Building Economic Self-Sufficiency: Moving Beyond Warm Transfers and Coordinated Service Delivery

Background and Purpose

Between 2000 and 2009 the U.S. population living in extremely poor neighborhoods climbed to 9 million. These areas have been described as disadvantaged neighborhoods with concentrated poverty, which is correlated with problems such as crime and violence, delinquency, and educational outcomes. Families living in these neighborhoods tend to have problems that come bundled together calling for human service organizations to develop and test interventions that move beyond the simple coordination of services and referrals. 

To address these needs a place based “Neighborhood Network” with 7 neighboring independent organizations was established with a goal of collectively moving residents from crisis to self-sufficiency. This study aims to explore the connections between partner organizations, assess impacts of providing a coordinated, data driven service delivery model and to identify priority areas for service improvement and expansion. Study questions include: How are the partners working together for collective impact? What inter-organizational improvements have been made in service delivery? What is the impact on participants?

 Methods

A pretest posttest web-based survey was used to assess perceptions of executives and network staff (n=17) over 3 years. Perceptions of participants were assessed through a mail survey (n=52) and engagement at a World Café’ event (n=55). Demographic data, service plans, contacts and outcome data were collected through Efforts to Outcomes tracking software. Sixteen domains (e.g., housing, financial literacy) using a 5 point economic self-sufficiency scale assessed movement over 6 months on matched pre-posttest cases (n=71). Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and qualitative data were analyzed for themes using a grounded theoretical approach.

Results

Overall, 64% of the questions for agency partners showed an increase in means even though they were not statistically significant. Most of the replies show positive perceptions but demonstrate more work is needed in communication, coordination and routine processes. Two-thirds of participants had positive self-sufficiency change scores in areas such as childcare, healthcare, community involvement, and safety. The majority of respondents perceived the Network as having impact in the community, providing needed services and new options. This information was confirmed during the World Café event, where positive themes emerged related to their service delivery experience, practical assistance, and encouragement.

Conclusions

Despite the availability of services and largely positive perceptions, more attention is needed to address areas that are fundamental for moving participants from crisis to self-sufficiency such as increasing service utilization for improving credit history, education and employment. Maintaining a client centered approach while coaching clients to use those services that will meet their economic goals is a delicate balance indicating a need for more staff training. The lessons for service providers point to a greater need for communication among providers and better outreach. Employing multiple methods to assess coordination processes and outcomes provided a significant advantage to support a convergent line of inquiry. Future research, however, should aim deeper to tell the story of why clients in poverty are not using needed services and what role do the agency partners have in reaching and working with families in poverty?