The FY2020, FY2021, FY2022, and FY2023 Virginia state budget years included provisions for the Community Action Two-Generation/Whole Family Approach Pilot Project and appropriated $1.125 million annually from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) block grant. The goal of this pilot project is to test and evaluate concepts and specific interventions that represent two-generation or whole family approaches that move families out of poverty in a variety of communities throughout the Commonwealth. The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) intends to evaluate the pilot project and disseminate information about the results and impact of this multi-generational approach over five years, releasing information and progress on the pilot annually. It is the Department’s intent this pilot project will accelerate the development of two-generation or whole family strategies by increasing knowledge about what families need and what works.

In FY2020, VDSS developed a program design and Request for Applications (RFA) that was built on supporting pilot projects in Community Action Agencies (CAA) of varied sizes, capacities, and geographic locations. VDSS developed a program design that set the following priorities/goals:

• Support selected families in achieving self-sufficiency;

• Utilize family coaching models and family coaches to ensure that the pilot project receives dedicated support for families at each of the selected sites throughout the project;

• Document and learn from activities and outcomes achieved by parents, children, and families in different locations around the state;

• Increase knowledge of the barriers families face and the cost of helping families overcome the barriers and achieve their goals; and

• Replicate, improve, or expand pilot activities that work in future years.

Accomplishments in the first four years of the Virginia Two-Generation/Whole Family Approach Pilot Project implementation include: the selection of six pilot sites through a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process; hiring of family coaches at each site; developing specific agency whole family program designs; enrolling families; providing a customized mix of services and supports to children and their parents; and collecting data on family progress.

Just as the pilot sites began enrolling families in March 2020, Virginia communities began feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to note that many planned services, such as continuing education efforts for parents and early childhood education for young children, were delayed, scaled back, or paused—and remained so throughout 2021. Families with school-age children experienced significant challenges, including needing to delay employment and job searches due to a lack of childcare. All six pilot sites adapted services in response to needs driven by the pandemic.

Early in the pandemic, essential supports such as food and other nutritional assistance were critical. Food insecurity escalated with more family members at home for meals and incomes reduced or eliminated due to reduced hours or unemployment. As families experienced various challenges, mental health services for parents and their children became very important.

The VDSS technical assistance provider, the National Community Action Partnership (NCAP), provided extensive effort to assist pilot sites in navigating through shifts in service delivery and the refinement of design plan elements brought about by the pandemic. Despite the unpredictability of the circumstances, each pilot site engaged in several impressive innovations to continue support for their customers. In addition to leveraging technology to maintain engagement, sites found creative ways to use project funding to meet families’ needs during the pandemic and recovery.

As schools, businesses, and communities have reopened and recovered, the pilot sites have expanded the scope and scale of their efforts, including enrolling more families, hiring more coaches, and expanding partnerships.

Key tactics used to support the initial and ongoing implementation of the six pilot sites include providing intensive technical assistance on various aspects of designing and implementing a whole family approach, training related to intake and outcome tracking tools and best practices, and frequent peer sharing and learning meetings.

The support provided by the family coaches has helped families gain a foothold on more solid ground that positions them to move forward with sufficient time and continued support. Family progress does take time, and that was even more true during the unprecedented global pandemic and economic challenges that hit in early 2020, just as the pilot sites were starting their work with families. Even with health and economic crises raging, the sites were able to complete their first-year plans, and have retained and continued their work with many of the original families during the subsequent years of the pilot project.

At the conclusion of the fourth year, 149 households(*1) and a total of 530 persons have been enrolled in the pilot project. In the fourth year, sites collected data on family demographics, services, and outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative data indicate that despite the pandemic arriving just as the pilot was launched, sites have been able to retain families and help them move forward, as evidenced by the following results:

• Over the four-year period of the pilot, 57.05% (85) of the 149 households enrolled increased their earned income.

• Income changes for 140 households were analyzed by looking at income at entry and when families exited or at the time of the most recent income review for families still enrolled. Family income increased to an average of $21,589 annually, an increase of nearly $9,700 from starting levels. This increase was statistically significant. Income changes were also analyzed for closed cases, families still enrolled, and families who started with zero income. By subsample, the average change in income ranged from $7,557 to $15,038. This analysis also demonstrated that nearly all the increases came from earned income.

• Fewer families are experiencing severe poverty and the material hardship that comes with it. At program entry, 57.72% (86) households were below 50% of the Federal Poverty level (FPL). Analysis of the most recent income data indicates that currently, 37.41% (55) households are below 50 percent. Seventy-two households are still participating and will have another year to continue to increase their income.

• Families complete a Life Scale Assessment that looks at functioning across 16 domains. The first and last assessments were compared, and an initial analysis of progress to date indicates that average scores have increased in every domain. The largest gains are seen in the employment/income, community involvement, childcare, education/job skills, and financial management domains.

• Families have achieved various outcomes, including securing living wage jobs, obtaining certifications, securing reliable transportation, improving credit and financial well-being, improving mental health and family functioning, and being kindergarten ready.

• All six pilot sites have been recording outcomes for families. Five of the six pilot sites have identified a total of 27 families completing the whole family pilot experience. Fifty family cases have been closed due to non-participation. Seventy-two families remain in the pilot receiving services.

• In 2021 a customer satisfaction survey was completed by 33% of families. One question asked families to compare their feeling of empowerment to achieve personal goals when they started to their current feeling. The average response was 2.8 (Scale 1= not true, 2=somewhat true, and 3=very true), representing a strong feeling or belief that they can control the trajectory of their lives. This feeling of power and autonomy is a critical driver or component of economic mobility.

• The customer satisfaction survey also asked families to use a sliding scale (0 = unsatisfied; 100 = extremely satisfied) to indicate their level of satisfaction of services received while participating in the pilot, respondents indicated a resounding 93% satisfaction rate.

• The pilot sites utilize flexible funding to help families achieve their unique goals. A total of $74,702 in WFA pilot funding was used to support transportation-related items, including fuel, car payments, car insurance, car repair, and car inspection and registration. Six sites have provided housing-related supports in the amount of $118,418. In most cases these and other financial supportive services helped families secure or maintain work and/or school goals.

Though challenged by COVID-19 related issues, in the first few years of the pilot, the six Two-Generation/Whole Family Approach Pilot Project sites have established the conditions for families to advance and improve their well-being. As sites advance deeper into the final year of implementation of their whole family approach, data continues to be analyzed, and as families have more time to recover from the pandemic and pursue their goals, the pilot project will begin to reveal more answers about what works, where it works, for whom it works, and why.
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(*1) For the purposes of the pilot, participants define the members of their family, and no prescribed definition that individuals be related by blood marriage or adoption is required. In this report, the term families or households may be used.