Supportive Housing for Families in the Child Welfare System
What we’ll learn from the evaluation
The demonstration funds five program sites, selected by the Administration for Children and Families’ Children’s Bureau. Using a federal framework, each site has developed its program based on community needs. The initiatives at the five sites are as follows:
Housing, Empowerment, Achievement, Recovery, and Triumph Alliance for Sustainable Families—Broward, Florida
Partners United for Supportive Housing in Cedar Rapids—Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Intensive Supportive Housing for Families—Connecticut
Memphis Strong Families Initiative—Memphis, Tennessee
Families Moving Forward—San Francisco, California
Housing, Empowerment, Achievement, Recovery, and Triumph Alliance for Sustainable Families (HEART)
Broward, Florida
HEART is led by Kids in Distress, Inc. (KID), a community organization with extensive experience providing family-strengthening and child services. Five public housing authorities—Broward County Housing Authority, Pompano Beach Housing Authority, Deerfield Beach Housing Authority, Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority, and Dania Beach Housing Authority—provide housing choice vouchers to families. KID also partnered with ChildNet, the child welfare agency in Broward County, and the Broward Sheriff’s Office, which provides child protective services. Both agencies identify families eligible for the demonstration. KID delivers intensive, clinical case management and serves families in coordination with the Urban League of Broward County, Broward Health, Broward Addiction Recovery Center, and Women in Distress. Other HEART partners include the Broward County Homeless Initiative (the local continuum of care) and HOPE South Florida, which provides emergency shelter and transitional housing. Barry University is the local evaluation partner.
Partners United for Supportive Housing in Cedar Rapids (PUSH-CR)
PUSH-CR is led by Four Oaks, a Cedar Rapids–based, statewide nonprofit agency with extensive experience providing child welfare and behavioral health services. Four Oaks is partnered with the Cedar Rapids Service Area Department of Human Services, the Affordable Housing Network (a subsidiary of Four Oaks), Waypoint (a community family homeless and domestic violence shelter provider), experts and evaluators from the University of Iowa, and others. The Iowa Department of Human Services and local shelters make referrals. The PUSH-CR team has expertise providing human services, conducting outreach with vulnerable populations, and collaborating across public and private organizations. The University of Iowa and the National Center for Family Homelessness are the local evaluation partners.
Intensive Supportive Housing for Families (ISHF)
The grantee is Connecticut’s child welfare agency, the Department of Children and Families. Department caseworkers refer families for ISHF, and the department contracts out to provide services to ISHF participants. The Connecticut Department of Housing and the Department of Children and Families provide housing vouchers for ISHF participants. The Connecticut Department of Housing dedicated some of its current vouchers to the program, and the Department of Children and Families bought additional vouchers. The Connection, Inc. provides intensive case management, as it has for the department’s supportive housing program for over 10 years. The University of Connecticut is the local evaluation partner.
Memphis Strong Families Initiative (MSFI)
MSFI is led by the Community Alliance for the Homeless, the region’s continuum of care program lead organization. Community Alliance for the Homeless’s key partners include the Department of Children’s Services, the Memphis Interfaith Association, Promise Development Corporation, Alliance Healthcare Services, and experts and evaluators from the University of Tennessee’s Health Science Center. MSFI seeks to coordinate the homeless and child welfare systems to address the housing and service needs of high-need families to achieve better outcomes for child and family well-being. The University of Tennessee is the local evaluation partner.
Families Moving Forward (FMF)
San Francisco Human Services Agency (SF-HSA), the local child welfare agency in San Francisco, is the organizing partner and grantee for FMF and has partnered with the San Francisco Housing Authority to acquire a commitment to provide 20 housing choice vouchers a year to FMF. A nonprofit service provider, the Homeless Prenatal Program, works with other public and private agencies (e.g., the Infant Parent Program, SF-HSA’s Foster Care Mental Health, and the Public Consulting Group) to provide supportive services to families. Caseworkers from SF-HSA work with caseworkers from the Homeless Prenatal Program to coordinate care for FMF participants. Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago is the local evaluator and will examine the outcomes of families participating in the FMF program.