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Family Development and SelfSufficiency Program: Past, Present, and Future

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Part of First Wave of Welfare Reform (pre-TANF) Established by Iowa General Assembly ... Lead Sponsors: Representative Tom Schwartz and Senator Charles Bruner ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Family Development and SelfSufficiency Program: Past, Present, and Future


1
Family Development and Self-Sufficiency
ProgramPast, Present, and Future
  • Charles Bruner, Executive Director
  • Child Family Policy Center

July 17, 2007
2
The Genesis of FaDSS
  • Part of First Wave of Welfare Reform (pre-TANF)
  • Established by Iowa General Assembly in 1988
    began in 1989
  • Lead Sponsors Representative Tom Schwartz and
    Senator Charles Bruner
  • Based upon Flagship MICA Family Development
    Program
  • Demonstration program with a research component

3
FaDSS Basic Premises
  • Families bring more than employment needs into
    the welfare office.
  • Child well-being and development as well as
    family self-sufficiency can be enhanced by
    working holistically with families, both with
    societal benefits.
  • Families at risk of long-term welfare dependency
    represent a minority of families on AFDC but
    consume a majority of AFDC funds.
  • Investing significantly in family development
    services for these families can produce positive
    returns-on-investment, when examined across
    multiple results.
  • Helping and regulating functions should not
    be mixed FaDSS should not be part of income
    maintenance.

4
Making Welfare Work Early Findings
  • Young women with children frequently have men in
    their lives who are important to them.
  • Relationships matter and the skills and abilities
    of the frontline FaDSS worker are key to success.
  • Families make choices on the basis of their
    childrens and their own needs and there is not
    a single, linear developmental pathway with
    family-sustaining employment as its end
    objective.
  • Family growth and development often involve group
    activities and mutual assistance.

5
ISED Research and Findings from FaDSS First
Cohort
  • Families are messy units of analysis and dont
    fit into regression equations.
  • Skills of FaDSS workers and their continuity over
    time is key to achieving gains.
  • Goal setting and accountability is also essential
    to achieving results.
  • Clear and demonstrated gains in employability
    were not established.
  • Families at risk of long-term welfare
    dependency are not truly targeted in most
    programs.

6
Families and Regression Equations
a1x1 a2x2 a3x3 a4x4 a5x5
cy1 where a1x1 FaDSS worker counseling
time a2x2 units of job training activity a3x3
child care subsidy use a4x4 number of
additional education credits a5x5 reported
change on parental self-efficacy scale cy1
increased earnings through employment
???
7
Results MappingThe Stories of Families Who
Faced Many Struggles and Partnered with the Iowa
FaDSS Grant Program
8
  • Families have complex lives and their stories
    show diverse responses and growth over their
    period of involvement.
  • Many of the changes families made are important
    to society as well as to the families, but
    traditionally are not counted as achieving
    program objectives
  • escaping abusive relationships
  • involving dads in nurturing their children
  • addressing maternal depression
  • better addressing a family members disabling
    health condition
  • There exists a plethora of success stories that
    have two generational impacts.
  • Giving their children opportunities for the
    future is a key motivating factor for parents to
    persevere
  • FaDSS worker turnover is a significant factor in
    many stories, which is problematic for family
    growth.

9
  • Research has discovered that maternal depression
    affects healthy child development and, when
    programs improve maternal mental health, children
    in the family receive more nurturing and are
    healthier and do better in school!

10
Observations on Research and Continued Evolution
of FaDSS
  • TANF changed welfare policy so there wouldnt be
    long-term welfare dependency, but
  • Did not change the characteristics of families
    entering the system
  • Set as its primary goal the reduction of welfare
    rolls but not necessarily the self-sufficiency of
    families who left welfare
  • Did not focus upon the well-being of the children
    in TANF families (except in some of the research
    studies)
  • Did support research and a lot of regression
    analyses

11
The Results of the TANF Research and Policy
  • TANF research showed
  • Modest positive results, particularly among more
    comprehensive and intentional programs
  • Some increase in employment as a result of TANF
    policy change, although not necessarily resulting
    in greater economic security
  • Different results across different types of
    families
  • That TANF cash benefits did not govern families
    lives, particularly for disorganized and
    marginalized families
  • TANF policy has
  • Shifted the discussion from welfare reform (e.g.
    welfare queens and deadbeat dads) to addressing
    poverty within working low-income families.

12
NWAF CFPC Work on Poverty Reduction and
Community Dialogues
13
CFPC Framing of Improving Family Economic Success
as Multi-Pronged Strategy Has Achieved Some
Success
  • Making work pay (EITC and minimum wage)
  • Providing needed work supports (child care and
    health care)
  • Strengthening work skills and employment
    opportunities (adult education and workforce
    development opportunities and micro-enterprise
    development)
  • Promoting savings and reducing debt (curbing
    predatory lending practices and supporting IDAs
    and other savings vehicles)
  • Welcoming new workers (supporting immigrant
    families/Dream Act and addressing needs of
    untapped workforce, including ex-offender
    re-entry)

14
Poverty Reduction and Emerging Public Policy Focus
  • Internationally, Americas trading partners and
    competitors have set ambitious goal of
    dramatically reducing poverty some states and
    communities in U.S. have also taken on this role.
  • Walk a Mile is an opportunity for Iowa policy
    makers to understand the dynamics of poverty in
    their own communities.
  • The Successful Families Caucus in the General
    Assembly is a bipartisan effort to develop
    strategies to address poverty.
  • This presents a wonderful opportunity for FADSS.
  • Where does FaDSS fit in?
  • What can FaDSS contribute?

15
FaDSS Future The Role of Family Development in
Fostering Successful Families
  • What can FaDSS contribute?
  • Strengthening effective frontline practice
    definition, selection and recruitment,
    organizational support, professional development,
    and retention and advancement
  • Building in mutual support as an ongoing feature
    (facilitation as a skill separate from and
    complementary to family development)
  • The power of reciprocity
  • The role of the village

16
The DNA of Effective Programs Key Elements of
Effective Practice
  • Building block/underlying essence
  • Basis for developing complex, organic system
  • Starting small growing and differentiating
  • Double helix intertwined relationship between
    staff and participants essential to character
  • Based on proven, evidence-based
    practices/attributes

17
DNA Roles and Responsibilities
18
DNA Leadership and Accountability
19
DNA Ownership and Community Building
20
The Next Iteration of Strengthening Families
Potential for a New Demonstration
  • Family Development Mutual Assistance
  • Based on the DNA of Effective Programs
  • Rigor in Continuous Quality Improvement and
    Evaluating Relationships
  • Funding from the General Assembly
  • Congressional Earmark
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