Service coordination can help people achieve and maintain housing stability, wellness, and independence by identifying and connecting the services and supports they want and need. A strategy to increase access to this service coordination is “braiding”, which laces together funds from multiple sources - each funding unique activities - to support a common goal while maintaining the specific program identity of each individual funding source. The Housing and Services Resource Center, a partnership between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will host a webinar on January 31, 2024, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET, which will feature two models for braiding funding streams across sectors to maximize the use of existing resources and broaden access to service coordination. Presenters will discuss program structure, funding and braiding process, partnerships, and outcomes, and participants will learn ideas for adapting these models to extend access to service coordination.

Benefit cliffs describe incremental increases in income that result in major, destabilizing losses to critical benefits. The cliffs are a major impediment to families successfully participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Employment and Training (E&T) services and transitioning from assistance into family-sustaining wages. Depending on the state and wage, the new job may come with the loss of other benefits like Medicaid or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as well. This American Public Human Services Assocation brief explores the challenges SNAP E&T participants face during the critical first months after they have obtained unsubsidized employment.

Read part one here.

This issue brief describes three specific program improvement strategies employed by six state, county and tribal TANF programs. The three strategies drove changes that resulted in tangible TANF program improvements across all six programs. The improvement strategies are:

1) Revisit and reimagine your working relationships with your community partners to improve collaboration and coordination;
2) actively listen to and learn from your TANF families, community members, and program staff; and
3) reorient or adapt outcome structures and monitoring elements to strengthen TANF program performance-based accountability.

The programs featured in this resource were among a group of 10 TANF programs that participated in the Office of Family Assistance’s initiative “Leveraging America’s Social and Economic Resilience TANF Learning Community” {LASER TLC).

Even in areas with strong public transit, many low-income families face transportation barriers that limit their access to good jobs. Vehicles for Change (VFC) is tackling this head-on, not just by providing cars, but by equipping individuals with the skills to maintain them and create a career path for themselves through their groundbreaking Virtual Reality (VR) Auto Technician Training Program. The National Association of Workforce Development Professionals hosted a webinar where attendees will hear about:

• The impact of reliable transportation and VR-powered skills training on breaking the cycle of generational poverty;
• A new training approach with VR; and
• National expansion plans.

Toxic stress and trauma are unfortunate and common experiences, affecting many individuals’ abilities to succeed in education, employment, and life at large. Recent studies show that 60-70% of adults have experienced at least one of the most common types of traumatic experiences, adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Individuals with two ACEs are 1.5 times more likely to have employment struggles, 1.4 times more likely to be absent from work (2 out of 30 days), and 1.8 times more likely to have financial issues. This Corporation for a Skilled Workforce blogpost explains different traumas and how trauma or toxic stress can show up in workforce development.

Latino parents with low incomes were especially hard-hit by COVID-19 pandemic-related closures and disruptions to their jobs and to their childcare arrangements — challenges exacerbated by Hispanic workers’ structural concentration within industries and occupations that offer few benefits and flexibilities needed to respond to childcare disruptions. This Hispanic Research Center brief presents findings on employment patterns among these parents and on workplace flexibilities adopted (or not) by the industries in which they are employed and discusses potential programmatic and policy interventions to support family well-being and childcare needs moving forward.

Connecting children, youth, and families to the services they need is critical, but it can be a challenge for child welfare agencies and community providers. This Chapin Hall Evidence-Based Practice Desk Guide allows case workers and providers to make informed decisions and ensure a good fit between clients and the services they receive. This tool focuses on programs proven to support family well-being and stability. Services areas include mental health treatment, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and in-home parent skill-based programs.

In the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), young adults and adults, ages 18-49, who do not have dependents and are not pregnant, are considered Able-Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWDs). ABAWDs cannot receive SNAP benefits for more than 3 months within a 3-year period unless they meet the ABAWD work requirement or are exempt. This Administration for Children and Families letter provides information and resources on new exceptions for the ABAWD time limits and work requirements in SNAP. The information can assist youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and transitioning out of foster care who are eligible for SNAP benefits.

The benefits of recovery from problematic substance use are wide-ranging. They include improvements in a person’s physical health, emotional well-being, relationships, school and career achievement, and financial security. These benefits extend well beyond the individual, positively affecting families, workplaces, communities, and society. Counselors and other professionals can play a critical role in helping individuals achieve their recovery goals and in supporting them as they develop the skills needed for long-term recovery. This Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Treatment Improvement Protocol (TIP) provides guidance to counselors, administrators, and supervisors about recovery-oriented services, supports, and care, allowing them to better serve individuals in or seeking recovery from problematic substance use.