The Lost in the Labyrinth brief examines how fragmented early care and education (ECE) programs across the U.S. create challenges for families seeking services for young children.
This brief provides a summary of potential federal funding sources and programs that can be used to support programs specifically targeted towards young families. While this list is not exhaustive, it highlights major sources that can serve as a starting point for braiding and blending of funding to create comprehensive programming to serve young families.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
Hennepin County, Minnesota, implemented an online application system for child care assistance, resulting in increased applications, faster benefit distribution, and reduced administrative burdens.
This page includes data and observations about authentication and identity proofing steps specifically for online applications that include child care applications.
This report examines how states strategically approached managing and administering the historic influx of COVID-19 relief funds for child care and early childhood systems, focusing on governance structures, funding management systems, and data systems
This piece highlights promising design patterns for account creation and identity proofing in public benefits applications. The publication also identifies areas where additional evidence, resources, and coordinated federal guidance may help support equitable implementations of authentication and identity proofing, enabling agencies to balance access and security.
Our work with Pennsylvania to implement user experience and user interface changes shows that innovation can be easier to implement than it might seem.
This analysis explores the potential reduction in poverty rates across all U.S. states if every eligible individual received full benefits from seven key safety net programs, highlighting significant decreases in overall and child poverty.
APHSA established a working group to identify strengths, barriers, and opportunities for better system alignment in human services for young parents and children, leading to the development of a roadmap to support meaningful systems-level changes.
American Public Human Services Association (APHSA)
