Resource Library

How can programs advance the well-being and self-sufficiency of at-risk youth...

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

Youth transitioning out of foster care and into adulthood need many supports to navigate the challenges they face. Over the past three decades, federal child welfare policy has significantly increased the availability of those supports. In 1999, the Foster Care Independence Act amended Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to create the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program (the Chafee Program). This amendment doubled the maximum amount of funds potentially available to states for...

This brief examines whether families experiencing homelessness are connected to the benefits and services of the social safety net. We found that — while participation rates varied by program — for most safety net programs, homeless families in our sample reported rates of participation greater than or equal to those of other deeply poor families...

This brief explores emerging evidence from social science research on the contribution of early care and education (ECE) to the child welfare system’s goals of child safety, permanency, and well-being. The examination of that evidence points to the potential value of early care and education for young children in the child welfare system, but the best available data suggests that the child welfare population tends to under-utilize ECE...

This brief highlights the implementation infrastructure of Personal Responsibility Education Program evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs in...

Research documents the high rate of exposure to trauma among infants and toddlers, particularly children living in high-poverty communities.  Beginning life in the context of trauma places infants and toddlers on a compromised developmental path.  This brief summarizes what is known about the impact of trauma on infants and toddlers, and the intervention strategies that could potentially protect them from the adverse consequences of traumatic experiences. Interventions that are...

The intent of the Snapshot is to examine the types of nonparental care lower-income households, with at least one working parent, use to care for children under age 6. The Snapshot examines the types of nonparental care families use, both solely and in combination, to care for infants and toddlers (0-35 months) and 3- to-5-year-olds (not yet in Kindergarten).  

This brief highlights key findings from the implementation of an adapted version of Reducing the Risk, a comprehensive sex education program. The program was delivered by health educators in relatively low-income, mostly rural, high schools in the Barren River and Lincoln Trail District Health Departments in Kentucky during the 2013—2014 and 2014—2015 school years...

Promising occupations for at-risk youth provide sufficient compensation and could put them on a path to becoming...