From Economic Opportunity Studies, this article shows the impact of increasing energy costs on the low-income population. Authors also offer a comparison of the energy burden across income categories, and found that the resource available for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is not enough to support energy costs in low-income households.

Authored by Kristin S. Seefeldt and Sean M. Orzol. In 1996, welfare reform legislation imposed a 60-month lifetime limit on TANF benefits. The authors use four waves of data from the Women's Employment Study to determine which personal characteristics are associated with accumulating months on TANF at low (less than 20 months of receipt), medium (20 to 39 months), and high (40 to 60 months) levels. They find that many of the same factors are associated with being in both the medium and high accumulation groups, relative to the low group. However, demographic variables, such as the presence of a partner, race, and the number of children seem to matter more in determining whether someone will accumulate a low as opposed to a medium amount of time on TANF. The presence of human capital problems, as well as persistent personal and family challenges--such as children with health problems, domestic violence, and drug use--all greatly increase the likelihood of accumulating many months toward the 60-month time limit.

Low-income families have a variety of income supports available to help encourage stable employment and increase self sufficiency, including TANF, SCHIP, Medicaid, food stamps, and childcare subsidies. This article reviews a streamlined strategy to help families access necessary income supports. By integrating service delivery through call centers and the Internet, States can implement a comprehensive approach to better serve families.

This guide is part of HHS's ongoing effort to work with States to ensure that low-income families and children have access to health benefits. In 1999, State Medicaid application and eligibility policies and procedures in all 50 States, plus the District of Columbia and the Territories were reviewed. Working closely with States, CMS (formerly HCFA) analyzed the findings for these reviews and identified practices that need improvement as well as some promising practices that will be interesting models for other States.

This Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. issue brief was authored by Christopher Trenholm. The Santa Clara County Children's Health Initiative (CHI), launched in January 2001, seeks to extend health coverage to all uninsured children in that California county. This issue brief measures the effect of the initiative on enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the two major State insurance programs. The study found that CHI increased enrollment by almost 13,500 children, or 28 percent. As a result of the gains, CHI increased State and Federal spending in Santa Clara County for the two programs by an estimated $24.4 million during 2001-2002.

Since the PRWORA of 1996, States have had greater flexibility in creating public assistance programs to serve families. From the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides an overview of national participation in the following assistance programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), General Assistance (GA), food stamps, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid and housing benefits.

From the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE), this Compendium is a Federal source for learning about successful child support programs and organizational practices from around the country. OCSE provides a detailed list of successful Child Support programs as well as contact information for each site.

This Family Strengthening Policy Center Brief from the National Human Services Assembly provides an overview of family literacy education programs. Family literacy programs have been proven to have high educational benefits, as well as giving preparing caregivers an opportunity to succeed as parents and employees, enhancing bonds between parents and children, and ultimately, strengthening connections between families, schools, and the community.

A new article by Mark Ragan, Senior Fellow of the Rockefeller Institute, "Study Identifies Multiple Strategies and Critical Factors for Integrating Human Services," was published by The Research Forum on Children, Families, and the New Federalism in March 2003.

This latest in a series of MDRC how-to guides identifies program features and administrative practices that can help states better target financial work incentives to intended beneficiaries, increase participation among eligible incentive recipients, and maximize the benefits of the incentives. Making Work Pay draws on in-depth investigations by MDRC researchers of pioneering financial work support programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada. The lessons it contains should prove especially timely as state and local governments, straining under severe budgetary pressures, strive to sustain earnings supplement programs and make their delivery more efficient.