This report examines lessons learned and strategies adopted for service delivery by social services organizations in Los Angeles County, California that support the needs of homeless individuals (or at risk of becoming homeless) and those involved in the criminal justice system, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report covers the shift to providing virtual services, including video- and telephone-based care, and the barriers to delivering these services to those lacking technology access. It also discusses the difficulties in requiring clients to maintain shelter-in-place procedures, and increased workplace stress with reductions in staff and organizational revenue.

This report is an initial evaluation of Families Forward, a locally designed and funded two-generation program in Bangor, Maine. The program involves a partnership with Bangor Housing, the local public housing authority, and the Boys & Girls Club of Bangor. The program’s model includes social supports for families, financial coaching, and access to services and training that are designed to move these families toward greater economic mobility.

Trauma can have significant short and long-term effects on individual functioning and family well-being. Many human services agencies have begun to recognize the profound implications this issue has on how agency staff interact with their customers, and how staff themselves are impacted. The Office of Family Assistance hosted a webinar on September 30, 2020 to help TANF sites interested in moving from trauma awareness to practice transformation using evidence-informed strategies.

Webinar speakers reviewed the trauma-informed paradigm’s foundations in the TANF context, and discussed key considerations in moving TANF programs from trauma-informed awareness to evidence-informed practice transformation. Participants heard from the Vermont Department for Children and Families on their experiences developing a Trauma-Informed Evaluative Toolkit for TANF with OFA PeerTA support and their implementation plans.

This issue brief by Voices for Utah Children in conjunction with the Aspen Institute focuses on two-generation strategies to reduce poverty. Voices for Utah worked with Utah lawmakers to address the issue by passing the Intergenerational Poverty Mitigation Act in 2012 and creating an Intergenerational Poverty Advisory Commission in 2013. The goal was to develop evidence-based strategies and interventions with policymakers to increase economic security, educational success, social capital, and health and well-being for families. This legislation and approach have been a critical step in creating a framework for states to develop five- and ten-year plans to address poverty.

This fact sheet defines two-generation and whole-family approaches that simultaneously provide services and opportunities to both children and the adults in their lives. The fact sheet also includes summaries and links to resources on 5 key components of the two-generation approach: Postsecondary Education and Employment Pathways; Early Childhood Education and Development; Economic Assets; Health and Well-Being; and Social Capital.

This report is an initial evaluation of the Bringing Families Home (BFH) program in San Francisco, California, which is a state-funded initiative that provides permanent housing and supportive services for homeless families or families with unstable housing who are engaged with the child welfare system. (Bringing Families Home is the sustained version of Families Moving Forward, a federally funded demonstration project.) Participating families under BFH receive in-home services to prevent their children from being placed in foster care. Families with children in foster care receiving reunification services are also covered under the program. The evaluation includes assessment data of family status and information about housing status, receipt of supportive services, the status of child welfare cases, and out-of-home care placements for families enrolled in BFH from July 2017 to June 2020.

This issue brief highlights three areas to consider in developing workforce policies for young parents between the age of 18 and 24 in a post-pandemic world. These touchstones include: accelerated pathways, such as Integrated Education and Training, Accelerated Study in Associate Programs, and guided pathways to focus on skill gaps to prepare for in-demand jobs; expansion of digital inclusion programs to address disparities in broadband access, availability of digital devices, and computer literacy skills; and provision of high-quality childcare for workforce program participants.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin will host a virtual seminar on October 15, 2020 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CT. The seminar will discuss metrics, covering financial well-being, secure and stable housing, family stability, health, supportive communities, education, and work, that embody the comprehensive definition of economic and social mobility developed by the U.S. Partnership on Mobility from Poverty. Urban Institute’s Greg Acs will lead the seminar’s discussion.

This dataset, updated annually since 2011, represents a holistic perspective of opportunity to suggest that one’s ability to thrive is not limited to economic circumstances. It also includes educational, health-related, and overall community conditions and resources that a person will encounter. The Opportunity Index covers data on these four dimensions and presents a composite measure that weighs Economic, Education, Health, and Community factors for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The index ranks each of the jurisdictions in descending order of levels of overall opportunity. Data is also assessed at an overall level for nearly 2,000 counties (approximately 95 percent of the entire U.S. population). In addition, the study indicators include data broken down by gender and race/ethnicity at an overall level. A technical supplement explains the methodology behind the rankings.

Zero to Three will convene its annual conference on October 5-8, 2020 as a virtual event. The conference will include sessions highlighting the latest research on early life adversity, early childhood programs, and supports for child well-being. Participants are eligible to earn CEUs. There is a fee to attend the event, and registration is required.