Linking government data between different agencies and departments is a powerful strategy to connect people to valuable benefits that they might otherwise miss. By linking data, the California Policy Lab helped the state of California measure how many Californians receiving safety-net benefits were at risk of not receiving federal stimulus payments, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, and the advanced Child Tax Credit – resulting in millions of dollars of federal aid delivered to non-filing Californians. This toolkit provides step-by-step guidance for government leadership and their staff on how to develop and execute cross-departmental data linkages by focusing on a case study on increasing the take-up of anti-poverty tax credits.

This blogpost highlights a new partnership between the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Chief Probation Officers of California that supports strategies to change juvenile probation in California. The partnership is exploring how county-level probation can work with community partners to connect young people to the guidance, opportunities and support they require to thrive at home. The partnership will include training and other technical assistance to county probation leaders and staff.

This report documents the first phase of a multiphase initiative to identify and invest in California’s “high road employers,” whose business models emphasize worker power, job quality, and career advancement. It includes the worker-led development of a new framework for assessing job quality and an interactive tool to help employers design rewarding and fulfilling jobs that reflect worker experiences and perspectives.

This collection of resources includes research, promising programs, tools, and guides that can be used to support returning citizens and those with a criminal record to enter registered apprenticeships. The compendium features programs targeting returning citizens: the Next Chapter IT Apprenticeships; the Flintridge Center Apprenticeship Preparation Program; Greyston Bakery; the VICE Media Group Media, Production, and Technology Apprenticeships; Jails to Jobs (California); and the Iowa Department of Corrections Apprenticeship.

This report reviews the use of technology-based learning (TBL), covering employability or soft skills, basic literacy and numeracy, technological literacy, job search skills, and occupational training and certification. It also examines approaches used to increase remote access for TBL, perceived barriers in implementing TBL at American Job Centers, and the American Job Center staff perceptions of the effectiveness of existing TBL services. The report is based on site visits at five state workforce agencies (in Massachusetts, Kentucky, Utah, Minnesota, and California) and nine American Job Centers in these states as they were developing policies for expanding the use of TBL.

This report examines family treatment courts (FTCs) that address the needs of families affected by substance use disorders. FTCs coordinate service delivery from child protective services, treatment professionals, court personnel, and community partners; this coordination helps ensure that children have safe, nurturing, and permanent homes, parents achieve stable recovery, and each family member receives needed services and supports. The report covers key FTC components, including multisystemic collaborative approaches, governance structures, and integrated and parallel program models, and presents FTC examples in Jefferson County, Colorado; King County, Washington; and Sacramento County, California.

This report examines how organizational culture, office design, and office procedures contribute to the client experience with TANF, the services offered, and the potential outcomes. It highlights examples of productive client-oriented office settings, organizational processes and culture, and the day-to-day influence of organizational culture on clients and frontline staff. The report’s findings are drawn from field interviews and observations at six TANF offices: Fairfax County’s Department of Family Services (Virginia); Mesa County’s Workforce Center (Colorado); New York City’s Human Resources Administration (New York); Owens Valley Career Development Center’s Tribal TANF Program (California); Santa Cruz County’s Human Services Department (California); and the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

This report presents findings of the First 5 California (FSCA) Home Visiting Workforce Study; it includes data and demographics to characterize home visitors and their supervisors, the implementation supports that exist for home visiting staff, and program needs for workforce recruitment, training, and retention of home visitors. The report is based on a survey of more than 900 home visiting staff members at 171 home visiting programs statewide.

Tipping Point Community, a nonprofit organization in the Bay Area, initiated the Chronic Homelessness Initiative (CHI) in 2017 (a $100 million private investment) with a goal of halving chronic homelessness in San Francisco within five years. CHI’s approach utilizes three strategies: increasing placements to permanent housing for persons experiencing homelessness, preventing persons from becoming chronically homeless, and changing systems that sustain homelessness and with which people experiencing chronic homelessness frequently interact. This brief evaluates CHI’s progress toward these goals in 2020 and identifies challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic created, including a decrease in permanent supportive housing unit placements and in agency and staff capacity to support the needs of persons with chronic homelessness. The brief also points to what steps CHI will take in 2021 and 2022 to meet the initial goals set in 2017. This evaluation is drawn from analysis of publicly available data from the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, data reported to Tipping Point from its grantees, and interviews with Tipping Point staff members, grantees, community advisory board members, and government and community partners.

This November 2018 webinar by California Partnership to End Domestic Violence provided information on its Youth in the Lead 2019 campaign that addressed teen dating violence. It provided insights on how the Partnership focuses on youth expertise by collecting actual peer organizing strategies youth have used to address teen dating violence and promote healthy relationships. The speakers also provided best practices that organizations have used to develop connections with the broader community.

(See also Resources on "intimate partner violence" in the Resource Library)