Podcasts and Webcasts
MEF strives to make our research products as accessible and appealing as possible for our clients’ audiences. In addition to our print publications, check out our audio/visual library below.
MEF Presents: Incorporating Individuals with Lived Experience into Decision Making
This podcast is produced by MEF under the PeerTA contract on behalf of the Office of Family Assistance. It explores various strategies agencies have taken to gather and use input from individuals with lived experience to benefit agencies’ understanding, decision making, and programming. Podcast speakers discuss varying approaches that range from gathering survey feedback on program operations, to forming participant advisory committees, to incorporating participant-led case management practices, to hiring individuals with lived experience into permanent positions. The podcast also explores how to engage lived experiences equitably, including discussions of appropriate compensation of individuals for their time and expertise.
PeerTA Podcast Episode 2: Combatting Compassion Fatigue
Compassion can be defined as “feeling for” others who are in pain with warmth, empathetic concern, and the capacity to understand their perspective and intentions. Compassion is necessary for staff in human service settings to effectively engage clients, understand the context surrounding their journey and personal goals, and accurately identify a path forward and appropriate support services. But if we consider compassion as a finite resource, what happens if it runs out?
This podcast explored a condition called compassion fatigue. Panelists included: Anna Tekippe, a clinician at the Center for Work Education and Employment in Denver; Santa Molina-Marshall, a holistic psychotherapist located in Washington, DC with expertise in compassion fatigue; and Gerrie Cotter, a project manager for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. The panelists shared their experiences and knowledge about compassion fatigue with host Bright Sarfo, as well as effective strategies for combatting compassion fatigue within TANF programs and in other human services settings. (~40 min listen)
Webinar: Using Digital Marketing to Increase Participation in the Child Support Program
MEF, along with staff from Sacramento County Department of Child Support Services shared findings and lessons learned from the Digital Outreach and Media Engagement in Child Support (DOME) project on this presentation. This webinar was recorded for members of a learning community supported by the Office of Child Support Enforcement, part of the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
PeerTA Podcast Episode 1: “Change Readiness” Podcast for Human Services Agency Staff
The PeerTA Podcast series facilitates information sharing across state and local agencies implementing TANF and other programs serving low-income families to provide technical assistance, facilitate dialogue, and help programs learn about effective strategies to support families.
The first episode of this MEF-produced PeerTA podcast, hosted by Bright Sarfo, features three TANF administrators who have led big changes in TANF organizations as they talk about concrete strategies to boost change readiness in any organization. (~30 min listen).
TANF Responses to COVID-19 – Voices from the Field
Asaph Glosser moderated a NAWRS discussion with four senior TANF leaders about the experiences of TANF programs and the individuals and families they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists discussed recent changes in their caseload, policy changes made in response to the pandemic, transitions to remote work and service delivery, and key challenges that clients are facing.
Family Well-Being and Child Welfare Services Against the Backdrop of COVID-19
In the spring and summer of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought school closures and stay-at-home orders, followed by reports that calls to child maltreatment hotlines were deceasing dramatically. With less exposure to mandated reports, children appeared to be less likely to be the subject of reports to the child welfare system. But have maltreatment dynamics changed? If so, how? And how are child welfare systems responding during this unprecedented time?
Kate Stepleton moderated a NAWRS webinar in which panelists shared research findings about maltreatment reports and substantiations, described how some systems have responded to changes brought on by the pandemic, and discussed the role of the child welfare system now and in the future.
Providing Employment and Training Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons From the Field
The economic shocks associated with the COVID-19 public health emergency, along with the recommended social distancing and stay-at-home orders, have dramatically reshaped the approach social service programs are taking to support employment for people with low incomes. In this webinar moderated by MEF’s Asaph Glosser, leaders from three employment and training programs participating in the State Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Case Studies project, described their approaches to continuing training programs and employment services during the pandemic.
MEF Presents: A Bite-Sized Audio Pairing to the Full Child Support Research Agenda
As an “audio pairing” to the long-term child support Research Agenda MEF authored as part of the Building the Next Generation of Child Support Policy Research project, MEF produced a podcast summarizing the research agenda. MEF’s interview with four child support experts discusses ways research can inform better child support policy, what the experts see as the Research Agenda’s most pressing new areas for research in the coming years, and why this matters to the 20+ million children the program serves.
Opioid Use Disorder: Treatment and Barriers to Employment Among TANF Recipients Webinar
Addressing a research gap about how opioid use disorder affects TANF recipients and TANF-eligible individuals, MEF co-facilitated this webinar along with other opioid use experts to share findings from our white paper surveying available prevalence rates, current service provision strategies, and promising practices for TANF programs.
Strategies for Supporting Refugee Families Enrolled in TANF and RCA
For more information about ways states can serve refugees through TANF or Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) and related employment service programs, check out MEF’s Sam Elkin’s recent appearance on the META podcast summarizing findings from the TANF-RCA study!