In this article, Matthew Doherty, Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness discusses the 2016 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress, Part 2. With Part 1 of the 2017 report recently released, the data in this report, also recently released, gives critical information around the scale of homelessness in the U.S. This summary includes an overview of the report with analysis.

In this conceptual framework and literature review, completed in partnership with OPRE and the Urban Institute, research on racial and ethnic differences and disparities are synthetized with the service delivery of six ACF programs, including TANF, Child Support, Child Care and Developmental Fund, Head Start, and the Family and Youth Service Bureau programs for runaway and homeless youth. The findings highlight the large body of work on racial and ethnic differences in access, services, and treatment.

This article looks at GIS, which is a powerful software tool that maps communities and can be helpful in examining racial and economic disparities in communities, and how it could assist in mapping homelessness assistance. GIS is easy to use and can incorporate data on a variety of variables from multiple sources. For example, it can overlay permanent housing destination on top of housing data quality to see if there are racial inequalities at play.

ETA is excited to announce the launch of a national cohort of states focusing on partnership of WIOA Titles 1 & 3, TANF Employment & Training and SNAP Employment & Training agencies and programs. This is a prestigious opportunity to work with your peers from across the country in an organized setting to tackle the challenges faced by states in leveraging funding and resources and integrating services—and explore models to develop an action plan to help advance your goals. Both states that consider themselves “leaders” and “learners” are encouraged to apply! This will be a highly engaging, peer learning cohort.

For more information, to request and submit applications, please contact cohorts@mahernet.com. Applications due by January 22, 2018.

This information sheet from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness examines rental market affordability as an indicator of the risk of homelessness in a community. Rental markets are key to preventing and ending homelessness, and this report also shares national data examining metropolitan, suburban, and urban area’s rental markets and their homelessness rates.

This report, provided to Congress annually from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), comes in two parts. The first, highlighted here, gives a snapshot of homelessness on a single night; these counts then serve as a baseline. The report also looks at youth under 25, veterans, and patterns in homeless populations.

This national issue brief, from the University of New Hampshire Casey School of Public Policy, highlights findings from examining housing challenges in several New England regions through interviews and focus groups. While discussing the effects of affordable housing options, the federal safety net, and the impact of second home owners in tourist economies, the report also provides policy and practice opportunities for the local, state, and federal government.

This factsheet from the Office of Child Support Enforcement discusses how employers can most effectively interact with the more than 560 federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native tribes in the U.S. It covers family structure, frequently asked questions around payments, and basics of tribal government structure. It also includes contact information for further questions.

This website includes a list of all sessions from the Community Action Partnership Annual Convention. It highlights topics such as a session from a keynote speaker, “Understanding the Relationship Between Race and Poverty in the Time of Othering.” Additionally, it includes sessions on practical tools for organizations, including fiscal workflow, using data effectively, and helping people get access to jobs, education, and housing. Evaluations from the sessions as well as a webinar library are also available.

This interactive tool from the Urban Institute allows users to look at a picture of their city’s financial health through wealth data, credit bureau information, and peer groups that highlight a city’s challenges and promising interventions. Since financially healthy residents can better contribute to the local economy, this is a useful tool for those who want to support their local communities.