Providing access to tangible resources can strengthen families and communities by avoiding and de-escalating crises, reducing parental stress, increasing access to safe housing and reliable childcare, and ensuring children have the material items…

Partnerships between child care providers and food access initiatives are a promising approach to supporting young children’s nutrition. This brief illustrates two of these partnerships that received funding from the Walmart Healthier Food Access…

This brief highlights an evaluation of the Healthy Food Alliance for Early Education (HFAEE), a program designed to improve nutrition and health practices in early care and education centers and the homes of children facing food insecurity in St…

This set of briefs, organized by region and all 50 states and the District of Columbia, uses Census Household Pulse survey data to illustrate Child Tax Credit (CTC) receipt, payment usage, and changes in food security for families after the CTC…

This brief summarizes potential federal funding sources and programs that can be used to address barriers facing young parents and families, such as unemployment, disruption to education, financial instability, and lack of child care access,…

This Urban Institute research brief offers a set of demographic data and definitions that addresses misconceptions about the reach of U.S. safety net programs. In particular, the analysis distinguishes between “means tested” and universally received…

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) has initiated the Exploring Measurement of Performance Outcomes and Work Requirements in Programs Promoting Economic Independence (EMPOWERED) study, which examines the use of…

The merits of job training and apprenticeship programs are well known, but certain populations could stand to benefit more from these valuable tools if apprenticeship programs were expanded. Affordable child care and pre-…

This Urban Institute brief examines the experiences of clients applying for work supports, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Medicaid, and child care assistance. Applying for these benefits can be a daunting process…

This brief from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities provides a broad overview of research and evidence of the positive effect of public benefit programs on poverty rates in the U.S. Programs highlighted include SNAP, Medicaid, and refundable…