This research study illustrates how intimate partner violence against women is a global public health problem with many short-term and long-term effects on the physical and mental health of women and their children. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for its elimination in target 5.2. To monitor governments' progress towards SDG target 5.2, this study aimed to provide global, regional, and country baseline estimates of physical or sexual (or both) violence against women by male intimate partners. Included studies were conducted between 2000 and 2018, representative at the national or sub-national level and included women aged 15 years or older, and used act-based measures of physical or sexual (or both) intimate partner violence. The findings indicated that globally, 27% of ever-partnered women aged 15–49 years are estimated to have experienced physical or sexual (or both) intimate partner violence in their lifetime. Also, 13% experienced it in the previous year before they were surveyed. This violence starts early, affecting adolescent girls and young women, with 24% of women aged 15–19 years and 26% of women aged 19–24 years having already experienced intimate partner violence at least once since the age of 15.

Families experiencing poverty and economic pressure have increased risk for child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and acts of violence by youth. This article highlights several programs that reduce rates of family and child poverty, including TANF, but it notes how TANF policies in particular have the greatest economic security policy discrepancies across states despite research that shows policies that increase access to money protect against family and youth violence. The article discusses research that indicates work requirements in TANF and other evidence-based interventions may protect against violence by increasing individual and family resources. However, one-size-fits-all work requirements may have unanticipated negative effects, such as an increase in sanctions that contribute to unemployment or under-employment when an individual cannot meet set requirements or leaving single mothers with less time to care for their children, which may increase the risk of child maltreatment.

This article identifies findings from a recent study which found that witnessing parental domestic violence can increase a child’s risk of depression and other mental health issues. The study included more than 17,700 Canadian adults who took part in a national survey on mental health. 22.5% of children who were exposed to chronic parental domestic violence during childhood had major depression at some point in their life, 15% had an anxiety disorder, and nearly 27% had a substance abuse disorder. In comparison, the rates among people with no history of violence between their parents were 9%, 7% and 19%, respectively.

This Mayo Clinic blogpost illustrates ways to recognize domestic violence in its many forms, including emotional, sexual, and physical abuse and threats of abuse. Further, the blogpost presents the cycle of an abusive situation, why the survivor should not take the blame in an abusive relationship, and challenges for special populations, and offers survivors tips on how to create a safety plan and where to find help.

This blogpost presents a broad set of information on what domestic violence is, how to recognize the warning signs of abuse, how to seek help for oneself or a loved one, and ways we can all work towards preventing intimate partner violence. There is also discussion on the short- and long-term impacts of domestic violence on physical health and the effect on a survivor’s mental health, screening tools, and ways to assess risk for further abuse. Special attention is paid toward understanding the impact of domestic violence on minority populations, LBGTQ+ people, and immigrants.

This guide complements federal efforts (such as the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation’s From Theory to Practice Project) to expand the use of administrative data for building evidence and is a resource to assist program evaluation teams in assessing the feasibility and potential value of examining long-term outcomes. The guide describes common steps for linking evaluation data and administrative data. Examples and case studies throughout the guide highlight efforts to research long-term economic outcomes such as participant employment and earnings, but the concepts presented should be applicable to a variety of social policy research contexts.

Linking government data between different agencies and departments is a powerful strategy to connect people to valuable benefits that they might otherwise miss. By linking data, the California Policy Lab helped the state of California measure how many Californians receiving safety-net benefits were at risk of not receiving federal stimulus payments, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the advanced Child Tax Credit – resulting in millions of dollars of federal aid delivered to non-filing Californians. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for government leadership and their staff on how to develop and execute cross-departmental data linkages by focusing on a case study on increasing the take-up of anti-poverty tax credits.

It is crucial for TANF agencies to use their data to understand how programs are working for the families they serve and how to improve those programs. Yet it is often difficult for agencies to prioritize and implement data use and analytics for program improvement. This brief discusses accessible and attainable strategies to increase data use and the dissemination of analyses, with the goal of supporting more evidence-based policymaking and improving programs for children and families participating in TANF.

Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?

This brief, which was prepared in conjunction with PeerTA Podcast Episode 2: Combatting Compassion Fatigue, focuses on emerging issues related to compassion fatigue within the context of managing teams. The brief addresses the following questions: What is compassion fatigue and how may it affect the teams I manage? What are the factors that lead to compassion fatigue? How might I recognize compassion fatigue within my teams? As a manager, what steps can I take to help mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue? What can I learn from other TANF programs that implemented strategies to address issues associated with compassion fatigue?

This webinar presented a conversation between the National Community Action Partnership and U.S. Digital Response (USDR) about incorporating user-centered design elements into workflows and services to reach and serve communities more effectively. The hosts discussed the USDR’s partnership with the Empire Justice Center and how user-centered practices enabled delivery of financial services to low-income families throughout the pandemic. Overall, they offered a clearer vision for how to design work with a distinct focus on the end user, along with tangible tips, takeaways, and recommendations to humanize processes therein.