Gaining Financial Security through Housing

Record Description
This Prosperity Now brief describes how three types of housing organizations have started to integrate financial capability services into their housing programs. Those housing organizations include affordable housing developers, public housing authorities, and housing counseling organizations, and they most frequently offered financial education or one-on-one financial counseling and coaching. Through interviews, the authors found that these housing organizations are started to offer financial capability services either in-house or through partnerships, but they face challenges in implementing those services. Lack of staff capacity, the need for training, and having enough resources available to offer financial capability services are the challenges that housing organizations face. Despite these challenges, housing organizations stated that helping clients proactively address their financial concerns can reduce the need for evictions.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-08-16T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://prosperitynow.org/files/PDFs/gaining_financial_security_through_housing…
Publication Date
2017-08-17
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

What Is It Like to Apply for SNAP and Other Work Supports? Findings from the Work Supports Strategies Evaluation

Record Description
This Urban Institute brief examines the experiences of clients applying for work supports, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, Medicaid, and child care assistance. Applying for these benefits can be a daunting process for low-income families, so six states participated in the Work Support Strategies initiative to streamline and improve the application and service delivery process. The authors describe the experiences of families applying for work supports, then they identify three areas where the process could be improved. Those areas include minimizing wait times so families can receive their benefits sooner, improving customer service so families applying for benefits are treated with respect, and providing clearer information about the process of applying for benefits. The authors recommend that states provide a range of options for applying for benefits and aim for providing benefits on the same day that a client applies.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-08-23T20:00:00
Source
OFA Initiatives
SFS Category
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.urban.org/research/publication/what-it-apply-snap-and-other-work-sup…
Publication Date
2017-08-24
Section/Feed Type
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Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children

Record Description
This Congressional Research Service report explores the involvement of child support enforcement in fatherhood programs and discusses initiatives to promote and support father-child interaction outside the parents’ relationship. The report also focuses on the need many see for more work-oriented programs that would enable fathers to consistently meet their child support obligations and reviews the current initiatives already in place.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2018-04-30T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL31025.pdf
Publication Date
2018-05-01
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic: Balancing Societal and Individual Benefits and Risks of Prescription Opioid Use

Record Description
The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine wrote this report at the request of the Food and Drug Administration to characterize the opioid epidemic, describe the evidence on strategies for addressing it, and identify actions that government agencies can pursue to respond to the epidemic. A committee of 18 experts wrote this report, and they recommended that opioid abuse become a public health priority. Other recommendations included enhancing education on opioid abuse for health professionals and the public, collecting better data on pain and opioid use, implementing state laws to increase the availability of naloxone, and investing in evidence-based treatment for opioid abuse in multiple settings, such as prisons and hospitals.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-07-12T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/24781/pain-management-and-the-opioid-epidemic-balan…
Publication Date
2017-07-13
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Back to School Toolkit

Record Description
Mental Health America created this Back to School Toolkit to help students and parents learn the self-regulation and coping skills that lead to better mental health as an adult. Children face a variety of stressors at school and home, and if they do not learn how to manage their emotions, they can have behavior issues. This toolkit includes a variety of materials that explain the relationship between emotions and behavior, and also provides resources for finding treatment when students are in crisis. Toolkit materials include handouts, classroom activities, and media and social media materials aimed at both parents and students.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-08-14T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/back-school
Publication Date
2017-08-15
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Ending Family Homelessness: An Opportunity for Pay-for-Success Financing

Record Description
This Urban Institute brief analyzes how a pay-for-success model could help solve family homelessness. Family homelessness remains high, and the authors believe that political will and arbitrary budget divisions stand in the way of solving this problem. Using a pay-for-success model allows state and local governments to overcome these challenges. In a pay-for-success project, an investor provides the upfront funding to a program, and if the program can achieve positive outcomes, then the investor can get their money back plus a potential positive return. The brief describes how such a model has been used for other housing interventions, such as housing vouchers and permanent supportive housing, and describes the benefits and complexities of a pay-for-success project.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-08-14T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
http://www.urban.org/research/publication/ending-family-homelessness
Publication Date
2017-08-15
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Financial Stability Improves Chances of Family Reunification

Record Description
This policy brief from the Center for Poverty Research at UC Davis highlights new research that demonstrates a connection between a parent being employed or receiving cash assistance and a higher likelihood of the parent(s) being reunified with their children after a child welfare interaction. It provides examples of how a parent may become economically disconnected once their child is removed and how this can significantly impact the chance of reunification. Suggestions for further supporting vulnerable families are given.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2015-10-13T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/policy-brief/financial-stability-improves-chances-f…
Publication Date
2015-10-14
Section/Feed Type
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Dual-System Families: Cash Assistance Sequences of Households Involved with Child Welfare

Record Description
This article from the Journal of Public Child Welfare explores the experiences of families involved in both the child welfare and public assistance systems. The study indicated that families who lose their TANF support or who have sporadic public assistance support are less likely to be reunified with their children who have been removed. It concludes that policies that support coordination for families across systems can be beneficial economically and promote family stability and reunification.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2016-06-29T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5336326/
Publication Date
2016-06-30
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)

Increase in Gas Prices Associated with Increase in Child Maltreatment

Record Description
This article highlights a study recently published by the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. The study examined income fluctuations for families using gas prices as an indicator and looked at maltreatment rates alongside these fluctuations. The article directs readers to the full text study to read more about the research.
Record Type
Posting Date
Combined Date
2017-03-28T20:00:00
Source
Region
City/County
URL
https://source.wustl.edu/2017/03/increase-gas-prices-associated-increase-child-…
Publication Date
2017-03-29
Section/Feed Type
Latest Information from Network (Home)
Innovative Programs

Solutions for Change

Mission/Goal of Program

Solutions for Change solves family homelessness, one family and one community at a time, delivering a permanent solution to family homelessness and deep poverty through social enterprise. Founded in 1999 by social entrepreneurs Chris and Tammy Megison, Solutions for Change works to transforms lives and communities by permanently solving family homelessness.

Programs/Services Offered

Solutions for Change delivers permanent solutions to family homelessness through an innovative academy-like experience where parents of families in the deepest of poverty are equipped with the skills, knowledge and resources needed to reclaim a contributory stake in society through jobs and by ending dependency. The model blends affordable housing, education, health services, servant leadership and workforce training to create a "work therapy" community.

Participants tripled their income in the first year through employment. 74% achieve the 500-day milestone of full-time employment and achieve their own rental housing. For those participants, TANF and Food Stamp benefits decrease by 62% at 500-day mark and 87% by end of engagement contract (1000 days). 850 families and 2200 children have moved permanently out of homelessness and obtained housing and employment, resulting in $51 million dollars in public support savings and $120 million in employment revenue generated into local economy. 

Start Date
Friday, January 1, 1999
Type of Agency/Organization
Community-Based Organization
City
Vista
State
California
Geographic Reach
Onesite
Clientele/Population Served
Homeless Families with Children
Topics/Subtopics
Employment
Education and Training
Supportive Services
Health/Behavioral Health Referrals and Supports
Housing Assistance
Special Populations
Homeless Families
URL
http://solutionsforchange.org/