This report details the September 2002 Conference on ACF's Positive Youth Development initiative and provides information on how to effectively incorporate the initiative into a cross section of ACF supported programs such as TANF, Child Support, Head Start, Child Care, Child Welfare, Independent Living, and Runaway and Homeless Youth.

This research from MDRC reviews caseload dynamics for food stamps in Cuyahoga County, OH; Los Angeles, CA; Miami-Dade County, FL; and Philadelphia, PA. The data reviewed caseload data from 1993 to 2001, and found that across all sites, the food stamp caseload declined. Additionally, it was found that most recipients receive food stamps for at least seven months.

This study, from the Center for Housing Policy, found that the average working family residing in a city spends 57 percent of their annual income on transportation and housing costs. Low-to-moderate income working families are being forced to reside further outside city centers due to housing costs, but families are spending as much or more on transportation costs than they are saving on housing costs.

This report from the Center for the Study of Social Policy reviews State policies that support families, children and low-wage workers while also contributing to states’ economic stability.

From the Brookings Institution, this article reviews the nationwide spending decisions for TANF block grants, with a focus on Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Results indicate that all three States spent more funds on providing services and other benefits than on the actual cash assistance.

From the School of Social Work at the University of California–Berkley, this resource offers different perspectives of poverty throughout social science disciplines, including Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, and Anthropology. Additionally, this paper provides views of poverty held by students entering and exiting graduate social work programs, and provides an overview of staff training around welfare reform at a local social service agency.

This brief, from the Heritage Institute, outlines the objectives of the TANF program and progress towards meeting its goals. In the past ten years of welfare reform, authors argue that the legislation was a success in reducing welfare dependence and increasing employment; reducing child poverty; and reducing out-of-wedlock childbearing and strengthening marriage.

This article outlines the critical components of community-monitoring systems (CMSs), designed to monitor the well-being of children and adolescents and the factors that influence their development. This resources from the Society for Prevention Research outlines key strategies to advance widespread and effective implementation of CMSs.

This report, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, provides strategies for implementing state-funded TANF programs to better serve the families on the caseload. Authors offer information on why a solely state-funded program is beneficial as well as a target population for such services.

This study, from the Urban Institute, proves a description of how families connect to services through alternative response systems in Oklahoma and Kentucky. Through a variety of data collection methods, authors identified factors that affect how families connect to services, which include service network infrastructure, provider relationships with each other, and availability of services.