This guide summarizes and links to resources that may help answer questions common among young parents, the organizations that serve them, and policymakers interested in supporting young parents’ success. Providing tailored resources to address their needs is critical, because they face particular obstacles to achieving financial stability associated with having the responsibility of caring for a child while transitioning to adulthood. The guide covers three sets of resources: 1) resources young parents can use to address their immediate needs; 2) resources young parent–serving practitioners can use both to increase their capacity for young parent services and to engage young parent clients to address their needs; and 3) resources policymakers can use to inform changes to policy and practice so programs can better serve young parents.

In 2018, the New Hampshire Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW) initiative was launched to help address the statewide impacts associated with substance use disorder (SUD). This compendium of resources supports the RFW initiative to empower businesses as they create work environments that are supportive to those in or seeking recovery, in addition to those who may have a loved one with SUD. Through this initiative, workplaces:

• Receive support and guidance from Recovery Friendly Advisors, regional Public Health Networks, Recovery Community Organizations, and RFW Peer Champions
• Get connected to SUD-related information, trainings, and resources to better support employees and create a culture where conversations about issues related to mental health and SUD are encouraged
• Complete an RFW checklist process that results in an official RFW designation, the development of an RFW culture, and visibility that helps challenge the stigma around SUD

Research shows that young people with histories of child welfare involvement work less often and earn lower wages during the transition to adulthood than their peers without this experience. However, little is known about whether programs that aim to improve employment outcomes for youth with prior child welfare system involvement are actually improving employment outcomes. This brief reviews findings of formative evaluations for two employment programs—MY TIME in Chicago, Illinois, and iFoster Jobs in Los Angeles, California. These evaluations highlight the importance of building a better understanding of the variations in programs serving young people with histories of child welfare system involvement and how they bolster different developmental assets for young people.

This blogpost brings together a collection of evidence about the connections between economic and concrete supports and involvement with child welfare. The research findings show that child and family well-being can be promoted through state and federal policies that strengthen families, promote family economic security, and reduce child protective services involvement in the lives of families. A short video provides a high-level overview of Chapin Hall’s approach to this work.

Fathers’ role within families has gradually evolved from traditional family breadwinner to that of more full and equal coparent involved in all aspects of caregiving. Research has shown that positive father-child involvement leads to better outcomes for children and families, and a critical component of improving fathers’ involvement with their children is supporting their coparenting and romantic or intimate relationships. In addition to providing parenting and economic stability services, fatherhood programs that receive federal funding are required to provide relationship education, which positions them ideally to help fathers establish and maintain healthy relationships. The Coparenting and Healthy Relationship and Marriage Education for Dads (CHaRMED) project has aimed to better understand how fatherhood programs support fathers’ coparenting and intimate relationships. This brief highlights some important lessons learned from CHaRMED that can inform how fatherhood program practitioners support fathers’ relationships and improve their—and their families’—well-being.

The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), one of the federal government’s largest antipoverty programs, has lifted millions of people out of severe poverty. While it offers a refundable credit at tax time to eligible workers with low incomes, it provides only a very small refund for single workers with no qualifying children. Paycheck Plus is a test of an EITC expansion for low-income workers without dependent children. This report presents final impacts from the test in Atlanta. The Atlanta Paycheck Plus Demonstration is part of the Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration, a large-scale research demonstration designed to build rigorous evidence on the effectiveness of the latest generation of subsidized models.

A University of Louisville, Center for Family and Community Wellbeing study found that the Mind Matters: Overcoming Adversity and Increasing Resilience digital program (fee required) significantly reduced post-traumatic stress symptoms and increased trauma coping skills. The Dibble Institute will host a webinar on July 13, 2022 from 4:00 p.m. ET to 5:00 p.m. ET where Mind Matters author Carolyn Curtis will review the research behind Mind Matters’ effectiveness. She discusses the program’s theory of change as well as the individual lessons that bring results.

Participants will be able to:

• Understand what the University of Louisville study results say about the effectiveness of Mind Matters
• Explain the theories used in Mind Matters
• Describe the research behind the Mind Matters Pinwheel Curls

TANF agencies across the country are preparing to or beginning to reinstate participation requirements that had been waived during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Office of Family Assistance’s Project IMPROVE team moderated a panel of TANF leaders across the country on this topic on July 21, 2022. In this evolving service context, this webinar provided space for TANF leaders and staff across the country to share experiences, challenges, and lessons around participant engagement in TANF work activities. Panelists shared their plans for supporting staff and program participants through the transition to engaging all individuals and families. They responded to questions around challenges, best practices, and lessons learned.

This brief provides guidance on the process of recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising parent partners who have closed child welfare cases and serve as mentors to parents currently involved in the child welfare system. While parent partner programs may vary regarding the support they offer, their relationship with the child welfare agency and court system, and how they are structured, a common element includes parent partners providing guidance and education about the child welfare system. Being able to identify, prepare, and support people who serve as parent partners is critical to the success of any parent partner program.

This article outlines lessons learned from a study that looked at workforce development programs serving 16 to 24-year-olds that were convicted, adjudicated of, or charged with serious crimes in the juvenile or criminal justice system. Insights include the importance of strategic job placement to help youth explore their career interests while working toward stable and lasting employment, building partnerships with employers who are willing to hire young people with system involvement and subsidizing employment for employers who are hesitant to do so, and recognizing that young people are entrepreneurial and want to explore opportunities in fields like information technology and business.