Resource Library

This report provides a synthesis of research and existing ACF resources for serving at-risk youth…

This research brief summarizes the state of the field on cultural competence in social services. The information is relevant for organizations serving children and families from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, but the brief highlights research and strategies in serving Hispanic populations. The brief describes cultural competence and provides service providers and administrators with concrete strategies for the ongoing self-reflection and development that is key to strengthening...

This brief summarizes findings from the project Research Development Project on the Human Services of LGBT Populations. It discusses low-income and at-risk lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and their interactions with human services, focusing on ACF-funded services.

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 discusses the use of administrative data in the Permanency Innovations Initiative evaluation. The brief begins by defining administrative data and providing information about the most commonly used child welfare administrative datasets. It then outlines several of the challenges associated with using administrative data and concludes by highlighting the ways in which the PII evaluation uses administrative data.

This report details 14 tribes and tribal organizations’ implementation of service coordination efforts across Tribal TANF and child welfare services. It describes the tribes and tribal organizations, explores their journeys to strengthen tribal families, identifies project facilitators and challenges, and shares lessons learned...

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 report reviews empirical and theoretical work and expert input to summarize research and theory about any associations between healthy relationship program participation and experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) and teen dating violence (TDV)...