This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report, a summary of the Job Search Assistance (JSA) Strategies Evaluation, compares the effectiveness of different approaches for finding and keeping jobs among individuals applying for or receiving assistance under TANF. The report reviews findings from three sites: Genesee and Wayne Counties in Michigan; New York City; and Sacramento County, California. In each of these sites, TANF applicants or recipients were randomly assigned to one of two programs that provided employment-related services. The study measured outcome differences (in public benefit receipt, employment, and earnings) between people assigned to each of the two programs in each site. The report’s findings address three key questions regarding the frequency, mode, and content of the employment-related services for the TANF recipients in the two programs; the two programs’ impacts on employment and earnings; and the effects on receipt of TANF and SNAP due to participation in the two programs.

This new webinar series entitled Moving Upstream: Transforming Systems to Advance Well-Being will examine structural barriers to and opportunities for moving to a coordinated system of services to support and strengthen families. The first webinar in the series will occur on January 14, 2021 from 1:15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The webinar will examine how housing and economic mobility programs can coordinate to promote child and family well-being. Presenters will include representatives from Mercy Housing, Casey Family Services, Compass Working Capital, and Abt Associates.

This Office of Family Assistance dataset includes financial data tables, interactive maps, and national and state pie charts to illustrate the uses of TANF and Maintenance-of-Effort funds and transfers in FY2019. The charts break down expenditures for TANF-allowable purposes into 15 categories, including basic assistance; work, education, and training activities; child care; refundable tax credits (state Earned Income Tax Credit programs); child welfare services; pre-K/Head Start; out-of-wedlock pregnancy prevention; non-recurrent short term benefits; work supports and supportive services (transportation, mental health/substance abuse counseling, domestic violence services, and financial education); services for children and youth (home visiting, mentoring, and after school enrichment); fatherhood and two-parent family programs; transfers to Social Services Block Grant programs; and program management for TANF administration.

This report presents data and graphics to illustrate the variation of young children in deep poverty by race and ethnicity and health and development, including low birth weight, physical impairments, intellectual disability and developmental delay, participation rates in early intervention and special education, child behavior, lack of health insurance, obesity, and elevated blood lead levels. The report also examines parent characteristics by poverty status, such as their overall mental health status, income status among single parent households, level of neighborhood support, educational attainment, and rates among parents without health insurance and rates among unemployed parents.

As part of its M.A.N. C.A.V.E. (Men All Need to be Caring, Actively-Engaged, Vested, and Encouraged) Fatherhood Initiative, which aims to improve child well-being and promote positive relationships between fathers and their children, the City of Phoenix Head Start Birth to Five Program is sponsoring a free Fatherhood Virtual Summit on December 3, 2020 and December 4, 2020 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. ET. This event will combine keynote presentations and breakout sessions geared toward parents, grandparents, foster care providers, educators, and others who work with or raise boys.

This interactive mapping tool reflects the community factors associated with safe children and strong families. These factors include child and family well-being (children living in poverty and children without health insurance), educational attainment, economic status (unemployment rate, poverty rate, and median household income), housing factors (average number of hours working at minimum wage needed to afford housing, and percentage of unoccupied housing units), accessibility (access to healthy food, number of SNAP benefit recipients, computer access, and reduced/free lunch eligibility), and COVID-19 metrics (through November 2, but continuously updated). Data and indicators can be mapped at geographic levels defined by the user from the state level to the neighborhood level (by census tract).

This issue brief illustrates the administrative burdens that people encounter when attempting to access safety net programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief outlines learning costs (the time spent to figure out what programs are available and the steps on how to apply), compliance costs (the need for documentation and time/expertise needed to file for benefits), and psychological costs (stress or loss of autonomy). The brief notes how these administrative burdens can be consequential to those seeking assistance by reducing participation or complicating service delivery. To address and reduce these burdens, the brief offers strategies such as technology, automation for enrollment processing, and personal assistance at time of application.

This issue brief profiles the design and implementation of the 2Gen approach undertaken by the District of Columbia TANF program. The brief covers how staff were trained in 2Gen approaches, and the reorganization of TANF intake and eligibility processes. The report also features the District’s redesign of the TANF Employment and Education program, integration of 2Gen approaches for homeless families, and institution of a “whole family” model in universal pre-K and early childhood programs.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) report examines the impact of the Health Careers for All program that supported TANF recipients in accessing and completing healthcare occupational training. The report reviews the three-year impact on employment and earnings as well as the credentials earned by participants. Health Careers for All included four key components: navigation and case management services; access to healthcare occupational training at the foundational (career discovery), entry-level and advanced levels along a healthcare career pathway; employment services (to include resume development and interviewing skills); and financial support to address barriers in completing training or entering employment. Health Careers for All is one of nine programs evaluated by OPRE under the Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education (PACE) project.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Hunger Clearinghouse provides information about food resources available near an address or zip code, including meal sites, food banks, and other social services. Information from the Clearinghouse is accessible by contacting the USDA National Hunger Hotline by phone (with English and Spanish phone numbers provided) or by text.