Chapin Hall and the American Public Human Services Association co-hosted a webinar on March 21, 2024 where they presented findings from their national survey of child welfare leaders. Presenters included the team that created and conducted the survey as well as the Acting Commissioner / Executive Deputy Commissioner for the New York State Office of Children and Families, who discussed barriers in aligning across human service agencies to better support families.

The earlier families attain stability, the better overall outcomes are for communities and individual families, and that is why investing in parents under the age of 24 and their children is key to building thriving communities. This American Public Human Services Association paper highlights key takeaways from their work with young families, providing an overview of the young families work and its early years, key takeaways along with highlights, and ending with opportunities for future work in the young families’ space.

The purpose of the Next Steps for Rigorous Research on Two-Generation Approaches (NS2G) project was to build the evidence base for two-generation approaches. Two-generation initiatives combine economic security services for parents with accessible, high quality early care and education for children, and hold promise for improving family well-being. In this recording, co-hosted by the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation and Ascend at the Aspen Institute, NS2G team members describe the work that two-generation initiatives conducted to strengthen approaches to intentionally coordinating services for caregivers and their children. Presenters shared tools and techniques that can be used by other two-generation initiatives to strengthen their approaches.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the HHS Task Force to Prevent Human Trafficking, released the National Human Trafficking Prevention Framework. Building on decades of work to prevent violence, this framework is a resource for organizations, communities and governments seeking to strengthen efforts to prevent human trafficking. It reflects research and best practices in violence prevention and health promotion, as well as the expertise of people who have experienced human trafficking and allied professionals.

A video announcing this framework is available, where co-chairs of the HHS Task Force to Prevent Human Trafficking, Acting Assistant Secretary Jeff Hild and Assistant Secretary Admiral Rachel Levine, discuss key elements of the Framework.

Interested in learning more about upcoming opportunities to #Partner2Prevent human trafficking? Sign up for updates from the Office on Trafficking in Persons.

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is working to strengthen the well-being of children, youth, and their families by integrating behavioral health services into the existing supports they rely on, such as social services and early childhood programs. This ACF announcement highlights the new behavioral health webpage that includes a tip sheet for parents and caregivers and a series of short videos about mental health.

The new behavioral health webpage includes audience-specific pages with resources about mental health and substance use for:

• Teens and young adults
• Parents and caregivers
• American Indian and Alaska Native Communities
• Service providers
• Grant recipients
• Early childhood professionals

In Massachusetts, when families with young children search for information about and connections to early childhood services, they face a complex maze rather than a coordinated early childhood system. This Urban Institute report highlights existing service coordination approaches in Massachusetts and is designed to inform the development of a comprehensive system of information about and connections to early childhood services for Massachusetts families with children from birth to age 5.

For all children and their families to thrive, they need to be safe and healthy, together in their communities. For all parents, raising healthy children requires not only ensuring their material security and physical wellness, but also helping them to understand the family and community they belong to and to define and develop their own positive identities, including around their race, language, culture, and history. This Center for the Study of Social Policy brief lifts the voices of community-based organizations striving to answer that call across the country, with the goal of highlighting and addressing the barriers that stand in the way of all families having the support they need.

Watch accompanying webinar here.

In 2020, the Urban Institute (UI) published a framework comprising 26 mobility metrics that can help communities understand and track the factors that most influence mobility from poverty. These metrics span three distinct but interconnected dimensions:

1. economic success,
2. power and autonomy, and
3. dignity and belonging.

To gain a nuanced understanding of local conditions, however, communities should supplement these metrics with local data, as well as the knowledge and lived experiences of community members. This UI resource offers insights into how two communities – Fresno, California and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - can effectively monitor progress toward their upward mobility goals.

More on the Mobility Metrics Framework!

Access to basic needs is key to a successful transition to adulthood, but gaps in the safety net leave many young people without the supports they need. To address these gaps, human services agencies are increasingly recognizing the importance of engaging young people with lived experience navigating safety net programs. This Urban Institute fact sheet highlights strategies human services agencies can use to develop strategic partnerships. It draws on insights from a series of workgroups with staff at human services agencies and youth-serving nonprofits, as well as young leaders.