2012-2013 YEAR-END REPORT October 2013 FINANCIAL STABILITY. FAMILY SUCCESS. Advancing Family Assets (AFA) serves low-wage working families through the provision of high-quality support services in line with individual success plans that address the whole family in the areas of income, education and health. AFA Family Success Coaches work to ensure that adults will be prepared to succeed in the workplace and children will graduate ready to enter the workforce or post-secondary education without remediation. AFA helps give families chances for success. AFA benchmarks of family success include: • Adult head of household has maintained full-time employment for six or more months. • Family is “banked.” • Credit score of adult(s) above 640. • Children stay on track to graduate. Since AFA began providing coaching services to families in spring 2009, 127 families have participated, for a total of 156 adults and 262 children. Families identified their strengths and challenges, and made plans toward financial stability and family success. As a result, hundreds of individuals have improved their lives. Consider just a few examples of how United Way is driving lasting change through improved financial stability. United Way of Racine County
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2012-2013 YEAR-END REPORTOctober 2013
FINANCIAL STABILITY.FAMILY SUCCESS.
Advancing Family Assets (AFA) serves low-wage working families through the provision of high-quality support services in line with individual success plans that address the whole family in the areas of income, education and health. AFA Family Success Coaches work to ensure thatadults will be prepared to succeed in the workplace and children will graduate ready to enter the workforce or post-secondary education without remediation. AFA helps give families chances for success. AFA benchmarks of family success include:
• Adult head of household has maintained full-time employment for six or more months.
• Family is “banked.”• Credit score of adult(s) above 640.• Children stay on track to graduate.
Since AFA began providing coaching services to families in spring 2009, 127 families have participated, for a total of 156 adults and 262 children. Families identified their strengths and challenges, and made plans toward financial stability and family success. As a result,hundreds of individuals have improved their lives.
Consider just a few examples of how United Way is driving lasting change through improved financial stability.
United Way of Racine County
Tiniesha already had some ideas of what she wanted to work on when she, Donnell and their two children came to Advancing
Family Assets in August 2009 looking to improve their lives. With encouragement and direction from her AFA coach, Tiniesha
graduated from Gateway Technical College in May 2012 with an Associate’s degree in Human Services. She has gained part
time employment as a peer advocate for the Step Up program at Gateway Technical College. She obtained her driver’s license
and learned how to better manage her money. The family moved out of public housing, Tiniesha and Donnell got married, and
he has completed a construction apprenticeship program. Tiniesha and her family are now part of the AFA alumni group. She
shares, “The AFA program has not only inspired me to become a successful individual, but a healthy and loving mother and
wife to my family.”
FAMILY SUCCESS STORY
The AFA Alumni Group (AAG) is for families who have been enrolled in AFA for 9 months or longer, achieved goals outlined in their Individual
Success Plans, and met selected AFA benchmarks, demonstrating the ability to successfully manage areas of their family life. On June 17,
2013, the first class of 10 families was inducted at a dinner sponsored by Caron and Andrea Butler. Racine native Caron Butler, NBA player
for the Milwaukee Bucks, and his wife are avid supporters of AFA and the United Way of Racine County. AFA families were presented with
alumni certificates and special gifts.
AFA's alumni families will continue on their paths to success by engaging in regular coaching sessions with their AFA coaches, networking
at quarterly informational or educational meetings, and helping to mentor other AFA families. Additional families will enter the alumni
group each quarter, opening coaching slots for new families.
AFA ALUMNI GROUP
EMPLOYMENT AND ASSETS MANAGEMENT
AFA adults still struggle to secure stable, full-time employment,
although many increase employability through training,
education, and work experience. Average hourly wages have
increased over the past year. The longer families remain in AFA,
the more they improve their employability, hourly wage, and
ability to manage their own financial assets. Families continue to
pay off bad debt while working toward improved credit scores and
access to credit.
INCOME GOAL
Families establish durable connections with the mainstream economy.
INCOME BENCHMARKS - Status at Year-end (June 30) AFA FamiliesJune 2013
AFA FamiliesJune 2012
U.S. Families2010
Adults in AFA households have some type of employment (*U.S. working adults in poverty ages 18 - 64: 2012 U.S. Census)
70% 83% 14%*
AFA heads of households have full-time employment. (**U.S. working adults in poverty working full-time - 2012 U.S. Census)
36% 45% 3%**
Families are “banked.” (savings and/or checking accounts) 74% 76% 89%
Households pay bills on time. 81% 62% 88%
Households use budgets or spending plans. 94% 69% 46%
Have emergency funds. (11% of AFA families saved for 2 months rent) 60% 21% 33%
Individuals have retirement accounts. 30% 14% 63%
CHANGE IN CREDIT SCORES
A key AFA indicator of financial stability is a credit score of 640 or better,
allowing families to qualify for loans, such as home mortgages. From
Intake (blue) to Current (red), one third of families have maintained
about the same credit score since they started AFA, but 36% have
increased credits scores by 25 points or more since intake, many up
100 points or more. Currently eight AFA families have scores above 640,
with another seven above 600 points.
PROGRESS INDICATORS - Intake to June 2013
• increase in adult heads of households with some type of employment - up 17%
• increase in households “banked” - up 36%
• increase in families with savings - up 30%
• increase in participants understanding credit reports and knowing own credit score - up 87%
OTHER FAMILY STABILITY INDICATORS
HEALTH GOAL Families maintain healthy lifestyles.
HEALTH BENCHMARKS - Status at Year-end (June 30) Comments
Family members have health insurance. 92% Coverage from state or employer.
Young children are on-track for healthy development. 89% Based on normed results of ASQ screening of children from birth to age 6.
AFA family members are relatively accident-free. 96% Two children had sports-related injuries.
Family members remain drug-free and alcohol “binge free”. 96% One participant enrolled in treatment program.
Family members become/remain tobacco-free. 70% Comparable to estimates of Racine County adult non-smokers at 74%.
Family remained free of domestic abuse/violence. 94% Two incidents - 1 family referred to counseling; one youth enrolled in PSG juvenile program.
Family remained free of incidents of child abuse/neglect. 98% AFA coach considered parent neglectful due to drinking problem.
Biological fathers are engaged in the lives of their children in positive ways. 50% 30% of children have positive male role models(other than own fathers) in their lives.
Families live in safe, healthy home environments.(based on home safety assessments conducted on site)
70% Several homes deemed unsafe due to mold present and other structural issues.
HEALTH HIGHLIGHTS
• 37 participants attended Summer 2012 Wellness Series. Topics included preparing healthy meals, the effects of food on emotions, and “Super Foods.”
• 41 attended Fall 2012 Wellness Series. Topics included cancer awareness, emotional wellness, and healthy cooking for the holidays.
• 66 AFA participants attended Parenting Discussions with Dr. Soheila Brouk and Gateway Technical College students on topics of communication, co-parenting, discipline and providing support for special needs children.
families that meet target criteria; Demonstrate measurable
progress in AFA families; Improve capability of AFA staff, volunteers
and participants; Successfully engage specific sectors: faith-
based, schools, health care, business; Define roles and lines of
responsibility and authority for AFA management; and, Secure
necessary resources to achieve AFA’s mission.
2011
AFA Expansion Campaign conducted with a goal of $600,000 to
cover a three-year period to support additional coaches to meet the
AFA service goal of 500 families by 2020; campaign goal achieved
by fall 2012.
Advancing Family Asset’s completes its second year of program
implementation, July 2010 – June 2011 with a total of 69 families
served, 35 families active at year-end (45 adults and 77 children).
AFA Strategic Goal Action Plan progress reported; action plans for
2011-12 developed.
2012
Advancing Family Assets completes its third year of program
implementation, July 2011 – June 2012 with a total of 85 families
served, 35 families active at year-end (42 adults and 71 children).
2013
Advancing Family Asset’s completes its fourth year of program
implementation, July 2012 – June 2013 with a total of 127 families
served, 54 families active at year-end (68 adults and 118 children).
Summer 2013: The AFA Sustainability Plan is completed and
reviewed by United Way’s AFA Sustainable Operations Team with
following recommendations approved: 1) Revisit mission, vision,
long-term goals and core values; 2) Keep current on the issues
faced by low-wage working families; 3) Complete AFA model; 4)
Increase rate of number of families entering AFA and making
progress; 5) Utilize Continuous Improvement Tools and Strategies;
6) Create a two-year implementation plan for the AFA Alumni Group;
7) Increase number of families served in western Racine County;
8) Publish documents on AFA family progress on a regular basis;
9) Conduct a formal Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis;
10) Keep current on the market trends that impact the organization;
11) Plan to implement proposed marketing strategies; 12) Conduct
shared personnel time study to calculate actual costs of AFA;
13) Standardize the hiring process for AFA staff; 14) Create a
leadership succession plan for AFA director; 15) Develop volunteer
recruitment/ management plan; 16) Develop a risk management
plan; 17) Create a facilities operations plan for AFA offices; and, 18)
Diversify future revenue base.
June 2013: Ten families are inducted into the start-up of the AFA
Alumni Group.
AFA MILESTONES
LOW-WAGE WORKING FAMILIES IN RACINE COUNTY
New data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that the number of low-income working families in the United States increased to 10.4 million
in 2011, up from 10.2 million a year earlier. In Wisconsin, 29 percent of working families are considered low-income.The median household
income (50% of households make more than this number and 50% make less than this number) is about $33,500 in the city of Racine,
$51,000 for Racine County and $49,000 for Wisconsin. City of Racine has a higher percentage of people living in poverty than the county
as a whole or the state.
1220 Villa Street Racine, WI 53403 262-456-4701 www.unitedwayracine.org United Way of Racine County
ABOUT ADVANCING FAMILY ASSETS...Advancing Family Assets is a community impact initiative of United Way of Racine County, providing direct services to low income
families and developing a model that includes state-of-the-art coaching methods, utilization of existing community resources,
continuous improvement strategies (Lean) and measuring desired organizational and participant outcomes.
• We believe all AFA families have strengths and, with unconventional support, are capable of making positive changes.
• We believe all AFA families aspire to be better, can overcome challenges to meet their goals, and deserve support and
encouragement.
• We believe all AFA families can be successful, serve as positive role models for their children and community, and become
independent in the management of their own lives.
For additional information on Advancing Family Assets, to schedule a meeting with AFA staff, or to refer families, contact AFA Director
Kimberly Payne at 262-456-4701.
AFA Eligibility Criteria
Eligible families are those who express interest in improving their
lives through participating in AFA, are motivated to work towards
goals related to income, education and health, and meet the