An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers Building People’S Financial Stability As a Public Service

An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service An Evaluation of Financial Empowerment Centers Building People’s Financial Stability as a Public Service Acknowledgments The CFE Fund wishes to thank a number of partners who have contributed to the success of the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) initiative. First, we thank Bloomberg Philanthro- pies, including former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Patricia E. Harris, Allison Jaffin, Jim Anderson, Katie Appel Duda, and Anne Emig; without their strong partnership and significant investment, this work would not have been possible. We also thank our Financial Empowerment Center city and nonprofit partners, who work every day to empower residents in their communities: in Denver, Jason Salas from the City of Denver and Chad Gentry and Lydia Ruter from mPowered; in Lansing, Randy Hannan and Amber Paxton from the City of Lansing, Velma Kyser from Cristo Rey Community Center, Yolanda Botello from Capital Area Community Services, and Megan Kursik from the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan; in Nashville, Erik Cole and John Murphy from the City of Nashville and Tracey Dill, LeAnne Nowlin, and Brandi Ghergia from the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville; in Philadelphia, Eva Gladstein and former staff member Carey Morgan from the City of Philadelphia and Elaine Jones from Clarifi; and in San Antonio, Richard Keith, Deborah Vasquez, Angela Martinez-Alvarado, and former staff member Holly Frindell from the City of San Antonio, Kim Arispe from Family Service Association and Loi Taylor from United Way of Bexar County and San Antonio. Finally, the CFE Fund thanks the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office of Financial Empowerment, which first developed the Financial Empowerment Center model, and the five nonprofit partners who deliver the services in New York City: Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, Phipps Neighborhood Houses, The Financial Clinic, and Urban Upbound. Most of the qualitative description in this report was quoted or paraphrased from reports written by MEF Associates, who conducted the qualitative research (including site visits, interviews and focus groups) and analysis, and the cost effectiveness study. The MEF Associ- ates team included Emily Ellis, Mary Farrell, Angela Gaffney, Asaph Glosser, and Bright Sarfo. This report also includes material from other evaluations of Financial Empowerment Centers: the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania (Annette B. Mattei, Morgan L. Jones, and Lauren Hirshon) produced three evaluation reports for the Philadelphia FEC; Ken Seeley of the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships and consultant Kristina Finlay produced several evaluation reports for the Denver FEC. Additional material was gleaned from reports submitted to the CFE Fund from 2013 through 2015 by the managers of the five FEC replication cities and their nonprofit providers. At the CFE Fund, Nicky Grist led the evaluation planning, coordination, document review, and production. The quantitative analysis was conducted by the CFE Fund’s Kant Desai, Nicky Grist, and Steven Lin, along with consultant Sarah Marrara. Additional evaluation support was provided by Edgar Avalos, Sophie Collyer, Jeremy Glover, and Justin Scott. This report was authored by Nicky Grist and Katie Plat; the CFE Fund’s planning and writing team also comprised Amelia Erwitt, Tamara Lindsay, and Jonathan Mintz. The report was designed by Erich Lazar. 4 Acknowledgements A Letter from Bloomberg Philanthropies At Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are big believers in cities sharing ideas that work – especially when those solutions have the power to dramatically improve people’s lives. That’s why we’re such big believers in Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs), an effort that’s changing how cities work to alleviate poverty by giving more low-income Americans the tools they need to build a stable financial future. The idea started in Mike Bloomberg’s City Hall and developed a strong track record in New York City and across the nation. Over the years, we received numerous replication requests and were happy to be a part of spreading this program around the country. So far, FECs have counseled and connected more than 22,000 individuals to support and services to help them reduce their debt and build savings. And as you will read in this report, the Centers are changing the way that cities do business. FECs have built lasting public-private partnerships; attracted significant public investment at the local, state and federal levels; and helped the most financially vulnerable individuals and their families realize financial gains that once seemed impossible. What’s more, having seen the positive results this work has yielded, city leaders are dedicating significant resources to growing municipal financial empowerment strategies as a critical part of their anti-poverty work. They have even launched dedicated city offices to ensure the approach that Mike Bloomberg pioneered is woven into the very fabric and infrastructure of local government. That’s how smart, good government happens. An idea gets tested, it has real impact in citizens’ lives, and what’s learned gets shared so that other leaders can use the experience to tackle their own challenges. That’s what we’re seeing in the cities that are already investing in Financial Empowerment Centers. And their work to respond to their residents’ needs and think about reducing poverty in new ways truly represents government innovation at its best. James Anderson Government Innovation, Bloomberg Philanthropies A Letter from Bloomberg Philanthropies 5 Contents Acknowledgments 4 A Letter from Bloomberg Philanthropies 5 Executive Summary 12 The FEC Model Worked in a Variety of City Contexts 13 FEC Clients Achieved Meaningful Financial Outcomes, Despite Very Low Incomes 13 BANKING OUTCOMES �� 14 CREDIT OUTCOMES 14 DEBT OUTCOMES �� 15 SAVINGS OUTCOMES �� 15 PSYCHO-SOCIAL OUTCOMES 16 THE “SUPERVITAMIN EFFECT” 16 FECs Changed Anti-Poverty Services in Organizations and Cities �� 16 Glossary & Abbreviations 18 About this Report 20 Introduction 22 Financial Security and the Role of Cities 22 Poverty and Financial Instability in the United States 22 Why Financial Security Matters to Cities 22 The Municipal Response 23 Professional, Impactful Services at Scale �� 23 The Evolution and Core Elements of the FEC Model 24 New York City: From Experiment to Public Funding 24 Replicating the Model 24 Core Elements of the Model 25 Individualized Financial Assistance, Beyond Education �� 25 High-Quality Services From a Professionally Trained Counselor 25 Partnerships with Social Service and Community Partners 26 Financial Counseling as a Public Service �� 26 Part 1: The FEC Model 28 Program Design and Fidelity to the Model 28 The Role of the CFE Fund �� 30 The Role of City Management �� 31 The Role of Nonprofit Providers 31 The Role of Community Partners �� 33 Partnership Planning 33 Establishing Partnerships �� 33 Developing Partnerships Into Programmatic Integrations �� 35 Strengthening Partnerships: Moving From Referral to Integration 37 Evolution of Partnership Strategies Over Time �� 40 Counselors �� 42 Hiring and Retention �� 42 Professional Competencies 43 Technical Expertise 44 Diagnostic and Goal-Setting Skills 44 Problem-Solving and Interpersonal Skills 45 Training and Professional Development �� 46 Initial Training �� 46 Continuing Education 47 Peer-to-Peer and Self-Directed Professional Development 49 Additional Training Desired 50 Counseling �� 50 Counseling Work Flow 51 Initial Session �� 51 Follow-Up Sessions 55 The Counselor-Client Relationship: How Did Counseling Drive Outcomes? 56 Collecting and Using Data 58 Use of Data 59 Data Collection Tools, Processes, and

Load more