February 2, 2024

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Hello Donna,

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Legislative Updates

Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024 Passes in the House of Representatives


On January 31st, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024. The bill includes $33 billion to expand the child tax credit increasing the number of families receiving a tax credit for the next three years. The bill would also increase tax credits for the construction or rehabilitation of rental housing directed to households with lower incomes. The bill is expected to head to the Senate, but a vote is not yet scheduled.

Read more

Summer EBT 2024 Benefit Levels


The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 authorized a permanent, nationwide Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) Program beginning in 2024 by adding Section 13A to the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA). On Dec. 29, 2023, FNS published the interim final rule, “Establishing the Summer EBT Program and Rural Non-Congregate Option in the Summer Meal Programs,” in the Federal Register (88 FR 90230). This memorandum provides the 2024 Summer EBT benefit levels for all states and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) operating the program, including the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories.

Read the memo

Invest in Child Safety Act Reintroduced


This week, a bipartisan coalition of senators and representatives reintroduced the Invest in Child Safety Act. The bill would provide dedicated funding to investigate and target online predators and for community based efforts to prevent children from being victimized. Additionally the legislation would also create a new office within the Department of Justice. 

Learn more

Moving Human Services Upstream

OPRE Releases Data Templates for Tribal TANF-Child Welfare (TTCW) Coordination


The Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation released an Excel workbook of data collection templates designed as a resource to support current and future Tribal TANF-Child Welfare Coordination (TTCW) grantees in their data collection planning. The included templates are intended to support the planning, collection, and reporting of TTCW program data.

Read more

ACF Releases Report to Congress on Child Welfare Outcomes


The Administration for Children and Families has released a new report to congress on child welfare outcomes for the year 2020. The Child Welfare Outcomes Report provides information on national and state performance across seven different outcome areas. Highlights from this years report include a decrease in the number of children in foster care and that average time children spent in care also decreased. 

Read the report

Advancing Social and Economic Mobility

ACF Convened Parents, States, and Businesses to Bridge Benefits Cliffs


The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Office of External Affairs and Office of Regional Operations hosted the “Less Poverty, More Prosperity: States Tackle Benefit Cliffs” convening last month, which brought together parents with lived experience, businesses, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, and 17 states who have all taken steps to address cliff effects in their communities. This ACF blogpost discusses how ACF and its partners are working to shed more light on benefit cliffs and how they impact children, families, and communities.

Learn more

US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Announces SkillsFWD Grantees


Late last year, SkillsFWD, a new initiative on a mission to catalyze a more equitable skills-based hiring ecosystem, announced inaugural grants to fund projects solving challenges around the adoption and accessibility of learning and employment records (LERs). LERs are digital records of an individual’s formal and informal learning and employment and can be used to represent diverse experiences on the job or inside the classroom. Learn about each of the grantees.

Read more

USDA Shares SNAP Application Processing Timeliness Tips


The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) shared new information on effective practices, promising initiatives, and helpful resources to improve Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) application timeliness.

Learn more

Strengthening the Human Services Sector

Forecasted Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Center for Home-based Child Care Research


The Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) plans to solicit applications for the Center for Home-based Child Care Research Grant (HHS-2024-ACF-OPRE-YE-0089).This cooperative agreement would establish a Center for Home-based Child Care Research to support locally defined research on home-based child care in the United States.

View Grant Forecast

Upcoming Events & Dates

CSWE Disaster Relief Curricular Guide Task Force Member Application

 

OHSEPR is partnering with the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) to create a Specialized Practice Curricular Guide for National Disaster Social Work. The guide will serve as a supplemental resource for accredited social work programs and educators on relevant topics in social work.


CSWE invites you to participate as a member of the national task force of content experts who will produce the guide. Task force participants may include CSWE members, social work professionals, and interdisciplinary professionals.

 

Deadline to apply is TODAY, February 2

Apply Now

APHSA National Human Services Summit 2024 

 

Save the date for the APHSA National Human Services Summit 2024 in Arlington, VA! Every year, the Summit brings together our members, allied human-serving organizations, and key partners to connect with one another and learn about the latest trends and innovations in policy, practice, and programs. Call for Proposals (CFP) is open! Be sure to submit your materials by February 16 to join us in “Shaping the Future of Human Services."

 

CFP deadline: February 16

Submit Proposal

NSDTA Showcase Series Webinar: AI-Enhanced Curriculum - Using Generative Technologies to Assist with Training Development and Evaluation

 

This webinar will explore the transformative potential of Generative AI on training. The session will unpack the nuances of generative AI technology and highlight its practical uses in content creation, knowledge assessment, and e-learning. Learn the basics of crafting effective AI prompts, explore ethical considerations, address AI limitations, ensure data privacy while customizing AI to fit organizational needs, and more!

 

February 28, 3:00 to 4:00 PM EST

Register Today

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