This National League of Cities issue brief identifies the challenges that mental illness, substance abuse, and homelessness present to local communities. The brief profiles innovative approaches that city leaders have taken, including first responder-provider partnerships, first responder-led referral programs, and regional dedicated emergency psychiatric facilities. Examples are presented of how these approaches are tailored to the unique community needs in Seattle, Washington; Gloucester, Massachusetts; and Alameda County, California.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation literature survey identifies research conducted by the Division of Child and Family Development in fiscal year 2018. It covers projects that examine early childhood research, child care, Head Start and Early Head Start, child welfare, human trafficking, and cultural diversity.

This Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation research-to-practice brief identifies examples of self-regulation skills, based on personality factors, emotional skills and cognitive skills, how coaches collaborate with low-income persons to set and pursue goals, and how employment outcomes are set as a result of the employment coaching interventions.

(See also Resources on "executive function" or "executive functioning" in the Resource Library)

This report identifies the state of current research on the prevalence of opioid use disorder and treatment services among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants and the TANF-eligible population. Additional emphasis is provided on how opioid use disorder negatively affects work-readiness and employment attainment. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, this project aims to improve economic well-being and increase TANF agencies’ knowledge base. This report is based on a literature review of opioid use disorder treatment strategies and information on the effects of opioids in the TANF, TANF-eligible, and low-income populations.

This study from the University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research analyzed the long-term consequences of severity, frequency, and timing of food insecurity exposure in childhood on health and health care utilization later in adulthood, based on approximately 20 years of data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Study findings highlight how young adults experiencing childhood food insecurity have higher psychological distress, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status, parents’ health, overall health during childhood, and food insecurity during adulthood. The study points out how receiving SNAP benefits during childhood reduces the effects of childhood food insecurity on health when these children become adults.

This joint information bulletin, produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, provides models to address mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) related treatment services in schools. The bulletin also covers Medicaid state plan benefits that states might use to cover SUD related treatment services, as well as best practice models on implementing quality, evidence-based comprehensive mental health and SUD services for students.

This dataset from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is the 30th annual report that follows and ranks states on metrics related to child well-being. Particular focus is on four larger categories of trend analysis: economic well-being, education, family and community, and health. Additionally, there are individual state profiles with relevant data that are presented as user-friendly fact sheets.

Prepared for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, this Abt Associates literature review provides information on literature about housing models that can best serve persons with opioid use disorder who are either homeless or encounter housing instability.

This comprehensive dataset from the University of Kentucky’s Center for Poverty Research profiles state-level data on every state, reflecting numbers, rates, amounts, and/or percentages of population; employed and unemployed individuals; three food insecurity levels; personal income; low-income uninsured children; and recipients receiving workers’ compensation, AFDC/TANF, SNAP, SSI, Medicaid, and EITC credits from 1980 to 2017. This dataset was updated in May 2019 to reflect 2017 in this longitudinal data collection that assembles information from multiple sources into one place.

This Casey Family Programs issue brief looks at the use of peer mentors (“parent partners”) who work with parents entering in and engaging with the child welfare system. These parent partners have already encountered and worked with the child welfare system themselves, and the mentoring that they offer can encourage and instill hope for parents initially interacting with the system. The brief outlines these parent partner programs’ benefits and program research evaluation findings, and provides guidance on how these programs are structured and funded. It also provides brief summaries of three parent partner programs: Parents Anonymous^®, the Kentucky Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Team (START) Program, and Iowa’s Parent Partner Program.