This updated interactive mapping tool highlights aspects of communities associated with safe children and strong families. The research-based framework, composed of select community indicators, is offered to communities nationwide. The tool maps community indicators at geographic levels defined by the user, from the state level to neighborhoods. Most indicators are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The tool was informed by significant evidence of the community factors correlated with child maltreatment and a healthy community framework developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Factors include child and family wellbeing, economics, education, and housing. The tool includes new indicators, such as COVID-19 data and resource accessibility, and breaks down many of the data indicators by race and ethnicity. Training videos on how to use the tool are available.

Parents can be reluctant to engage with child protection agencies since they realize these agencies are part of a system that can remove their children from their homes; however, it is crucial for agencies to develop meaningful engagement with these families, as engaging caregivers successfully in child welfare services has been associated with fewer placements in out-of-home care and less risk of repeat abuse. This research-to-practice brief cites motivational interviewing (MI) as a promising approach used by child protection practitioners to facilitate meaningful family engagement. Essential elements of MI are identified, including an authentic partnership between case manager and client based on nonjudgmental acceptance of the client, compassion for the client, and recognition of the client’s desire for change. The brief lists communication strategies such as asking open-ended questions that practitioners use in MI, and it concludes with a discussion of how the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency has used the MI approach.

This annual publication is a data almanac of TANF policies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through July 2019, contained within the Welfare Rules Database. It provides comprehensive guidance on long-term rule changes on cash assistance programs and state policies from 1996 to 2019.

Case management assists patients with substance use disorders (SUDs) by addressing other needs while allowing patients to focus on their SUD treatment and recovery. This Advisory is based on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) 27, Comprehensive Case Management for Substance Abuse Treatment. The Advisory surveys case management principles and models, explores why SUD treatment providers might consider implementing or expanding case management use, and lists case management resources and tools.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief summarizes findings from three different demonstration projects that are designed to support noncustodial parents: the Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration (ETJD), Parents and Children Together (PACT), and the Child Support Noncustodial Parent Employment Demonstration (CSPED). The evaluations assessed whether employment and other supportive services to disadvantaged noncustodial parents affect participants’ earnings, parental engagement, and ability to make child support payments. Findings from these projects showed significant impacts on improving noncustodial parents’ employment and earnings compared to prior evaluations of similar programs. ETJD and CSPED examined child support payments, and neither study found an impact on the amount of child support paid. However, unlike previous evaluation studies, PACT and CSPED, which had parenting workshops as a core service, generated positive impacts on father-child contact.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will hold a webinar on February 10, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to discuss research findings on how COVID-19 has affected the mental health and well-being of essential workers and parents with children who are distance learning. Jevay Grooms of Howard University will discuss her research on the mental health of essential workers, particularly among persons of color, and whose children are learning remotely. Anna Gassman-Pines of Duke University will present results from a survey on hourly workers with children and the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of these workers.

This brief analyzes the relationship between educational stability (measured by school enrollment and dropout rate) and justice involvement among youth of color. Using data from 2001 to 2016, the brief focuses on 10 California counties with the strongest relationships between educational stability and justice involvement. The brief also discusses possible uses of the data, which may include guiding funding sources’ investment in education and juvenile justice systems and other supports as protective factors from youth justice involvement.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will host a webinar on March 4, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ET to discuss the uses of CareerOneStop for individuals currently inside correctional facilities who will be returning to the community. The webinar will also cover pathways, tools, and resources to assist individuals with prior criminal records in engaging in employment and training activities. Presenters include representatives from ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) hosted a webinar on January 28, 2021 to demonstrate how CareerOneStop can provide virtual services to help job seekers find immediate employment and file for unemployment benefits. This webinar was a deeper dive into two CareerOneStop user pathways that were initially presented in the September 24, 2020 “Using CareerOneStop to Provide Virtual Career and Job Services” webinar. Presenters included representatives of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

This toolkit is a synthesis of a blogpost, reports, and links to previous webinars to offer health and human services leaders guidance as they design and evaluate programs targeting young families. The resources offered in this compendium are divided into several topics, including economic well-being, education, foster youth, mental health, pandemic response, policy, program design, and youth voice.