This Executive Order by the Trump-Vance administration announces the White House’s Faith Office to assist faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in their efforts to strengthen American families, promote work and self-sufficiency, and protect religious liberty.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is hosting a webinar on January 21, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. ET, which will address the economic stability of service members, Veterans, and their families (SMVF). This webinar will explore critical areas such as employment opportunities, income supports, SSI/SSDI, Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) for Veterans, and housing solutions, providing valuable information and resources to support maintaining or achieving economic stability among the SMVF community.

A growing number of local governments and nonprofit organizations across the United States are experimenting with guaranteed income programs, often with the goal of supporting low-income families and individuals. The results of many of these newer efforts are still being measured and assessed, but there are earlier programs that can provide insights into long-term effects. The Institute for Research on Poverty hosted a webinar in December 2024 to share research on cash transfer programs begun or conducted in previous decades, including Native American tribal casino dividends, the Mincome project, and the Alaska Dividend.

Chapin Hall compiled a toolkit that promotes child and family well-being and prevents child welfare involvement. The following tools are focused on state-level policy:

• TANF & Child Welfare Innovations;
• State Policy Options to Increase Economic & Concrete Supports (ECS) as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy;
• Flexible Funds for Concrete Supports to Families as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy; and
• Providing ECS to Increase Effectiveness of Evidence-Based Services.

These tools are focused on federal-level policy:

• ECS Testimony from May 2024 Family First Hearing;
• ECS as Evidence-Based Service: Summary of Chapin Hall’s Submission to the 4E Clearinghouse;
• A Preventable Cost: The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment and Child Welfare Involvement; and
• ECS: Implications for Family First and Systems Change.

Nearly 80 million individuals are enrolled in Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including nearly half of all children and youth in the United States. Many of the individuals served through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) funded programs are enrolled or eligible for Medicaid or CHIP. ACF released this Dear Colleague Letter to support states as they work to strengthen their implementation of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment requirements to help ensure improved health outcomes for children and youth enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP.

Maternal and infant health is an urgent priority, and a coordinated effort across health and human services is crucial to foster positive maternal health outcomes. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is responsible for many programs that support maternal and infant health, including home visiting, Head Start, childcare, Medicaid, TANF, child support, and others. ACF released this Dear Colleague Letter to assist human services providers in understanding their important role in addressing the syphilis epidemic by raising awareness and helping to facilitate access to early testing and treatment. Staff at human services agencies have a unique opportunity to intervene and help protect the health of pregnant women and babies by educating clients on the risks and encouraging early and regular prenatal care, including testing and treatment when necessary.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is working to strengthen the well-being of children, youth, and their families by integrating behavioral health services into the existing supports they rely on, such as social services and early childhood programs. ACF released these Dear Colleague Letters and compilations of resources to highlight the critical importance of timely, high-quality behavioral health crisis care and ensure that you are aware of how these resources can be accessed in your communities.

These resources accompany ACF’s webpage released earlier in 2024, which included a tip sheet for parents and caregivers and a series of short videos about mental health.

When several branches of a large social services organization are involved in providing a continuum of services, it can be challenging to optimize clients’ care. Communication between branches may be minimal, and individual services may have distinct eligibility criteria. People who are served initially may not be guaranteed access to future services, which can further complicate care coordination. This MDRC resource describes how Central City Concern (Portland, Oregon) confronted challenges in service integration.