This continuously updated set of resources from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration includes upcoming and recorded webinars to address training and technical assistance available for substance abuse counselors and mental health professionals for supportive practice during the current COVID-19 crisis. Resources are offered from the Mental Health Technology Transfer Centers, the Addiction Technology Transfer Centers, the Prevention Technology Transfer Centers, the Center of Excellence for Protected Health Information, and the Providers Clinical Support System.

The continuously updated Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website offers guidelines on how to protect yourself against COVID-19, its symptoms, and what to do if you are sick. The website features information on CDC responses and ways to limit exposure to COVID-19 in public and at home.

This blogpost illustrates ways that service providers and states are implementing remote services in light of COVID-19, including virtual home visits, which mirrors approaches used in telemedicine and telecounseling. Options that are discussed include video calls, texting and messaging apps, and online content for parent engagement. The blogpost also notes the adjustments and limitations that families and home visitors might have to implement these virtual options.

The Community Action Partnership has identified several links to guidance and resources for minimizing coronavirus risks within the national Community Action network. Guidance on managing coronavirus risks is offered by the Community Action Program Legal Services (CAPLAW). There are also guidance letters on the Community Services Block Grant program and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, as well as resources on paid leave, Head Start, weatherization programs, and other areas that address the needs of lower-income persons and communities.

This U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service webpage summarizes actions the USDA has taken to ease program operations and protect the health of USDA nutrition program participants in response to COVID-19. Guidance and waiver information granting states flexibility and contingencies to best serve participants are provided for the 15 USDA nutrition programs, including WIC and SNAP.

The Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families has shared links to directly related resources on COVID-19 for child welfare workers and the clients they serve. Information available includes guidance on procurement for personal protective equipment, casework visit requirements during COVID-19 response, conducting effective remote hearings in child welfare cases and court improvement programs to assist dependency courts, and postponement of Title IV-E Foster Care Eligibility reviews.

This strategy brief discusses how safety culture can assist child protection agencies in shifting their organizational culture to one characterized by open staff conversation; in this environment, staff feedback is valued and important in addressing their organizations’ concerns. One way to strengthen safety culture is through effective mindful organizing, described not only as staff’s understanding of their work, but also of their colleagues’ capabilities, which according to studies, results in reduced staff turnover and positive outcomes for children and their families. The brief highlights mindful organizing strategies used by child protection agency staff in Tennessee, including huddles and debriefs.

This letter from the Acting Commissioner of the Office of Child Support Enforcement provides guidance on how individual tax rebates made under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to eligible noncustodial parents are subject to intercept for past-due child support payments. It also notes that TANF or Title IV-E foster care cases must have at least $150 in past-due support for the offset requirement to apply; non-TANF and non-Title IV-E cases must have at least $500 of past-due support for the offset requirement to apply.

This podcast, part of the Skilled America Podcast weekly series, offers a field report on how the Center for Employment Opportunities in New York and JEVS Human Services in Philadelphia are addressing increased demand for re-entry services as the jail and prison populations reduce to slow the spread of COVID-19. The podcast includes an interview with a JEVS Looking Forward Philadelphia program participant who shares his experiences in re-entry and what supports returning citizens need now and beyond their current circumstances.

This evaluation report provides summary findings of the Regional Partnership Grant (RPG) Program. Awarded by the Children’s Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families, RPG grants are partnerships between child welfare providers, entities that offer substance abuse disorder treatment, and other social service agencies that enhance child welfare for those children who are in or at risk of out-of-home placement because of a parent’s or caretaker’s substance abuse disorder. The study assesses results from 17 partnerships in 15 states that were initially funded in 2012. Continuing evaluations will be made for partnerships funded in 2014, 2017, 2018 and 2019.