This desk reference is for state and local boards and staff and provides information on serving priority populations using WIOA Adult funds - recipients of public assistance, low-income individuals, individuals who are basic skills deficient, and veterans. (Author abstract)
Work activity among prime-age (25 to 54) men in America has declined precipitously, leaving seven million or more working-age men in the US outside the labor force. The causes are widespread and include a lack of postsecondary education, dependence on benefit programs, opioid dependency, the rising prevalence of criminal records, a lack of available jobs in economically distressed areas, and weakening cultural norms. A wide range of policies should be implemented to address these causes. These include increased education and training, subsidized jobs for the hard-to-employ, wage subsidies or…
This webpage begins by explaining the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant provides a temporary safety net to poor families and has decreased its reach since its implementation in 1996. It notes in 2015, for every 100 families in poverty, only 23 received cash assistance from TANF, down from 68 families when TANF was first enacted. It states this “TANF-to-Poverty ratio” (TPR) reached its lowest point in 2014 and remained there in 2015. Links to State fact sheets are then provided that include information on a specific State’s TPR from 1995/96 to 2014/15, the number of…
This fact sheet focuses on children in poverty in South Dakota. It begins by explaining federal poverty thresholds for 2014, poverty guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, South Dakota benefits that use poverty guidelines, and the Supplemental Poverty Measure. It concludes that poverty thresholds vary by family size and number of children, but not geographically, while guidelines vary by family size and geographically. The use of the Supplemental Poverty Measure to extend the Official Poverty Measure is discussed and key differences between poverty thresholds…
Low-income fathers should be a part of the family policy equation. Men are able to financially contribute to their children's well-being and help lift them out of poverty in the short term. They also provide care and emotional supports that can improve children's life outcomes and help break the cycle of poverty in the long term. Unfortunately, far too many low-income men, and especially men of color, face barriers to playing these roles in their children's lives. They are disproportionately disconnected from some extremely vital domains, and that harms them, their children, and families more…
This paper introduces the major themes associated with young disadvantaged men, including low educational achievement, joblessness, out-of-wedlock childbearing, and incarceration. By age 30, between 68 percent and 75 percent of young men with a high school degree or less are fathers (NLSY). Half of them are married when their first child is born and far fewer continue their education post-high school. The paper briefly reviews four major forces that help shape social and economic outcomes for young men who are fathers and for their partners and children: employment and earnings prospects;…
Family Expectations (FE) is a program in Oklahoma City designed to strengthen the relationships of low-income couples who are expecting a baby or have just had a baby. For all families, this period is typically full of promise but also vulnerability. FE is one of eight sites that are participating in a large national evaluation of Building Strong Families (BSF), a federally funded program for unmarried parents. The underlying rationale for BSF is that relationship skills education and family support services provided to unmarried parents in a romantic relationship will help them learn how to…
Both wages and labor force participation have been declining for young, less-educated men since the mid-1970s. The purpose of this article is to examine how key income-security policy areas--including unemployment insurance, payroll taxes and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and child support enforcement--affect these men. The article concludes with policy recommendations to improve the impact of work-based subsidies on poverty among low-income men. Subsidized jobs in transitional job programs could play a critical role in helping these men access these subsidies. (Author abstract)
Noncustodial fathers have an essential role to play--both financially and emotionally--in the lives of their children. However, of the 11 million noncustodial fathers in the US, two thirds do not pay any formal child support. Many of these fathers are poor themselves and face multiple barriers, including low education levels, limited work experience, and criminal records, which impede their success in the labor market as well as their ability to provide for their children.Working Dads: Final Report on the Fathers at Work Initiative presents findings from P/PV's evaluation of Fathers at…
This report discusses the difficulties faced by low-income parents following the break-up of a marriage, the establishment of the federal Access and Visitation program in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) legislation to address visitation issues following a divorce, and recommended reforms to the program. Suggested reforms include increasing available funding, dedicating funding to legal services providers, targeting resources, increasing community-based institution involvement. Information is provided on the millions of children living with a single parent, the benefits of…
