Federal Funding for Integrated Service Delivery: A Toolkit

The Annie E. Casey Foundation developed the Center for Working Families® (CWF) concept as a response to the challenges facing such low-income working adults and their families. Built on years of experience in the field, the CWF approach acknowledges the problems faced by low-income families who must navigate a fragmented system to obtain critically needed work-supporting services and benefits. CWF offers a framework for delivering key services and financial supports to low-income workers using an integrated approach designed to foster new economic opportunities.

Included briefs describe the federal funding programs we identified, with a focus on the components of the integrated strategy that might be publicly supported, the eligible populations and use of funds, and possible issues that might arise. (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff).

"The CWF approach revolves around offering clients a set of focused bundled services in three overlapping areas: EMPLOYMENT AND CAREER ADVANCEMENT- including assistance with job readiness, job placement, occupational skills training, education and career advancement. INCOME ENHANCEMENT AND WORK SUPPORTS- helping clients gain access to public benefits, tax credits, financial aid and other benefits to improve their financial security. FINANCIAL AND BUILDING SERVICES- workshops, classes, one-on-one counseling and access to affordable financial products and services to help clients improve their household finances and build assets. A key aspect of the CWF model is that programs bundle and sequence services rather than offering just one component, or offering multiple components but leaving it up to participants to discover and seek out additional services. The hope is that the services will have a more-than-additive effect in promoting economic security, enabling clients to resolve immediate crises, acquire skills and credentials, get better jobs, and build the savings needed to prevent the next crisis and build for the future. Early evidence indicates that clients who receive bundled services are three to four times more likely to achieve a major economic outcome (such as staying employed, earning a vocational certification or associate's degree or buying a car) than clients receiving only one type of service. (p. 1) (Abstractor: Author and Website Staff)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2011
• Author(s): Individual author not identified
• Organizational Author(s): Annie E Casey Foundation and CLASP
• Funding Source: Annie E. Casey Foundation
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies