Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need various supports to navigate the challenges they face. Recently, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of these supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program. This amendment increased funds available to states for independent living services including training in daily living skills, education and employment assistance, counseling, and case management. Although these funds can be spent on a wide range of services and supports, much of the funding is being spent on services aimed at promoting educational attainment, which has become increasingly essential to economic self-sufficiency and better lifelong outcomes.

This publication explains key provisions and implementation dates for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). It provides stakeholders with different opportunities to implement the provisions and programs enumerated in the Act.

On Tuesday, March 24, 2015, the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Technical Assistance Team conducted a webinar entitled, “Keeping the Ship Afloat: Reducing Staff Turnover and Building Stability Systems.” The webinar provided context, challenges, and solutions associated with retaining staff and managing transitions. Featured speakers discussed promising practices and lessons learned from research and a veteran program with extensive experience. HMRF also released a factsheet that highlights effective strategies programs can use to retain staff and maintain services during staff transitions. Additionally, a supplemental checklist provides tools to manage and maintain staff commitment to the program.

This post from a TANF program specialist at the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) describes OFA’s efforts in improving TANF programs across the country. To share ideas about improving case management, integrating two-generation approaches, engaging workforce partners, and enhancing training, OFA has launched a national policy academy. The first groups to enter the academy are Connecticut, Colorado, Maryland, North Carolina, Ramsey County (Minnesota), Utah, Washington, and West Virginia.

Welcoming America’s Fostering Community Engagement and Welcoming Communities Project provides technical assistance to the nation's refugee resettlement network. The project offers new tools and support to create a robust community of practice across refugee agencies, mainstream providers, and geographic communities. It enhances and sustains resettlement work in local communities; builds new partnerships; promotes a positive community climate; and ensures the successful integration of refugees in cities and towns across the US.

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor sought to further support the development of high-quality career pathways systems by jointly soliciting information and recommendations from a broad array of stakeholders in the public and private sectors, as well as in State, regional, tribal, and local areas.

This job driven training checklist consists of seven elements that were identified from evidence-based and promising practices for strengthening the workforce to meet the needs of employers and connecting workers with good jobs.

A report and supplemental video from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce discuss the projection that there will be 1.6 job openings for nurses through 2020. However, it is also projected that the U.S. will face a shortfall of 193,000 nursing professionals. The report presents workforce trends and demographics to estimate the supply and demand of nurses over the next several years.

As part of Policy Futures, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) examines what works in terms of federal and state policies and programs to reduce poverty and promote opportunity for low-income populations. This resource synthesizes the findings of poverty researchers around the country on program effectiveness. This effort seeks to inform discussions about new investments in poverty reduction programs, as well as reforms of existing programs.

This series of policy briefs focuses on three basic TANF components: cash assistance, block grants, and work participation rates. The briefs, geared toward policymakers, practitioners, and advocates within all levels of government, explain the components and describe the changes and adaptations to TANF since its inception in 1996.