Studies show much higher rates of physical health issues and mental health and/or substance use disorders among populations experiencing homelessness than among people who are stably housed. This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration guide provides strategies and implementation considerations for behavioral health providers and other practitioners to engage people currently experiencing homelessness and includes four case studies to highlight strategies for providing treatment and recovery support services to people experiencing both unsheltered and sheltered homelessness.

There are approximately 1 million new disaster displacements in the United States every year that often leave people with critical human services needs. A webinar was held on February 28, 2023 where speakers from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, the Office of Human Services Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Mathematica presented findings from the report, Human Service Needs and Disaster Displacement. Topics covered included what disaster displacement looks like and who is most affected by it, what the human services needs are for those displaced by disaster, and how human services are delivered to people displaced by disasters.

The first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic put extraordinary demands on program administrators and front-line staff members, as service delivery methods and client needs rapidly changed. Workers providing essential services during this stressful period were in need of extra social and emotional support themselves, and managers scrambled to find ways to create work environments that were more sensitive to staff well-being. This blogpost illustrates a self-care plan that managers can use to support their teams. A downloadable self-care worksheet template is also provided.

Congress established the John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood, known as Chafee, in 1999. Chafee provides support to assist young adults transitioning out of the foster care system until they turn 23 years old, the same age when a young person who has experienced foster care stops receiving any federal support from the child welfare system. Chafee was one of the first pieces of legislation to call attention to the distinct needs of young people transitioning out of the foster care system and sheds light on the shortage of federal investments dedicated to this critical transition when many young adults struggle with unemployment, homelessness, and other challenges. This blogpost presents four lessons that could help Chafee better prepare transition-age young people for stability and success in adulthood.

Case management is an important and required element of SNAP E&T programs. This session from the SNAP E&T 2022 National Forum shared findings from the Food and Nutrition Service’s Survey of SNAP E&T Case Management study, which included a national survey of SNAP agencies and four case studies to learn about case management implementation and best practices. In the presentation from the session, representatives from Arkansas’ Division of Workforce Services, Adult Education Section and Oregon’s Department of Human Services shared how they provide case management to SNAP E&T participants and discussed their best practices and lessons learned.

When people struggle to make ends meet, public benefit programs have the potential to help them meet their basic needs for food, housing, health care, and cash. Yet many families and individuals do not participate in the programs that could help meet their needs and for which they are eligible. This report presents a menu of strategies that have the potential to increase access to individual public benefit programs or a package of benefits. Strategies for improving public benefit access can involve revising service delivery practices and processes, changing state or local policies, or using or improving technology. The report focuses on Illinois, but the strategies identified are relevant throughout the country.

On February 1, 2023, The Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Community Services (OCS) observed National Energy Assistance Day, which focused on reaching potential beneficiaries for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). In support of this observance, OCS released the LIHEAP Heating Season Toolkit. This toolkit contains outreach materials including an animated video about LIHEAP heating services, outreach flyers, a fact sheet on safe and unsafe heating practices, and a social media toolkit, all intended to help LIHEAP grant recipients, stakeholders, and partners ensure that available LIHEAP funding reaches households that need assistance with their heating costs this winter.

Over 3.2 million North Carolinians are poor or near poor, and many more experience economic instability and challenges over time. This report examines the ways that women in North Carolina are caught in the crosshairs of irreconcilable social and economic demands. Hundreds of thousands of women were forced last year to forgo job opportunities, experienced employment disruptions, or lost a job because of lack of affordable childcare.

Building on previous work developing a roadmap for system-level change to better support young families, the American Public Human Services Association established the System Alignment for Young Families Learning Academy (SAYF) to support cross-systems teams from state and local human services agencies in establishing a System Alignment Plan to support young families. This blogpost notes how the SAYF Learning Academy was launched in March 2022 with six cross-sectional teams that included parent leadership representing Maryland, Maricopa County (Arizona), Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, and Wake County (North Carolina). Through the development of targeted practice tools, peer-to-peer learning, and individualized planning, the teams worked to advance system alignment, so that young families experience seamless service delivery that meets their individual needs. An infographic in the blogpost spotlights each team’s vision statement.

The economic and health effects of COVID-19 continue to linger for low- and moderate-income communities and communities of color, and organizations serving these communities also continue to feel the strain of COVID-19. While there were lower levels of pandemic-related effects in many segments of the economy relative to 2021 and there are signs of slow stabilization and recovery, to promote a true recovery that benefits these communities, it is important to monitor the conditions and needs of the organizations who serve those affected most.

As part of its Connecting Communities webinar series, the Federal Reserve System will host a discussion on February 9, 2023 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET on findings from the National COVID-19 Community Impact Survey administered by the Federal Reserve System. The survey tracks the significant impact that the pandemic has had on underserved communities and those who support them. Participants will hear perspectives from those working on the frontlines in distressed communities and how organizations can use this data to advocate for themselves and those that they serve.