In this podcast from MDRC, researchers discuss behavioral science and how it can be used to improve the effectiveness and impact of social programs. They discuss these insights with a particular focus on child support programs.

Work-based learning includes workplace activities through which individuals gain the knowledge, skills, and experience needed for entry or advancement in a particular field. Though work-based learning provides many benefits for job-seekers, those opportunities are more likely to go to the more highly educated and socially connected segments of the population. This paper from Jobs from the Future offers strategies to implement effective models of work-based learning that expand access for the many populations who do not currently benefit.

The U.S. Department of Education wrote this blog post about five key parts of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Notably, WIOA will provide improved services for approximately 20 million people each year.

This toolkit from the Workforce Data Quality Campaign provides information for states to improve data infrastructure and promote the use of data. The toolkit includes details of state data policies, case studies, and legislative templates.

Cultural competence refers to “a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be developed over time in order to work with those who appear and may be different from us.” This addition to the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit provides tips for programs to integrate cultural competence into their activities and service delivery.

This newly revised toolkit from the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration now aligns with the new vision and requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Additionally, it incorporates promising practices in the career pathways field from throughout the past five years.

The Office of Family Assistance recently published the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload and application for the third quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. During that quarter, an average of 1.5 million families were receiving TANF and Separate State Program (SSP) assistance per month. This indicates a decrease of about seven and a half percent from the same time period in FY 2015.

The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) is the primary federal funding stream for State and Territorial Domestic Violence Coalitions, which coordinate state- and territory-wide improvements within local communities, social service systems, and programming regarding the prevention and intervention of domestic violence. Every Coalition provides comprehensive training and technical assistance on a multitude of social, legal, and economic issues that affect victims’ safety and well-being. Each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa, have a FVPSA-funded Domestic Violence Coalition. These coalitions are connected to more than 2,000 local domestic violence programs receiving FVPSA funding across the country. Every coalition provides comprehensive training and technical assistance on a multitude of social, legal, and economic issues that affect victims’ safety and well-being. Coalitions collaborate with government, private industry, non-profit organizations, faith-based communities, and other stakeholders to effectively coordinate and improve the safety net of services available to victims and their dependents.

The National Indigenous Women's Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native nonprofit organization that was created specifically to serve as the National Indian Resource Center (NIRC) Addressing Domestic Violence and Safety for Indian Women. Under this grant project and in compliance with statutory requirements, the NIWRC seeks to enhance the capacity of American Indian and Alaska Native (Native) tribes, Native Hawaiians, and Tribal and Native Hawaiian organizations to respond to domestic violence.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) published an Information Memorandum (IM) about opportunities for state and tribal TANF agencies to incorporate career pathways approaches, including how they can count toward the agency’s work participation rate requirement. The IM shares examples of TANF agencies that have partnered with community colleges and other stakeholders to provide TANF recipients with the education, training, and support they need to obtain careers in high-demand fields.