Those with lived experience in child welfare have a unique, firsthand perspective on issues that can inform partnerships, policies, and solutions that best meet the needs of children and families. Child welfare agencies and organizations should prioritize collaborating with individuals who have lived experience to gain a better understanding of how people are affected by the social issue. This podcast features a panel discussion from the 2022 Child Welfare Virtual Expo. Topics discussed included actionable ways to engage in authentic, nonexploitative storytelling endeavors with those with lived expertise, and strategies to authentically engage people with lived experience and mitigate harm.

Studies show much higher rates of physical health issues and mental health and/or substance use disorders among populations experiencing homelessness than among people who are stably housed. This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration guide provides strategies and implementation considerations for behavioral health providers and other practitioners to engage people currently experiencing homelessness and includes four case studies to highlight strategies for providing treatment and recovery support services to people experiencing both unsheltered and sheltered homelessness.

There are approximately 1 million new disaster displacements in the United States every year that often leave people with critical human services needs. A webinar was held on February 28, 2023 where speakers from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Mathematica presented findings from the report, Human Service Needs and Disaster Displacement. Topics covered included what disaster displacement looks like and who is most affected by it, what the human services needs are for those displaced by disaster, and how human services are delivered to people displaced by disasters.

The first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic put extraordinary demands on program administrators and front-line staff members, as service delivery methods and client needs rapidly changed. Workers providing essential services during this stressful period were in need of extra social and emotional support themselves, and managers scrambled to find ways to create work environments that were more sensitive to staff well-being. This blogpost illustrates a self-care plan that managers can use to support their teams. A downloadable self-care worksheet template is also provided.

Congress established the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, known as Chafee, in 1999. Chafee provides support to assist young adults transitioning out of the foster care system until they turn 23 years old, the same age when a young person who has experienced foster care stops receiving any federal support from the child welfare system. Chafee was one of the first pieces of legislation to call attention to the distinct needs of young people transitioning out of the foster care system and sheds light on the shortage of federal investments dedicated to this critical transition when many young adults struggle with unemployment, homelessness, and other challenges. This blogpost presents four lessons that could help Chafee better prepare transition-age young people for stability and success in adulthood.

Case management is an important and required element of SNAP E&T programs. This session from the SNAP E&T 2022 National Forum shared findings from the Food and Nutrition Service’s Survey of SNAP E&T Case Management study, which included a national survey of SNAP agencies and four case studies to learn about case management implementation and best practices. In the presentation from the session, representatives from Arkansas’ Division of Workforce Services, Adult Education Section and Oregon’s Department of Human Services shared how they provide case management to SNAP E&T participants and discussed their best practices and lessons learned.

Current employment data shows that there are over 10 million job openings but only 5.7 million unemployed workers; if every unemployed person in the country found a job, there would still be 4 million open jobs. This dataset from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s America Works Data Center identifies the trends on job openings, labor force participation, and quit rates, which provides for a quick understanding of the state of the workforce. The U.S. Chamber also has made available an interactive map tracking the worker shortage across the states, as well as an in-depth look at how the worker shortage is impacting different industries.

A program model offers a visual roadmap that illustrates the intended destination of a program and identifies how practitioners can get there. Program models describe the key elements of an intervention, including what it takes to implement it, the intended results it should have in the short and longer term, and any external factors that might influence implementation. Multiple groups can use a program model for different purposes, including practitioners, program or curriculum developers, policy makers, and researchers. Program models can serve as useful tools for these audiences throughout a program’s lifecycle, including to support planning, monitoring, and/or evaluating the program. This tip sheet describes for practitioners what a program model is, how one can be used, and some examples of how to use a program model in the context of a specific youth program. It includes a checklist that guides practitioners through planning, monitoring, and evaluating a program.

Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) programming is designed to teach participants how to communicate effectively, manage conflict, identify signs of an unhealthy relationship, and other skills important for developing and maintaining healthy relationships. While research evaluating HMRE programming effectiveness shows that programming often has positive impacts, research also points out that many program participants face additional life stressors that may interfere with healthy couple relationships and family functioning. This brief uses data from a sample of Hispanic couples who participated in an HMRE evaluation to show the prevalence of some of the key economic, demographic, and personal stressors that research identifies as predictive of relationship quality. Some of the key findings of the study reflect that some stressors cannot be eliminated by HMRE programs, and that other stressors (e.g., housing hardship or poor health) can be addressed by utilization of other social service programs, such as TANF, Medicaid, or subsidized housing.

When people struggle to make ends meet, public benefit programs have the potential to help them meet their basic needs for food, housing, health care, and cash. Yet many families and individuals do not participate in the programs that could help meet their needs and for which they are eligible. This report presents a menu of strategies that have the potential to increase access to individual public benefit programs or a package of benefits. Strategies for improving public benefit access can involve revising service delivery practices and processes, changing state or local policies, or using or improving technology. The report focuses on Illinois, but the strategies identified are relevant throughout the country.