Chapin Hall

Policy makers need evidence to inform their decision making. A strong body of evidence indicates that we can promote child and family well-being, and prevent child welfare involvement, through state and federal policies that promote family economic security.

For policy makers and the advocates who work with them, Chapin Hall has compiled the following toolkit. Some tools are focused on state-level policy, others on federal. Follow the links below to download these tools.

State Policy Toolkit

TANF & Child Welfare Innovations: Highlights innovative uses of TANF funds in California, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

State Policy Options to Increase ECS as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy: Key measures like tax credits, minimum wage increases, paid family leave, housing support, and public assistance programs are explored.

Flexible Funds for Concrete Supports to Families as a Child Welfare Prevention Strategy: Provides details for programs in Kentucky, Indiana, and Wisconsin where flexible funds support housing, utilities and other critical needs.

Providing Economic and Concrete Support to Increase Effectiveness of Evidence-Based Services: Explores support of program implementation under the Family First Prevention Services Act.

Federal Policy Toolkit

Economic and Concrete Support Testimony from May 2024 Family First Hearing: Testimony focuses on broadening the Family First Prevention Services Act to include economic and concrete supports.

ECS as Evidence-Based Service: Summary of Chapin Hall’s Submission to the IV-E Clearinghouse: This submission highlights robust evidence demonstrating ECS’s effectiveness in improving child and family well-being.

A Preventable Cost: The Economic Burden of Child Maltreatment and Child Welfare Involvement: The cost of child maltreatment and child welfare involvement can reach trillions. Effective prevention reduces this economic burden.

ECS: An Evidence-based Service for Child Welfare Prevention: The role of economic and concrete supports under the Family First Prevention Services Act.

General Tools

Research Reference List: Details on more than 300 citations about research on economic and concrete supports and their impact on child and family well-being.

System Transformation to Support Child & Family Well-Being: The Central Role of Economic & Concrete Supports: This brief summarizes the historical policy context and provides an overview of policy, programmatic, analytic, and engagement strategies for leveraging economic supports to promote child and family well-being and prevent maltreatment.

See more resources about the impact of Economic and Concrete Supports on family well-being.