The Office of Child Support Services (OCSS) is releasing a series of stakeholder resources that analyzes data from the 2023 Current Population Survey-Child Support Supplement (CPS-CSS). In 2023, the CPS-CSS added new questions for custodial parents about their experience working with the child support program. This OCSS resource explains the custodial parents experience with the child support program, and highlights reasons why parents reported difficulty accessing the child support program.

Based on input from state TANF programs during the 2023 National TANF Directors’ Meeting, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) developed five virtual Learning Collaboratives (LCs) on topics best addressed through a cohort-based, peer learning format. These LCs were designed to be a progressive series of interactive meetings that facilitated reflection, peer sharing, connection with experts, and human-centered design and planning activities to deeply explore facets of the collaborative topic. Sessions were held monthly from March to August 2024 for 60-90 minutes.

The Building Strategic Partnerships with Child Welfare Services LC was connected TANF professionals interested in building strategic partnerships with child welfare partners with experts and one another. It was designed to prepare states to partner with child welfare services to jointly explore a key area for upstream prevention, given the growing body of evidence demonstrating how the concrete and economic supports available through TANF can prevent and reduce families’ involvement with the child welfare system. Participating states included Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Alabama, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.

This OFA resource highlights the Building Strategic Partnerships with Child Welfare Services LC, including key takeaways and resources from each session as well as overall themes and future considerations for follow-up.

Based on input from state TANF programs during the 2023 National TANF Directors’ Meeting, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) developed five virtual Learning Collaboratives (LCs) on topics best addressed through a cohort-based, peer learning format. These LCs were designed to be a progressive series of interactive meetings that facilitated reflection, peer sharing, connection with experts, and human-centered design and planning activities to deeply explore facets of the collaborative topic. Sessions were held monthly from March to August 2024 for 60-90 minutes.

The Overcoming Barriers to TANF Participation LC gathered TANF program leaders motivated by the many families facing barriers to accessing TANF or needed financial support despite their eligibility. The LC provided the opportunity for states to connect with each other while learning new strategies that may increase TANF participation for greater family well-being. It was designed to encourage participants to take steps to identify a priority barrier to participation in their TANF program. Participating states and territories included New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Virgin Islands, Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Wyoming.

This OFA resource highlights the Strengthening Overcoming Barriers to TANF Participation LC, including key takeaways and resources from each session as well as overall themes and future considerations for follow-up.

The goal of the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) Economic Justice and
Domestic Violence Advisory Council is a long-term, in-depth collaboration of national experts in the domestic violence (DV) field working to advance survivors’ economic empowerment and financial well-being. NNEDV virtually gathered those working at the intersection of DV and economic justice to identify gaps and strategize ways to expand awareness and
solutions through recommendations. These recommendations include:

1. Expanding funding for culturally specific programs;
2. Increasing survivors’ access to flexible funds;
3. Employers should have a workplace policy specifically addressing DV;
4. DV programs and advocates should receive training in intimate partner violence and workplace safety; and
5. Reformations to public policies.

The Office of Family Violence Prevention and Services (OFVPS) leads Administration for Children and Families' comprehensive approach to domestic violence prevention and administers the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) to improve support for families and individuals experiencing violence and trauma. Each October, OFVPS recognizes Domestic Violence Awareness Month by standing in solidarity with survivors, their loved ones, advocates, and communities to mourn those whose lives have been lost to domestic violence; to celebrate the accomplishments to end and prevent further violence; and to connect with others leading this movement to transform communities to be more inclusive and supportive of all individuals and families fleeing violence. FVPSA grant recipients hosted engaging events throughout October 2024.

Please note that the OFVPS 2024 DVAM Calendar of Events includes recordings of the events and presentations.

The Children’s Bureau released an Information Memorandum to increase awareness of the prevalence and impact of domestic violence on children, youth, and families. This resource highlights effective strategies to support families impacted by domestic violence and encourages titles IV-E and IV-B agencies to enhance partnerships with Family Violence Prevention and Services Act grant recipients, State Domestic Violence Coalitions, tribal programs, culturally specific domestic violence programs, community-based organizations focused on supporting families impacted by domestic violence, and other critical service providers to improve outcomes for children, youth, and families impacted by domestic violence.

The National Association of Counties will host a webinar on November 12, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET to discuss the latest guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) services for youth detained in public institutions. Effective January 1, 2025, changes that stem from the Consolidated Appropriations Act (2023) will require states to amend their Medicaid and CHIP plans to provide essential medical, dental and case management services for eligible youth, before and after release. Presenters will discuss how these changes will impact county jails and how counties can collaborate with state health officials to ensure compliance and secure federal support.

In recent years, local, state, and federal child support offices started reexamining how their enforcement and collection roles can be paired with services that foster meaningful parental engagement and invest in the social and economic well-being of parents paying child support. In examining child support services, it is important to understand the reach they have throughout federal benefits. Across the continuum of human services programs, rules related to child support can impact whether someone qualifies for benefits, what amount they can receive, or the amount of child support they owe – including but not limited to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid, childcare, and child welfare. Often, federal and state policies’ options regarding child support practices are made by individual programs in distinct silos from each other. This American Public Human Services Association resource discusses strategies that can help create the enabling conditions for continued progress in re-centering state and local child support collaborations with other human services program areas.

Access to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits has been a challenge for all workers, but especially workers of color, workers with less formal education, lower-paid workers, younger workers, and workers with disabilities, who have all been less likely to apply for and receive benefits, even when potentially eligible. Building on community-based organizations’ role in connecting workers with UI benefits, the U.S. Department of Labor launched a three-year pilot “navigator” program in 2022. The program, funded through the American Rescue Plan Act, aimed to help state UI agencies develop community partnerships. This Center for American Progress report provides an evaluation of one of the navigator programs, Maine’s Peer Workforce Navigator (PWN) program. The PWN program received state funding supplemented by federal navigator grants for unions and other community organizations to help unemployed workers access public unemployment insurance benefits and job training benefits.

This Office of Research, Planning and Evaluation resource shares three strategies, identified from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation project report published earlier this year, to help program staff understand client needs better and improve client engagement. The resource uses examples from the report that details the approach that Monroe County in New York took to improve attendance at activities required by the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.