This Homeless Families Research Brief by Abt Associates highlights the Family Options Study, which surveyed homeless families living in shelters with their children. The study found that family characteristics and experiences that predict another episode of homelessness after a shelter stay seldom predict doubling up with another household. Another finding was that while physical, emotional, and mental health conditions are prevalent in chronic homelessness for single adults, they seem less related to repeated homelessness for families with children.

Based on a prior report on associations of time in extended foster care with youth outcomes, researchers at Chapin Hall examined data of more than 40,000 youth from California’s Child Welfare Services/Case Management System, including youth who had been in foster care for at least six months sometime after their 16th birthday. Researchers were unable to discover negative consequences of extended foster care beyond age 18. Instead, they reported that remaining in care past age 18 assists in meeting youths’ basic needs, reduces the chance of becoming a young parent and interacting with the criminal justice system, and helps them advance their education, acquire additional work experience, and save money.

An MDRC infographic provides initial findings of the Learn and Earn to Achieve Potential (LEAP) initiative, which targets youth ages 15-25 who have been involved in the child welfare and justice systems, or who are homeless. The infographic identifies components of two established national programs – Jobs for America’s Graduates and the Jobs for the Future Back on Track – and the LEAP enhancements for case management and training that are offered locally to support youth in employment and postsecondary educational opportunities.

This Casey Family Programs report outlines strategies for keeping American Indian and Alaska Native children in tribal foster homes and approaches to find tribal parents for an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act. The report emphasizes the importance for Native children to have connections with families sharing their same culture, especially in cases where the children are not in safe or healthy home environments.

This MDRC report is an impact evaluation of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD) program. The ETJD program was targeted to persons who were either returning citizens or are low-income parents who have had trouble making timely child support payments. The evaluation reviews the impact of the program on participants 30 months after initial enrollment and after nearly all participants had left their transitional jobs.

This blog post from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discusses the challenges of determining the scope of youth homelessness due to the lack of consistent methodology for defining and counting homeless youth. The post illustrates ways that estimates have been attempted and how this research is shared. It also provides links to resources available from the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) to address this issue, including a national hotline.

In this report, the Urban Institute assesses New York City’s Arches Transformative Mentoring program, a group mentoring program that serves young adult probation clients by engaging mentor “credible messengers” or direct service providers with backgrounds similar to those they serve. The evaluation found that Arches participants experienced reduced felony reconviction rates by approximately two-thirds after one year of participation and by approximately one-half after two years of participation.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture policy brief outlines the employment and training barriers faced by SNAP participants experiencing homelessness or housing instability. The brief also illustrates models of effective employment and training services supported by SNAP programming. Other discussion centers on how SNAP E&T programs can work in partnership with public housing and homeless assistance programs, citing collaboration between Massachusetts’ SNAP Path to Work and the Secure Jobs Program as an example.

This MDRC policy brief identifies the positive earnings and employment outcomes of three programs designed to support upward mobility in youth: YouthBuild, Year Up, and New York City’s Young Adult Internship Program. In particular, a key finding from evaluating these programs is that a systems approach is needed to help young people navigate these programs and address their tailored needs.

In this podcast, the current chief executive officer and the former president of CareerWise Colorado discuss this career and technical education apprenticeship program for high school students. By targeting youth, the program’s innovative model helps students explore careers and build skills from a young age. Under the paid apprenticeship program, students work two days a week to apply what they learn in the classroom during the other three days, which emphasizes the connection between classroom learning and real-world employment. Students leave the program with skills, income, and credentials that can be applied to higher education. Other topics discussed include recruitment, demographics, retention, transferable skills, and future program plans.