The Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families has released critical documents to inform State, Tribal and Territorial Title IV-B and IV-E agencies and Indian Tribes and Indian Tribal Organizations of the enactment of the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 and to provide basic information about the provisions of this law.

At the request of the Maryland Department of Human Resources, this Site Visit was initiated to visit a training center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in order for Maryland to begin developmental strategies for a program of similar services. The goal of this Site Visit was to assist Maryland in exploring the types of education and training facilities that assist unemployed and underemployed individuals with career opportunities to increase their skill set and earning potential.

This presentation was given by Debra J. Rog, Ph.D at the Eleventh Annual Welfare Research and Evaluation Conference, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. The Center for Economic Opportunity received an evaluability assessment, which measured the extent to which the program is ready for an implementation or outcome evaluation. This presentation outlines common themes that came out of the assessment.

This report is a feasibility assessment, which is an analysis of alternative datasets and analytic approaches that might be used to assess the effects of Hurricane Katrina on populations served by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This report shows the continuing needs and programs needed to serve the population. Additionally, authors identify lessons learned that can help improve service delivery in future disasters.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released an effective toolkit for sustainability ideas and practices for faith-based and community organizations. It covers topics such as financial planning, fund development and raising, evaluations, and marketing strategies.

This report was funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and provides data from a survey of 1,200 faith-based and secular nonprofit social service agencies. The results show FBOs that integrate religious elements into service delivery and secular nonprofit organizations are more accessible to poor populations than FBOs that do not integrate religious elements into service provision. FBOS are currently providing the safety net to support TANF leavers on a path to self-sufficiency.

Authored by ICF International, this paper was funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance. The paper presents the preliminary findings from an ongoing U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sponsored study of successful TANF and Faith-Based and Community Organization partnerships. First, overviews of five partnerships are presented, then common themes among them are identified, and finally the implications are discussed for possible future collaborations in social services provision for low-income and at-risk families.

This report was funded through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice and completed through the Urban Institute. The Gang Reduction Program is an initiative that is focused on reducing crime associated with youth street gangs in four urban areas across the United States. This report offers findings from the implementation process and outcome evaluation of the initiative.

This bibliography was prepared for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of a 12-month assessment that looks at the feasibility of studying the consequences of Hurricane Katrina for the ACF service populations. Authored by the Urban Institute, this piece offers a list of resources that address the human, social, and economic dimensions of the storm.

This report was completed for the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Researchers conducted a review of lessons learned on time limits under welfare reform. Data compiled includes an analysis of administrative data reported by states to ACF, information from site visits, and a comprehensive literature review.