This research brief outlines the "Building Strong Families" project, which aims at helping new, unmarried parents gain the skills necessary to build healthy marriages. The project was created with expected outcomes to enhance the wellbeing of children in low-income families.

From the National Poverty Center, this article addresses the importance of living arrangements for children as emphasized in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. Authors utilize longitudinal data to determine the effects of living arrangements on economic conditions for children and vice versa.

This special report is on family structure and children's well-being. It provides family structure breakouts for five indicators selected from the Population and Family Characteristics, Health, and Education sections of America's Children.

From the DC Kids Count Collaborative, this fact book reports on the wellbeing of children and families in Washington DC. It includes a report card that compares data from 2004 and 2005. For 2005, 22 out of 40 indicators changed for the better for children of DC, and 17 out of 40 changed for the worse.

Research from the National Center for Children in Poverty recently found that more than two out of every five children live in low-income families in the State of New York. Additionally, the income gap between the wealthiest families and the lowest-income families, residing in New York, is the largest in the nation. Despite receiving public benefits, including food stamps, public health insurance, and federal, state, and local income tax credits, many low-income families still struggle.

The ACF West-Central Hub Family Stabilization Workshop, held September 26 and 27, 2001, in Denver, CO, had three primary themes: Responsible Fatherhood, Faith-based and Community Initiatives, and Marriage and Family Stabilization. The Administration for Children and Families West-Central Hub includes Region VI (New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas) and Region VIII (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming). The objectives of the workshop were to introduce participants to successful programs in the three key areas, to encourage networking, and to serve vulnerable children and families by focusing on making lasting connections. Speakers from various programs and perspectives  shared promising practices, challenges, and lessons learned in the area of family stabilization.

ACF Pacific Hub's 2-day “Strengthening Families” conference drew more than 435 community, State, Tribal, and national leaders to Seattle to hear and discuss ways to implement ACF's new family initiatives. The conference featured more than 30 speakers and 20 workshop sessions and is believed to be the largest such gathering ever assembled by ACF. The audience included child and family advocates, academics, Head Start grantees, health care workers, social workers, religious leaders, Tribal representatives, and public policy administrators.

This report describes the Colorado Strengthening Families Conference held September 18 and 19, 2002, in Denver, CO. The Colorado Strengthening Families Conference was intended “to serve as an opportunity for leaders in the State to come together to share research, strategies, and programs that foster healthy families and promote long-term success in life and work.”

This report describes the ACF Dallas Regional Office’s Midwinter Leadership Conference held in Dallas, TX, on January 21-24, 2003. The theme of the Conference was “Leading the Way: Positive Educational, Social and Healthy Outcomes for Children.” The Conference addressed the following areas: positive youth development, improving children’s lives by encouraging responsible fatherhood and healthy marriages, community movements, and team approaches to TANF.

The training conference was to deliver training and education to program administrators to conform to Federal regulations, collaborate on faith- and community-based coordination, and to foster strategic plans for carrying out ACF's objectives. The conference sought to increase awareness of the priorities that contribute to the well-being of children and families.