Research Brief

This brief, focused on the Title IV-E Prevention Program, explores how states, territories, and Tribes have been engaging in the program since it began. The content highlights the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearinghouse process, as well as information from jurisdictions’ prevention plans and claimed expenditures. Key findings include:

This brief synthesizes experiences over the past 25 years of the Child and Family Services Review (CFSR), providing an overview of the process, analyzing collective state performance across rounds, and highlighting costs and challenges. During that time, zero states have passed the CFSR process. Although the process does not seem to be driving program improvement, it is costly and burdensome.

We modeled the excess utilization of three commonly used drugs that treat heat-related illness in emergency departments during extreme heat events, using literature-derived estimates of emergency department visit rates for heat-related illness on extreme heat days and drug utilization rates from medical claims data.We estimate that extreme heat is associated with an average of 34,

This brief summarizes results of interviews and focus groups with participants in human services programs about how they view extreme weather and other environmental hazards and their effects on families and communities. Participants discussed acute hazards such as flooding, as well as more chronic problems such as widespread trash, heat, poor air and water quality, and lead.

Custody relinquishment occurs when children enter foster care primarily to receive behavioral health or disability services, not because of maltreatment. Parents may relinquish custody for a variety of reasons. Entering foster care could provide children with access to services that are otherwise unavailable due to limited capacity.

Key Findings:

This brief examines the timing of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) enrollment relative to timing of engagement with child welfare services for children in Florida and Kentucky. The analysis covers children involved in child welfare systems from 2017-2021.

This brief describes the relationship between employment and formal educational experiences of refugees prior to resettling in the U.S., and their socioeconomic situation within their first five years in the country.Key Points

This brief summarizes focus groups and interviews with individuals who receive support through human services programs and federal benefits. These conversations explored participants’ feelings about well-being, including what it means to them and how the support they received through federal benefits and local human services programs influenced their well-being.

Efforts to promote positive mental health and prevent the onset of mental health difficulties are crucial for supporting healthy early childhood social-emotional development and well-being.