An estimated 377,000 children are living in foster care. This staggering number is a measure of how we as a nation are faring in our responsibility to ensure that every child in every community has the opportunity to grow up in their own family connected to the people, places and cultures that will help them thrive. This Casey Family report shares examples of how communities are actively partnering with families to build the foundations of a better approach, how they are using new tools and approaches to better address the needs of families and children, and how they are investing effectively to ensure thriving families, safer children and supportive communities.

The Department of Labor announced up to $40 million in grants available for national out-of-school time organizations to expand local work-based learning opportunities, job training and career pathways for underserved youth during non-school hours. The Workforce Pathways for Youth demonstration grants will help these organizations partner with state or locally operated affiliate organizations that serve historically marginalized and underserved youth, ages 14 to 21. Priority will be given to organizations serving Native American youth.

Through the partnerships, out-of-school time organizations will introduce youth to career-related services, and provide work-based learning experiences and occupational skills training. They will also offer unsubsidized employment placements to increase opportunities for youth to gain the skills they need to be successful in post-secondary education and employment. The program also encourages partners across the workforce system to provide supportive services to address the mental health needs of participating youth.

This Chapin Hall report evaluates implementation of Multisystemic Therapy for Emerging Adults in Cook County, Illinois, which helps emerging adults with behavioral health needs reintegrate into community after time in an Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice youth center.

To meet the growing sector of clean energy’s labor force demands, employers and workforce development professionals are seeking new approaches to train workers quickly and more effectively. The Partnership on Inclusive Apprenticeship is an initiative funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy that seeks to expand access to one such approach: registered apprenticeships for people with disabilities in high-growth sectors, such as clean energy. This Urban Institute brief discusses the need and opportunities for building inclusive apprenticeships in the clean energy sector.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation is partnering with Urban Institute to conduct a study that seeks the perspectives of participants in programs funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies about:

• The environmental and climate exposures they and their communities face;
• How they view environmental and climate justice concerns;
• Mitigation and adaptation resources they can access or are aware of; and
• Additional resources and strategies useful to address these issues.

They are recruiting people participating in programs funded by the federal Administration for Children and Families and Administration for Community Living, as well as Community Action Agencies and other human services agencies. They seek participation from adults (18 and over) who are comfortable speaking English and live in different regions of the country so that a mix of climate change and environmental hazard contexts are represented.

The researchers are conducting the interviews and focus groups through July 2024 and are offering $50 gift card incentives to interview participants and $75 gift card incentives to focus group participants.

Review the flyers for additional information about participating in this study. Please contact Pam Winston at pamela.winston@hhs.gov or Anne Junod at ajunod@urban.org with any questions.

The Federal Partners in Transition is hosting a webinar on May 17, 2024 from 3:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET which will include a presentation that focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workforce, potential future use of AI, and current policy, regulations, and laws surrounding AI at the state and federal level. Presenters from the Office of Disability Employment Policy will lead a conversation on the intersection between AI and Disability Employment.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at Virginia Commonwealth University is hosting a webinar on May 22, 2024 from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET where Federal, State, and Tribal representatives will discuss effective models in service provision to Indigenous youth and young adults, including individuals with disabilities. There will be discussions on the challenges faced and the actions taken to form Indigenous Service Models. Examples of culturally-focused youth camps, WIOA-funded workforce programs, federal and state initiatives, and vocational rehabilitation best practices will be showcased.

Workforce Communities of Inquiry (WCI) is a flexible, replicable model that provides workforce development practitioners with the training, tools, and support needed to engage in community-driven research. The asset-based approach is designed to uncover specific behaviors, practices, and solutions that improve outcomes for a specific population or geography. Conversations held during the WCI pilot provides a better understanding of how occupational segregation is occurring across the Deep South and its impact on Black communities. The research also identifies immediate actions workforce organizations can take to improve the outcomes of Black learners and workers who utilize the public workforce system. This Jobs for the Future resource highlights key research insights and conversational themes that emerged during the pilot.

Child support programs across the country serve millions of families with low incomes. They establish paternity and child support orders, and they collect child support payments that can help increase family financial stability and contribute to positive long-term outcomes for children. However, many parents with child support obligations struggle to make regular payments. This can result in less financial support for their children, strained parenting relationships, and a potentially substantial accumulation of debt. This Building Evidence on Employment Strategies brief describes the efforts of two county child support agencies in Ohio to increase the availability of supportive services to parents who owe child support, with the goals of improving their employment outcomes, increasing their ability to meet their child support obligations, and improving their relationships with their children. This brief is a part of the BEES Project, which is studying a range of approaches to improve economic mobility and stability for families.

The YouthNPower: Transforming Care Collective launched the first direct cash transfer (DCT) pilot for youth transitioning from foster care in 2023 and designed with young people who have lived expertise in the child welfare system. This New York City pilot is part of a larger research and advocacy project to document the impact of unconditional cash support for young adults who have recently left the child welfare system to learn more about the conditions facing young people as they navigate life after foster care, and to advocate for policy and program changes that will enrich their lives and help them thrive. This Center for the Study of Social Policy recording highlights a panel that shared:

• An introduction to the intergenerational YouthNPower collective and its approach combining research, advocacy, and organizing;
• Information about the Direct Cash Transfer pilot design; and
• Preliminary findings of the pilot’s Participatory Action Research.