This Administration for Children and Families (ACF) blogpost, co-authored by the Associate Commissioner at the Children’s Bureau and the Commissioner of Administration for Native Americans, highlights ACF resources that can assist tribes and Native Americans in strengthening their children and family systems. These highlighted resources include the Children’s Bureau’s Capacity Building Center for tribes, Diligent Recruitment Plans to help tribes create and enhance their Recruitment and Foster Care programs, and competitive grants for innovative, locally-driven program design.

This blogpost, written by an ICF analyst and featured in the National Community Action Partnership’s In Focus online magazine, identifies the importance of creating strategic partnerships among organizations that serve job seekers with multiple barriers to employment. The article highlights how these partnerships can streamline service delivery under a “No Wrong Door” approach, leverage multiple funding streams through blending or braiding funding sources, and integrate non-employment supports that can lead to increased employment outcomes.

This National Association of Counties report notes that Appalachian counties have experienced an opioid overdose death rate that is 72 percent higher than in non-Appalachian counties. The report presents case studies showing how local leadership has addressed the opioid crisis by being strategic in action, supporting preventive and educational efforts, and expanding access to addiction treatments. Other strategies include initiating a criminal justice response to illegal opioid sales, providing services to those involved with the criminal justice system who experience opioid use disorders, and reducing local economic impacts.

This Casey Family Programs brief offers background information and a summary of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The brief also offers data on funding levels at national and state-by-state levels, while framing CAPTA in the context of other Federal child welfare financing and programs.

This fact sheet from the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison provides concrete data on how the opioid crisis has grown in Wisconsin. Identification of the rising number of opioid-related deaths, geography of opioid-related deaths (for urban and rural communities), and the increased number of opioid-related ER visits are presented in reader-friendly graphics.

This United States Interagency Council on Homelessness brief is a transcript of a set of interviews conducted with housing officials in Montgomery County (Pennsylvania), Columbus (Ohio), and Los Angeles (California). The discussion identifies their approaches and initiatives to stem eviction and divert persons from entering homelessness.

This blogpost by the Associate Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau highlights the celebration of National Foster Care Month 2019. This year’s theme is that foster care supports birth families when they most need it and provides care for children until their safe return home. The blogpost identifies resources and tips on building relationships among child welfare professionals, birth parents, and foster parents to support development of healthy and thriving children, as well as targeted supportive services implementation.

This factsheet, prepared by Minnesota State Careerwise, illustrates a list of common barriers to employment. It also provides guidance on how to address barriers when job hunting, including finding helpful resources.

Many families in the TANF system face complex challenges that make it difficult for them to attain economic security. Some have disabilities or struggle with substance abuse or physical or mental health issues. Others do not have the skills or experiences needed for available jobs. Still others cannot secure a job because of a criminal record or failed drug test. Many face several of these employment barriers at the same time. 

An Office of Family Assistance (OFA)-sponsored webinar on May 29, 2019 shared the experiences of two TANF programs which have developed innovative approaches to serving families with complex family needs. The Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance is partnering with the state vocational rehabilitation agency to pilot the Individualized Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment for a set of TANF customers who had previously been exempt from work requirements due to a limiting physical or mental condition. Ramsey County (Minnesota) Workforce Solutions partnered with a number of community partners to provide Families Achieving Success Today (FAST), an initiative designed to improve employment outcomes for TANF recipients with work limitations and/or disabilities and to reduce racial disparities in employment outcomes. A representative from Project IMPROVE informed attendees about support that may be available through OFA to design and test approaches to serving families with complex family needs.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will hold a webinar on May 15, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT to discuss research findings from the National Academies report, Cutting the Child Poverty Rate by Half. Two of the report’s authors, Hilary Hoynes and Robert Moffitt, will cover the effectiveness of current assistance programs and their policy and program recommendations to reduce child poverty by half in the next 10 years.