Assistance Secretary Sheldon of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) co-announced a new public-private partnership, Partnership for Freedom, with Humanity United, Department of Justice, DHHS, and Housing and Urban Development. Partnership for Freedom aims to spur innovative solutions to human trafficking challenges and launched the first of three competitions - Reimagine: Opportunity – dedicated to improving the infrastructure of support for survivors of modern day slavery. The goal is to inspire experts in the anti-trafficking field to connect with new partners and generate new ideas for sustainable housing, economic empowerment and stronger social services for survivors.

This practice brief from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) comes out of the ongoing evaluation of the five Tribal HPOG grantees, each of which was awarded a demonstration grant for a period of five years. Within the Tribal HPOG programs, supportive services are offered alongside the career pathways model used to train students for careers in the health care field. These services are a key component of the programs, as students often face multiple barriers to completing their training. This brief highlights the supports offered by the five programs and examines the similarities and differences among programs.

Brookings Center on Children and Families and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity held an event on December 5, 2012 to examine the impact of the election on programs affecting the poor like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well as the Earned Tax Credit (EITC). Answers to this and related questions were discussed by a panel of experts.

The United States Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service released a report that estimates the extent to which inflation in food prices has eroded improvement in the food security of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients that followed the increase in benefit size in April 2009 mandated by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The U.S. Department of Labor released a "Trauma Guide" that was created to address the psychological and mental health needs of women veterans. This guide is also a compilation of best practices aimed at improving effectiveness in engaging female veterans. Written for service providers, the guide offers observational knowledge and concrete guidelines for modifying practices with the goal of increasing re-entry outcomes.

This study, commissioned by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, examines local programs that connect homeless individuals and families with other support services in order to best prevent future homelessness. Fourteen programs that have defined partnerships with other supportive service agencies were chosen for this study, and promising practices of these programs and partnerships are highlighted.

This ASPE Research Brief explores local programs for linking human services and housing supports to prevent and end family homelessness. The Research Brief is based on interviews with stakeholders in 14 communities nationwide, highlighting key practices that facilitated the implementation and ongoing sustainability of the programs.

The National Low-Income Housing Coalition has released a report capturing the gap between wages and rents across the country, and is the estimate of the full-time hourly wage that a household must earn to afford a decent apartment at the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated Fair Market Rent, while spending no more than 30% of income on housing costs. This report underscores the challenges facing the lowest income renters: increasing rents, stagnating wages, and a shortage of affordable housing, while providing solutions that will benefit the lowest income renters.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a paper on the characteristics of rental assistance recipients in 2010. The paper uses 2010 administrative data submitted to HUD by State and local housing agencies and private owners that administer rental assistance under HUD's three general purpose programs: the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), public housing, and project-based rental assistance (PBRA) programs. The data was used to analyze the extent to which households receiving rental assistance are attached to the labor market or subject to work requirements in other programs, and consider strategies to boost tenants' employment and earnings. The data found that 88% of households that received rental assistance in 2010 were elderly, disabled, working, or likely have access to work programs under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.

The Administration for Children and Families' programs are joining the fight for healthy and food secure American Indian and Alaska Native children and families.