This Mayo Clinic blogpost illustrates ways to recognize domestic violence in its many forms, including emotional, sexual, and physical abuse and threats of abuse. Further, the blogpost presents the cycle of an abusive situation, why the survivor should not take the blame in an abusive relationship, and challenges for special populations, and offers survivors tips on how to create a safety plan and where to find help.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) held the 2022 Regions V-VIII State TANF Virtual Meeting on July 19-21, 2022. This virtual event brought together TANF program representatives from OFA Regions V-VIII and focused on how programs can best address the needs of families beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting included sessions on TANF fundamentals and updates, how the shift to the virtual world has impacted TANF customers and agencies, and changes programs can make to improve their support of customers throughout their TANF journey.

Also, participants chose from concurrent peer-to-peer sessions to attend based on their role within their state (case management, data personnel, or administrative/leadership) to discuss topics including eligibility and work requirements, TANF essentials, the new normal, and refocusing the customer.

Linking government data between different agencies and departments is a powerful strategy to connect people to valuable benefits that they might otherwise miss. By linking data, the California Policy Lab helped the state of California measure how many Californians receiving safety-net benefits were at risk of not receiving federal stimulus payments, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the advanced Child Tax Credit – resulting in millions of dollars of federal aid delivered to non-filing Californians. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for government leadership and their staff on how to develop and execute cross-departmental data linkages by focusing on a case study on increasing the take-up of anti-poverty tax credits.

Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?

This brief, which was prepared in conjunction with PeerTA Podcast Episode 2: Combatting Compassion Fatigue, focuses on emerging issues related to compassion fatigue within the context of managing teams. The brief addresses the following questions: What is compassion fatigue and how may it affect the teams I manage? What are the factors that lead to compassion fatigue? How might I recognize compassion fatigue within my teams? As a manager, what steps can I take to help mitigate the effects of compassion fatigue? What can I learn from other TANF programs that implemented strategies to address issues associated with compassion fatigue?

This webinar presented a conversation between the National Community Action Partnership and U.S. Digital Response (USDR) about incorporating user-centered design elements into workflows and services to reach and serve communities more effectively. The hosts discussed the USDR’s partnership with the Empire Justice Center and how user-centered practices enabled delivery of financial services to low-income families throughout the pandemic. Overall, they offered a clearer vision for how to design work with a distinct focus on the end user, along with tangible tips, takeaways, and recommendations to humanize processes therein.

This blogpost profiles how Covenant House in New York City, the largest service provider for homeless youth, has used motivational interviewing techniques since 2018. These techniques have been shown to be particularly effective in helping this population deal with depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues. It also explains how the Annie E. Casey Foundation supported Covenant House partnering with mental health technology startup, Lyssn, to tailor their motivational interviewing artificial intelligence to a more diverse youth population. The software, which complies with federal health privacy law, records motivational interviewing sessions and uses an algorithm to evaluate the interviewer’s performance. Additionally, a chatbot app, ClientBot, was created to simulate interviewing scenarios that help Covenant House staff practice motivational interviewing techniques.

This report overviews the design and implementation of the New Start Career Network, a statewide program that assists older, long-term unemployed New Jerseyans. The report examines the rationale behind the program and its design, notes the collaborators involved, and discusses the program’s services, including a website, webinars, online tools, and career coaching. It also reviews approaches to engaging employers as well as recruiting members and coaches. In addition, lessons learned, recommendations, and key elements for serving long-term, unemployed job seekers are identified.

Supervision and coaching are vital opportunities to build workers’ skills. This virtual Coaching Tool gives supervisors key questions, guidance, and ideas about how to help workers assess and support Protective and Promotive Factors with youth. It reinforces and puts into action the Youth Thrive Framework and training content. The tool can be used in individual and/or group supervision, in conjunction with other supervisory models or approaches, or as part of training and professional development. Further, public agencies, non-profit and community-based organizations, and any place that provides youth services will find it useful.

Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?

This podcast explored a condition called compassion fatigue. Panelists included: Anna Tekippe, a clinician at the Center for Work Education and Employment in Denver; Santa Molina-Marshall, a holistic psychotherapist located in Washington, DC with expertise in compassion fatigue; and Gerrie Cotter, a project manager for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The panelists shared their experiences and knowledge about compassion fatigue, as well as effective strategies for combatting compassion fatigue within TANF programs and in other human services settings.

Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?

This brief, which was prepared in conjunction with PeerTA Podcast Episode 2: Combatting Compassion Fatigue, focuses on emerging issues from the perspective of a program staff member. The brief examines the following questions: What is compassion fatigue and why should I care about it? What are the factors that may lead to compassion fatigue and how might I recognize it? What steps can I take to help combat compassion fatigue and alleviate its effects? What can I learn from colleagues at other TANF programs about compassion fatigue?