Learning and employment records (LERs) could play a critical role in advancing skills-based hiring practices and ensuring they are implemented equitably. LERs are digital records of an individual’s formal and informal learning and employment and can be used to represent diverse experiences on the job or inside the classroom. SkillsFWD is a new initiative on a mission to catalyze a more equitable skills-based hiring ecosystem and announced inaugural grants to fund projects solving challenges around LERs. This U.S. Chamber of Commer Foundation resource names the six grant-winning teams that will spearhead diverse projects across the country, generating replicable models and sharing original learnings and insights

Colleges across the United States have invested to develop credential-stacking programs. Their target students are often working adults who don't have the time or the money to get a college degree. These programs allow them to earn a series of credentials over time that can get them to the same place. If used effectively, stackable programs can provide low-income students with a path to the middle class. This RAND resource explains stackable credentials and provides data as well as lessons learned from high-value programs

While a significant portion of college students are eligible for safety net benefits, many do not access the support they need. Students may not realize they are eligible for benefits or struggle to complete the application or recertification processes. This Urban Institute fact sheet highlights how human services agencies can improve outreach to college students eligible for safety net benefits. It draws on insights from a series of workgroups with staff at human services agencies and youth-serving nonprofits, as well as young leaders.

Employment coaching involves trained staff working collaboratively with participants to help them set individualized goals related to employment and providing motivation, support, and feedback as participants work toward those goals. Recently, there has been growing interest among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in using employment coaching to assist Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other adults with low incomes become economically mobile. This video accompanies a Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report which highlights the evaluation that was designed to assess the implementation and effectiveness of the four programs participating in the Employment Coaching for TANF and Related Populations study. The report answers the following research questions: In what contexts were programs implemented? How did the designs of the programs vary and differ? How was coaching implemented across programs?

The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta published a case study that analyzes a workforce development program in Washington, D.C., which was created to help families navigate the loss of government benefits when their employment income increases. The paper frames the discussion around a hypothetical family receiving support from all major federal public assistance programs, including those managed by the Administration for Children and Families that help families with income assistance, child care, and utility payments.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of External Affairs and Office of Regional Operations hosted the “Less Poverty, More Prosperity: States Tackle Benefit Cliffs” convening, bringing together 17 states that have all taken steps to address the cliff effect in their communities, as well as parents with lived experience, businesses, and non-profit and philanthropic organizations. This ACF blogpost discusses how ACF and its partners are working to shed more light on this issue and how it impacts children, families, and communities.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation released U.S. Federal Poverty Guidelines Used to Determine Financial Eligibility for Certain Programs for 2024. There are three tables, including poverty guidelines for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia, Alaska, and Hawaii. This webpage offers additional resources, prior Department of Health and Human Services’ poverty guidelines and Federal Register references, and frequently asked questions.

The U.S. Census Bureau released this resource for National Poverty in America Awareness Month to highlight statistics from the Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement that was released in 2023. This resource includes figures as well as statistics and stories on poverty.

To learn more about workforce supports for system-involved young people, Urban Institute researchers identified programs that were using effective strategies to help system-involved individuals avoid detention or incarceration and find employment. The purpose of the study was to highlight examples of successful partnerships and effective partnership strategies involving community-based workforce service providers, public agencies, and stakeholders. Part of a series using findings from a multiphase study on community-based workforce development programs for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 involved in the criminal legal system, this brief provides a practitioner perspective on the role strategic partnerships play in supporting workforce programs and the importance of establishing relationships with employers. It highlights lessons learned about engaging with employer partners and recommendations for future policy and practice.

The Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program helps more than 800,000 people with disabilities obtain, maintain, and advance in employment each year, yet hundreds of millions of dollars in federal VR funding go unspent by state VR agencies. Unspent federal VR funding is problematic because it means that fewer people with disabilities can be served by the VR program. The VR program provides critical support for people with disabilities, and states should use the full funds available to them to maximize its impact. Various barriers such as complex and restrictive program rules, however, limit how states obtain and spend federal VR funding. This Mathematica resource provides solutions to increase states’ spending of federal VR funding.