On May 31, 2024, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) announced a proposed rule to give state child support programs the flexibility to use federal funding to provide employment and training services for eligible noncustodial parents. Providing employment and training services to unemployed and underemployed parents who have child support obligations has proven to benefit children and their parents. These types of programs result in increased employment rates and earnings as well as the amount, number, and regularity of child support payments. This ACF press announcement explains how the proposed rule would allow state child support programs to use federal funding for services such as skills assessments, occupational training, and job placement. The deadline to submit comments via Regulations.gov is July 30, 2024.

MDRC partnered with JPMorgan Chase to promote continual improvement among their Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) grantee organizations through research. SYEPs are a workforce development model predicated on promoting socioeconomic advancement for young people ages 14 to 24 who are disconnected from school or the labor market. MDRC collected data in the form of interviews and metrics aggregated and interviewed six SYEP providers to share specific insights about a particular program component—soft-skills training. “Soft skills” refer to the general habits and competencies that make for an effective employee, such as arriving at work on time, cooperating with coworkers, taking and giving direction, communicating clearly, dressing appropriately for the workplace, and so forth. This MDRC brief presents findings that showcase ways that soft-skills training, as a workforce development intervention, can put young people on the path to high-paying jobs and socioeconomic advancement.

The Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making is the survey from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for tracking the financial circumstances of low- and moderate-income families and potential risks to their financial health. This year’s survey continues to track key topics related to financial outcomes, such as the effects of inflation on household finances, emergency savings, housing, returns to education, and retirement. New topics have been added on food sufficiency, caregiving, employment of those with a previous arrest or conviction, and homeowners’ insurance.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors will be hosting a virtual event on June 20, 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, where researchers will share findings from the survey on trends in financial well-being and answer any questions on the financial conditions among low- and moderate-income populations based on the survey results.

An estimated 377,000 children are living in foster care. This staggering number is a measure of how we as a nation are faring in our responsibility to ensure that every child in every community has the opportunity to grow up in their own family connected to the people, places and cultures that will help them thrive. This Casey Family report shares examples of how communities are actively partnering with families to build the foundations of a better approach, how they are using new tools and approaches to better address the needs of families and children, and how they are investing effectively to ensure thriving families, safer children and supportive communities.

The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants available for national out-of-school time organizations to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth during non-school hours. The Workforce Pathways for Youth demonstration grants will help these organizations partner with state or locally operated affiliate organizations that serve historically marginalized and underserved youth, ages 14 to 21. Priority will be given to organizations serving Native American youth.

Through the partnerships, out-of-school time organizations will introduce youth to career-related services, and provide work-based learning experiences and occupational skills training. They will also offer unsubsidized employment placements to increase opportunities for youth to gain the skills they need to be successful in post-secondary education and employment. The program also encourages partners across the workforce system to provide supportive services to address the mental health needs of participating youth.

This Chapin Hall report evaluates implementation of Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults in Cook County, Illinois, which helps emerging adults with behavioral health needs reintegrate into community after time in an Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice youth center.

To meet the growing sector of clean energy’s labor force demands, employers and workforce development professionals are seeking new approaches to train workers quickly and more effectively. The Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship is an initiative funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy that seeks to expand access to one such approach: registered apprenticeships for people with disabilities in high-growth sectors, such as clean energy. This Urban Institute brief discusses the need and opportunities for building inclusive apprenticeships in the clean energy sector.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation is partnering with Urban Institute to conduct a study that seeks the perspectives of participants in programs funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies about:

• The environmental and climate exposures they and their communities face;
• How they view environmental and climate justice concerns;
• Mitigation and adaptation resources they can access or are aware of; and
• Additional resources and strategies useful to address these issues.

They are recruiting people participating in programs funded by the federal Administration for Children and Families and Administration for Community Living, as well as Community Action Agencies and other human services agencies. They seek participation from adults (18 and over) who are comfortable speaking English and live in different regions of the country so that a mix of climate change and environmental hazard contexts are represented.

The researchers are conducting the interviews and focus groups through July 2024 and are offering $50 gift card incentives to interview participants and $75 gift card incentives to focus group participants.

Review the flyers for additional information about participating in this study. Please contact Pam Winston at pamela.winston@hhs.gov or Anne Junod at ajunod@urban.org with any questions.

The Federal Partners in Transition is hosting a webinar on May 17, 2024 from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET which will include a presentation that focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workforce, potential future use of AI, and current policy, regulations, and laws surrounding AI at the state and federal level. Presenters from the Office of Disability Employment Policy will lead a conversation on the intersection between AI and Disability Employment.

Workforce Communities of Inquiry (WCI) is a flexible, replicable model that provides workforce development practitioners with the training, tools, and support needed to engage in community-driven research. The asset-based approach is designed to uncover specific behaviors, practices, and solutions that improve outcomes for a specific population or geography. Conversations held during the WCI pilot provides a better understanding of how occupational segregation is occurring across the Deep South and its impact on Black communities. The research also identifies immediate actions workforce organizations can take to improve the outcomes of Black learners and workers who utilize the public workforce system. This Jobs for the Future resource highlights key research insights and conversational themes that emerged during the pilot.