In 2022, the Center for Advancing Policy on Employment for Youth (CAPE-Youth), in collaboration with the White House Office of Public Engagement, hosted a virtual roundtable discussion on “Improving Mental Health Service Delivery for Youth and Young Adults with Marginalized Racial Identities.” The event highlighted how mental health policies can help states promote positive long-term outcomes such as higher employment rates for youth and young adults (Y&YAs), including Y&YAs with disabilities who belong to marginalized racial groups. This CAPE-Youth brief provides a summary of various ideas and strategies participants raised during the roundtable discussion, highlighting:

• Expanding culturally responsive mental health care;
• Increasing access to mental health supports; and
• Embedding mental health programs and supports into workforce systems.

This webpage presents the priorities of the Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda (TBHA), which were identified through discussions with Tribal leaders, Tribal administrators, and Tribal members. It is organized around five foundational elements: historical and intergenerational trauma, a socio-cultural-ecological approach, prevention and recovery support, behavioral health systems and support, and national awareness and visibility. It also includes cross-cutting considerations and additional considerations for collaboration. The TBHA is not an exact map but an initial step toward driving action in the same direction and along a common path.

This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration guide focuses on the process of adapting evidence-based practices (EBPs) for under-resourced populations who experience obstacles in obtaining healthcare services because of their socio-demographic characteristics, and the research supporting such adaptations. The guide provides examples of research on adapted EBPs for mental health and substance use disorders for clients with a wide range of demographic characteristics.

The U.S. Congress temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide economic assistance for families with children. Between July and December 2021, CTC increased the amount of money they provided per child and the eligibility criteria was expanded to reach more economically disadvantaged families. Using data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey and a quasi-experimental study design, this Health Affairs article examines the effects of the expanded CTC on mental health and related outcomes among low-income adults with children, and by racial and ethnic subgroup.

The influence of welfare and family self-sufficiency programs on a range of social well-being outcomes has received limited focus in research and evaluation. Therefore, the Measuring SUCCESS project, funded by The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE), conducted focus groups with 44 caregivers to hear from them on how self-sufficiency programs and policies relate to families’ social well-being. This OPRE brief provides caregivers who contributed to the focus groups with a summary of how the research team incorporated their voice into the project. Several themes emerged from the caregiver focus groups, including mental health, nonfamilial families, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families’ successes as well as challenges.

A noncustodial parent may be obligated to pay child support to help with the costs associated with raising the child. However, most parents receive less than the amount they are owed. Parents who do not make their child support payments can be subject to enforcement measures that might lead to arrest or jailing, but there is little evidence that such actions lead to increased child support payments. The Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt (PJAC) was developed by the Office of Child Support Service to integrate principles of procedural justice into enforcement practices in six child support agencies as an alternative to standard contempt proceedings. This MDRC report describes the PJAC demonstration and the impact it has on noncustodial parents.

Peer support programs offer services and support delivered by individuals who have been through similar experiences - such as navigating the child welfare system or caring for relatives. However, despite their demonstrated efficacy and their unique ability to build trust with children and families, most peer support programs serving families in and around child welfare cannot access the key funding and support opportunities available to other programs. This Generations United resource explains what peer support looks like in child welfare and provides evidence of the effectiveness of peer support.

To truly take an anti-racist approach to prevention, child welfare and safety net policies must address the organizational structures and injustices contributing to and perpetuating underlying economic and concrete needs of children and families. This Center for the Study of Social Policy brief highlights policies that can make a significant impact for children and families when implemented as part of a multi-pronged approach to supporting the needs of children and families outside of child welfare.

In January 2021, Ascend at the Aspen Institute launched the Two-Generation Prenatal-to-Three Learning and Action Community (2GP3 LAC). The 2GP3 LAC set out to reimagine the child welfare field’s approach to child protection to reflect a preventive, strengths-based, whole-family orientation by drawing on provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act and local, state, and tribal efforts to more effectively align early childhood and health funding, systems, and services. This recording from the 2023 Ascend Forum includes the 2GP3 LAC researchers and their lessons for centering prevention and upstream solutions in systems of care for families. This recording is accompanied by their report, ‘Reimaging Child Welfare: A Networked Approach to Family Well-Being.’