AGENDA #4H(1)

BUDGET WORKING PAPER

TO: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager

FROM: Tina Vaughn, Director, Department of Housing

SUBJECT: Report on the ACHIEVE! Family Self-Sufficiency Program

DATE: April 12, 2000

The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a report on the ACHIEVE! Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program was approved by the Council in April 1999 and has been in operation since May 1999.

With input from residents of public housing, we later named the program ACHIEVE! Under the ACHIEVE! Program, public housing residents are provided a variety of resources and services to help them achieve economic independence, including transportation and childcare support. Currently, 18 residents are enrolled in the 2 program components: the ACHIEVE! Curriculum and the Transitions Program (description attached). Three residents are enrolled in the ACHIEVE! Curriculum only. Ten residents are on a waiting list for Transitions.

ACHIEVE! distinguishes itself from the standard HUD program model in several respects. Residents have been instrumental in every step of program development and implementation - recommending program design; educating agency staff on how to select and market their services to public housing residents; serving on the Advisory Group and as workshop trainers. We tailored the standard HUD program model in response to resident and partner agency recommendations to include 2 additional elements: the ACHIEVE! workshop curriculum and peer neighborhood recruiters - the Resident Advisor Team.

The key goal of the ACHIEVE! Program is to support the efforts that would enable residents of public housing to gain the following:

· skills and training for a competitive job market;

· full employment at living wages;

· money management and financial planning skill;

· health-promoting life skills for achieving self-sufficiency;

· freedom from welfare assistance;

· options for affordable rental housing and home ownership;

· access to community services;

· a voice in the employment and housing issues that affect them;

· expanded opportunities to serve as positive role models.

All Transitions Program participants are women heads-of-household. Close to 100% of these residents have home ownership as a long-term goal; all seek to complete or expand their education and career options; most have set other goals related to budget management, credit worthiness, and greater economic stability. About 25% are interested in self-employment.

A primary incentive for participation in the Program is that one half of rent increases would be deposited into an escrow account. Funds in the escrow account will be given to the resident upon completion of the 5-year program. Currently, no funds are being escrowed for any Program participants because their rents have not increased or they have not completed their action plans.

Our partnership with about 20 community agencies provides the backbone for the program. Meeting monthly as the ACHIEVE! Advisory Group and more frequently in cross-agency workshop planning and training teams, these partner agencies create a web of referral sources and community support for public housing residents. Many agencies have noted that ACHIEVE! provides an avenue for them to reach public housing residents and, also provide valuable insight to help agencies design and deliver their services. From August 1, 1999 through March 10, 2000, partner agency teams presented 11 workshops (listed below). To show their support for ACHIEVE! they rotate sponsorship of monthly Advisory Group meetings at their individual agency sites.

· Getting What You Want From Life - 8/14/99

· Bills Blues Got You Down? Budget Your Way Out of the Box - 9/18/99

· Jobs for Today and the Future: The One For You - 9/30/99

· Tips to Help Your Child Succeed in School - 10/9/99

· Getting in the Door: Applications, Resumes and Interviews - 10/28/99

· Avoid the Holiday Debt Hangover! - 11/11/99

· Family Reading Workshop for Parents - 12/9/99

· Going Back to School - 1/22/00

Find It Fast! Tips on Organizing Your Home - 2/10/00

Getting Into Durham Tech - 3/2/00

Resume Writing Hands-on Computer Sessions - 2/16/00 and 3/10/00

Program participants engage in additional learning and support activities as resources allow. The Women’s Center will soon begin a bi-weekly 4-part series on “Taking Care of Ourselves” for participants.

Orange County has incorporated the ACHIEVE! model into its TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Pilot Housing Program for Section 8 and Work First families. This program would provide financial support to our partner agencies to provide workshops for participants in the Program. These workshops would also be available to public housing residents enrolled in ACHIEVE!

ATTACHMENTS:

1. Description of ACHIEVE! Program Components.

2. Key elements of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program.