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

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Family Development and Self-Sufficiency
ProgramPast, Present, and Future

• Charles Bruner, Executive Director
• Child Family Policy Center

July 17, 2007
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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
???
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Results MappingThe Stories of Families Who
Faced Many Struggles and Partnered with the Iowa
FaDSS Grant Program
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• 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.

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• 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!

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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

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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.

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NWAF CFPC Work on Poverty Reduction and
Community Dialogues
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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)

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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?

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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

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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

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DNA Roles and Responsibilities
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DNA Leadership and Accountability
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DNA Ownership and Community Building
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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