The Connection -- APHSA Collaborative Centers Newsletter

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March 24, 2021

Greetings!

Welcome to the latest issue of The Connection, APHSA’s newsletter offering updates and resources pertaining to employment and economic well-being, child and family well-being, and H/HS integration.

We’re growing! APHSA has several new job listings including Organization Effectiveness Consultants, HR Coordinator, Manager of Membership Engagement & Operations, and Project Director for Advancing Family Economic Mobility.

Special Announcements

We are now accepting proposals for the hybrid 2021 Economic Mobility and Well-Being Conference (EMWB), scheduled for August 22-25 in Milwaukee, WI, in partnership with the National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics (NAWRS). All sessions are being designed to fit the hybrid event model with both in-person and virtual options. Deadline for submission is Tuesday, April 20. Learn more & submit your proposal.

We are also accepting proposals for the hybrid 2021 National Staff Development and Training Association (NSDTA) Education Conference currently being planned for October 3-6 in Spokane, WA. All sessions are being designed to fit the hybrid event model with both in-person and virtual options. Deadline for submission is Friday, April 16. Learn more & submit your proposal.

Mark the Third Thursday! Our next Third Thursday session is on April 15. Join us every Third Thursday of each month through June - building on our January-March sessions, we're continuing with topics on Child Welfare, SNAP, TANF, IT, Performance Management, Child Care, & more. It's never too late to join in as your registration allows full access to the entire series! Group discounts available. Learn more & register .

Announcements

MDRC’s Building and Sustaining the Early Care and Education Workforce (BASE) project is seeking information on recruitment, advancement, and retention of the early care and education (ECE) workforce. MDRC is interested in local, state, cross-state, and multi-site strategies; publicly and privately supported approaches; and efforts at all levels, including those aimed at policies, systems/cross-systems, programs, or individuals. MDRC is interested in strategies that target workers in different roles and settings, including administrators and educators in subsidized center-based and family child care settings. Please send in content, including contact information, to baseproject@mdrc.org by April 15, 2021.

State-by-State Guide to the 2020-2021 Pandemic EBT Program, March 15, 2021 - This guide from the Urban Institute details a new program that provides supplemental nutrition benefits for children who would have received free or reduced price school meals if their schools were not closed in response to the pandemic. The guide summarizes approved state P-EBT plans and looks at trends in benefit levels, benefit issuance, and school status data sources. It currently only assesses P-EBT plans for the current school year and for school-aged children, and it will continue to be updated as more states are approved.

Headlines

Racial and Ethnic Equity Gaps in Postsecondary Career and Technical Education - Urban Institute, 03/08/21

10 States Awarded Grants to Accelerate COVID-19 Workforce Recovery Efforts - National Governors Association, 03/09/21

States are Using Much-Needed Temporary Flexibility in SNAP to Respond to COVID-19 Challenges - Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 03/15/21

Charitable Food Use Increased Nearly 50 Percent from 2019 to 2020 - Urban Institute, 03/16/21

New USDA Data: Fewer Meals Served, $2B Loss for School Meal Programs - School Nutrition Association, 03/17/21

Resources

The Parent Trap: Work, School, and Parenting Are Putting Low Income Parents in an Impossible Bind, March 2021 - This report from Saver Life explores the struggle of low-income parents of school age children attending school in person and those learning remotely. Also, this report assesses how parents are coping with unexpected expenses through the pandemic.

Two Generations, One Future: Aligning State Systems for Family Success, March 12, 2021 - Watch AEI’s Katharine B. Stevens conversation with leaders from Ascend at the Aspen Institute and South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness about their successful work implementing two-generation strategies at the state level, and a new initiative focused especially on families with children from birth to age 3.

Creating A Responsive and Sustainable Statewide Work-Based Learning Structure, March 15, 2021 - Building on information gathered from the first six months of the third phase of NGA Center for Best Practices’ Policy Academy on Scaling-Work Based Learning and State Strategies to Scale Work-Based Learning, this reference guide outlines points for policymakers to consider when creating a statewide work-based learning structure.

Events

Thursday, April 15, 1:00-2:30 PM EDT

SNAP to Skills Webinar: Finding Solutions to Get E&T Participants to the Next Step - USDA FNS.

Announcements

CDC Updates Coronavirus Guidance for Childcare Centers, March 12, 2021 - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have updated guidance to childcare centers, home based child care, Pre-K and early intervention programs. The new guidance is based on the more recent scientific evidence and emphasizes the use of masks for all children age 2 or over, hand washing and keeping sick staff or children home.

ACF Releases Program Instruction for IV-E Kinship Navigator Program, March 18, 2021 - The Administration for Children and Families has released guidance on receiving enhanced IV-E kinship navigator funding and program flexibilities granted at the end of 2020 in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020. Flexibilities and funding will be available from April 1, 2020 until end of fiscal year 2021.

Headlines

Moderna Gives 1st Vaccine Shots To Young Kids As Part Of COVID-19 Study - NPR, 03/16/21

Billions of COVID Relief Dollars are Going to Childcare. Here’s Why Advocates Say More Needs to be Done to Fix the Crisis - CBNC, 03/18/21

Resources

Promoting Sustainability of Child Care Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Considerations for States in Allocating Financial Resources, March 2021 - This report from the Child Care and Early Education Policy and Research Analysis (CCEEPRA) project examines the effects of the pandemic on the costs in child care programs. This report also describes implementing issues for allocating financial resources to child care programs. It addresses how child care agencies can use administrative data and family surveys to assess the impact of change in child care supply on families' access to child care.

Case Study of Father Engagement in Substance Use Disorder Treatment Programs, March 2021 - This report from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE), in partnership with Mathematica, describes Forever Dads—an innovative fatherhood program of fathers participating in outpatient and residential treatment programs. Also, this report shares lessons on how human services programs can build partnerships with communities’ organizations to improve father engagement and achieve positive family and child outcomes.

To Make the Child Care System More Equitable, Expand Options for Parents Working Nontraditional Hours, March 2021 - This blog from the Urban Institute is a summary of three separate briefs that looked at children who have parents working nontraditional hours in Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Washington, DC. The study found that about a third of children under 6 had parents who work nontraditional hours and families who face structural inequalities are more likely to work nontraditional hours.