The Joyce Foundation launched Shifting Gears in 2007 to assist six Midwest states to increase the number of low-skilled adults with the education and skills they need to succeed in the 21st century economy. The Joyce Foundation extended Shifting Gears funding from 2012 – 2014 in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. These states had committed to expanding adult education bridge programs to increase the number of students transitioning into postsecondary education. This report examines the progress made in each state from 2012 – 2014, and also briefly reviews how the Shifting Gears work influenced the national discourse on increasing skills and credentials for adult learners.

Children born into low-income families are at greater risk of experiencing persistent poverty during their childhood and long-term negative effects on their health, financial success, and general well-being. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) offers an opportunity to achieve two-generational goals for parents and their infant children. However, underfunded services and barriers to access can hold parents back and make it harder for them to lift their families out of poverty. This report from CLASP recommends a new framework for thinking about TANF in the context of the first year of a child’s life.

This blog post discusses the recently announced $600,000 in awards to six tribal entities for a new round of Tribal Early Learning Initiative (TELI) grants. These grants allow tribal communities to coordinate their early learning and development programs and enhance the services offered to children and families from pregnancy through kindergarten.

OFA published data on TANF recipients in Fiscal Year 2013. Seventy-three tables provide data for FY 2013 of TANF program recipients by characteristics and financial circumstances.

This report from MDRC presents labor market trends and examines employment programs for disadvantaged youth over the past three decades. It aims to inform the search for solutions on the demand-side by discussing factors that may cause high unemployment rates among young adults, current evidence on employment-related interventions for young adults, and future directions for change involving greater employer involvement.

Strong English language skills open the doors to economic advancement and community involvement for immigrants and refugees, while strong basic literacy, numeracy, and technology skills are also important for adults to secure jobs and become self-sufficient. This webinar discussed how to meet the particular needs of parents of young children and immigrants in the workforce, ensuring equal access to services for those with low levels of education, and improving access to education and training opportunities for immigrants and refugees.

This blog post highlights the work of a Family and Youth Services Bureau grantee, the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP). ACAP partners with local teen pregnancy prevention groups and other stakeholders to provide more effective services to youth. In 2014, they found that most youth reported positive perceptions of their programs.

This report from the Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation (OPRE) provides a comprehensive framework for understanding self-regulation in context, using a theoretical model that reflects the influence of biology, caregiving, and the environment on the development of self-regulation. It is part of a four-part series that also discusses topics such as stress as related to toxic stress, self-regulation in the context of youth development, and implications for programs and practice.

Many programs within the Administration for Children and Families work with fathers to promote economic self-sufficiency and social well-being for them and their families. These programs may also implement rigorous research and evaluation projects designed to improve our understanding of how best to serve those fathers. This brief describes research and evaluation projects related to the Responsible Fatherhood grant program and noncustodial parents, and other research related to fathers and fatherhood.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance (OFA) hosted the OFA Peer Exchange Workshop: Strengthening Collaboration between TANF and WIOA, on September 21-22, 2015 in Bethesda, Maryland. Since TANF is included as a required partner with the workforce one-stop system under the new Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), this workshop brought together teams from states across the country to develop a plan for strong TANF and WIOA collaboration.