The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) will convene the 2024 Research and Evaluation Conference on Self-Sufficiency (RECS) in person in Washington, DC on May 29–31, 2024. RECS 2024 will focus on programs, policies, and services that support families on the path to economic self-sufficiency. Presentations will feature research findings and their policy and practice implications for an audience that includes researchers, practitioners, state and local administrators, federal officials, and policymakers. Join OPRE for a virtual information session on Thursday, June 22, 2023 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET to hear more about the conference, conference tracks, proposal types, tips for preparing a successful proposal, and how to submit a proposal through the website.

The American Public Human Services Association’s Advancing Family Economic Mobility initiative is exploring innovative ways for agencies to dismantle systemic barriers and enable families and the communities they live in to thrive. While families receiving TANF work towards economic mobility, they can encounter employment barriers. One barrier—lack of reliable, affordable transportation—can impede access to services, education, training, and quality jobs, especially for those living in remote or rural areas with limited or no public transit. This webpage provides an overview of the transportation services landscape and highlights practical and promising applications that can alleviate the transportation burdens families face on their path to economic mobility.

To serve jobseekers effectively, employment and training programs may need to incorporate essential supportive services. These three Workforce System Strategies resources – Local Workforce Development Boards and Child Care, Evaluation of SNAP Employment and Training Pilots, and Implementing Healthcare Career Pathway Training Programs in Rural Settings – document supportive services such as childcare, training materials, transportation assistance, rental assistance, and work clothing to increase jobseeker abilities to access, prepare for, and obtain employment.

Supportive services are one of 14 program elements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) youth program that enable individuals to participate in WIOA activities. This second set of resources on providing supportive services to youth includes information on: addressing the needs of runaway or homeless youth; youth exiting the juvenile justice system; legal aid, including children’s law programs; transportation; domestic and intimate partner violence; and youth assessment and case management.

(See also Resources on "domestic violence" in the Resource Library)

April is National Child Abuse Prevention month. The 2024 theme is "Doing Things Differently: Moving from the Challenge to the Change,” which was designed to encourage Administration of Children and Families (ACF) partners to continue building communities that ensure families have access to fundamental supports, such as housing, food, transportation, and child care. This ACF resource highlights supporting families with a holistic perspective that recognizes the interdependence between parents and children, and offers outreach materials.

The 100% New Mexico Initiative is a community-led, data-driven approach to ensure all New Mexicans have access to vital services, including job training, transportation, and parent supports. Local communities are guided by a seven-step process to survey community members, assess results, and target evidence-informed solutions to resolve barriers to all community members accessing vital services. This Chapin Hall research brief series describes the baseline results from 6,549 local community members from 11 counties about barriers they face accessing vital services.  

Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Accounts are tax-advantaged savings accounts that are available to eligible individuals with disabilities. ABLE account funds can be used for "qualified disability-related expenses" (QDE). A QDE is any expense the beneficiary incurs because of the disability. These may include expenses related to education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, or other expenses that help improve health, independence and/or quality of life. This Social Security Administration blogpost explains who is eligible for an ABLE account, what the funds are used for, and the effect it has on Social Security disability benefits.

This Chapin Hall research brief series evaluates the 100% New Mexico Initiative, a community-led, data-driven approach to ensure all New Mexicans have access to vital services, including job training, transportation, and parent supports. Local communities are guided by a seven-step process to survey community members, assess results, and target evidence-informed solutions to resolve barriers to all community members accessing vital services. The model was designed to alleviate adverse childhood experiences by targeting root causes by ensuring that all people have equitable access to services. 100% New Mexico is designed to develop leaders who have the skills and resources necessary to advocate with decision makers about the fundamental rights of children and families. These briefs describe the collective impact approach, a method to evaluate progress, and results from the first set of counties who surveyed local community members about barriers to accessing vital services.

The Urban Institute will host a webinar on October 13, 2021 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET to explore persistent rural poverty, which occurs in one in seven rural counties and leaves rural and Native communities lacking capital, quality jobs, housing, infrastructure, and services. The webinar includes presentations from six rural community development financial institutions on what has worked to transform the rural and Native areas they serve into opportunity and the challenges that remain. Speakers include representatives from the Rural Community Assistance Corporation, HOPE, Oweesta Corporation, Fahe, cdcb, Communities Unlimited, and the Urban Institute.