in January 2019.