FSS Toolkit
Below are selected resources that may be useful to FSS practitioners.
If you would like to recommend a resource for inclusion on this page, please send a proposed write up in the same format generally used on this page to: toolkit@fsspartnerships.org .
NOTE: Many of the selections included in the initial release of this Toolkit were developed through HUD's Technical Assistance contracts with Quadel Consulting and the Nelrod Company in which Abt Associates Inc. and ICF Consulting Inc. participated as sub-contractors. Although prepared initially in connection with the Welfare-to-Work Voucher program, all of these public domain materials summarized here have application to FSS. The summaries of such materials provided below are generally excerpts from longer write-ups prepared by the technical assistance provider.
Contents
Case Management -- Leveraging resources for
Community Colleges -- Partnerships w/
Leveraging Case Management Resources
Cars
Name: Wheels to Work Collaboration
Organization: New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency (NHHFA)
Contact: Kimm Phillips, Family Services Administrator, NHHFA, 603-310-9230, kphillips@nhhfa.org
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
FSS participants need reliable transportation but often cannot qualify for conventional financing to purchase a car. To meet this need, NHHFA partnered with a local non-profit to provide reliable cars at affordable prices. Wheels to Work, a non-profit program operated through a local community action program, operates a vehicle donation and distribution program and works with various referring agencies who serve low-income people entering the workforce. Financing of the vehicles was supported through a local bank with stringent credit requirements and market interest rates. Since a large number of FSS participants have past credit issues, however, many were not able to obtain the financing needed to purchase the cars. Wheels to Work and NHHFA's FSS Program collaborated to allow financing for FSS participants through NHHFA's Loan & Grant Program. FSS participants now have access to low-mileage, reliable vehicles, that are priced well-below book value, and financed with a one-percent interest rate. Since March 2002, five FSS participants have financed Wheels to Work vehicles through the FSS Loan Program. All of these participants were denied conventional bank financing because of problem credit or a lack of established credit history. The vehicles distributed were all 1997 or newer with less than 60,000 miles. The average loan payment is less than $100/month and carries a term of 2.5 years.
Case Management -- Leveraging Additional Resources for
Name: YES: Your Earnings Saved Program (FSS / TANF Collaboration)
Organizations: Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) and Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Assistance (DPA)
Contact: Carol Richards, AHFC Family Self-Sufficiency Coordinator, (907) 277-2450, crichard@AHFC.STATE.AK.US; Stephanie Hoyt, DPA Public Asst. Field Services, (907) 269-7837, stephanie_hoyt@health.state.ak.us.
Posted: February 20, 2005
The YES program is a partnership between the state housing agency (AHFC) and the state TANF agency (DPA) to expand participation in the FSS program among TANF households. Under this partnership, DPA provides case management while the FSS participant is receiving TANF assistance and for up to six months thereafter. AHFC handles case management for the remainder of individuals’ FSS terms. Since the program helps advance the objectives of both agencies, each agency covers its own costs of participation.
Since 1995, AHFC has contracted with DPA to provide FSS case management in Anchorage. Building on the success of that relationship and further collaboration to implement a welfare-to-work voucher program, AHFC and DPA wanted to find a way to expand FSS to up to seven more communities in Alaska where both agencies have a field office. A project called “YES” for Your Earnings Saved was created to implement FSS enrollment and case management within the TANF environment.
Before implementing the YES program more broadly, AHFC and DPA decided to implement it on a pilot basis in Anchorage. The resulting YES Anchorage Can Pilot Project has just completed its first twelve months of operation. All TANF case managers in Anchorage have been trained to initiate FSS enrollment of eligible housing participants. They recruit potential participants for the program and prepare enrollment forms which are sent to the housing authority for processing. TANF case managers appreciate FSS/YES as an additional incentive to work for many families on their caseloads.
TANF workers and contractors continue to provide case management support for new FSS participants while they are still enrolled in the TANF program and for up to six months after they leave the TANF roles. AHFC staff are then able to pick up case management responsibilities for the time remaining in a participant's FSS contract. Since most of the intensive case management happens during the first few years of the contract, AHFC finds it is able to handle many more FSS participants through this collaboration with DPA than it could on its own.
As of September 2004, this approach has allowed AHFC to nearly double the reach of its FSS program, from 157 to 275 participants statewide. In January 2005, the program experienced its first graduates: one graduate accumulated $4,417.56 after just 15 months in FSS. Two other graduates increased their incomes so dramatically that they no longer needed housing assistance.
Program Documents: Background Powerpoint; AHFC-DPA Memorandum of Agreement; Why enroll in YES?; YES Welcome Letter; Enrollment instructions for TANF case managers.
Name: Fresno Welfare to Work Voucher Program (FSS / TANF Collaboration)
Organizations: Housing Authorities of the City and Counties of Fresno and Employment and Human Services Division, Employment and Temporary Assistance of Fresno County (ETA).
Contact: Ruxana Lotia, Assisted Housing Manager, Housing Options Division, Fresno Housing Authorities, 559-443-8408, RLotia@hafresno.org
Posted: August 23, 2004
Under Fresno's welfare-to-work voucher program, all families that received a welfare-to-work voucher were required to enroll in FSS. With some 1,400 welfare-to-work voucher families, plus another 600 families that volunteered for FSS, this made for a very large FSS program.
Fresno manages its 2000- person FSS caseload with 11 case managers and 2 office assistants. Three of the 11 case managers and one of the office assistants are funded by ETA. The remaining case managers are funded through the FSS coordinator NOFA from HUD. The fact that ETA is willing pay for FSS case managers for families in the welfare-to-work voucher program suggests that ETA understands the value of the FSS program in helping the participants, most of whom are current or former TANF recipients.
While the ETA-funded case managers have clearly augmented Fresno's case management capacity, the fact remains that Fresno has fairly high case volumes -- about 180 FSS participants per case manager. Fresno handles these large caseloads through group counseling and the establishment of FSS peer networks.
NOTE: In early 2004, HUD declared that the Welfare-to-Work Voucher demonstration had ended. PHAs that wish to continue their programs are permitted to do so, but they must use an admissions preference within the standard voucher program, rather than the special rules of the welfare-to-work voucher program. It remains to be seen how this change will affect partnerships based initially on the welfare-to-work voucher program. While some PHAs will likely discontinue their programs, PHAs may wish to consider restructuring them to focus on FSS.
Name: Primary Case Manager policy
Organization: Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA)
Contact: Nancy Stolberg, FSS Coordinator, NancyS@IHFA.ORG, 208-331-4882
Posted: June 8, 2005
In order to maximize the ability of IHFA FSS coordinators to meet the needs of families in the IHFA FSS program, and minimize duplication of effort, IHFA has adopted a policy whereby, for each family assisted, they identify a "primary case manager" from among the different agencies serving that family. The primary case manager is the one with primary responsibility for coordinating services for the family designed to expand the family's employment opportunities. IHFA's policy is that the FSS coordinator should rarely be the primary case manager on employment issues, but rather that they should defer to the case management the family is already receiving from other sources. This frees up the IHFA FSS coordinators to focus on other needs of FSS participants, especially goal-setting and work towards other, non-employment goals. It also allows IHFA to enroll more families in their FSS program with the limited staff available than they could without this policy.
To make this policy work, it is essential to have a close working relationship with the other agencies that generally work with FSS participants so that the FSS coordinators can periodically obtain updates from these agencies on the progress toward self-sufficiency of IHFA FSS participants.
Community Colleges -- Partnerships w/
Name: Career Advancement Program (CAP)
Organization: New York City Department of Housing Preservation
Contact: Nicole Levin, levinn@hpd.nyc.gov
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: August 14, 2003
The Career Advancement Program (CAP) is a partnership between the New York City Department of Housing Preservation (NYC HPD) and LaGuardia Community College's Division of Adult and Continuing Education. It was formed because NYC HPD found that many families in FSS and the Welfare-to-Work Voucher program lacked the crucial skills needed to obtain employment, maintain a job, or increase employment income. Although there were existing job training resources throughout New York City prior to this program, CAP tightly linked job training resources to the clients and programs of NY HPD.
CAP provides adult family members participating in FSS and/or WtW access to career planning and job training through LaGuardia Community College. Participants receive assessments from job counselors, who help clients identify realistic employment goals and work with them to improve related job skills. In addition, CAP participants are assisted in job hunting and interviewing.
Developing CAP took significant time, energy and resources - more than 19 months of intense planning and coordination. A local community college well known for providing adult education for students of all ethnic backgrounds, LaGuardia Community College had the resources to provide NYC HPD's WtW and FSS families with job training classes. Nicole Levin, Director of Special Projects for NYC HPD's Division of Tenant Resources, collaborated with staff at LaGuardia Community College's Division of Adult and Continuing Education to design a way to link the needs of WtW and FSS families with the services provided by the college.
For the complete write-up on HUD's web site, click here.
Computers
Name: Computer-Lease Program
Organization: New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency (NHHFA)
Contact: Kimm Phillips, Family Services Administrator, NHHFA, 603-310-9230, kphillips@nhhfa.org
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
In response to FSS participants' desire for access to computers for school and skills training, NHHFA created a program that offers low-cost, refurbished computer equipment for home use. NHHFA partnered with the International Chamber for Economic Development (INTERCED), a local non-profit focused on improving economic conditions for low-income people through the use of technology, that was starting a computer refurbishing and distribution program, but did not have a client base. Since February 2002, 14 computers have been distributed to FSS households through the Computer-Lease Program. Some participants are using the computers to improve their skills in MS Office and the Internet, while others are enjoying the convenience of having a computer at home for homework assigned in their college courses.
Employer Outreach
Name: Human Employment Resource Options (HERO)
Organization: Idaho Housing and Finance Association FSS Program
Contact: Deborah Winchester, deborahw@ihfa.org, 208-743-0251
Posted: June 28, 2004
Human Employment Resource Options (HERO) is a network of North Central Idaho agencies involved in a wide variety of job placement and support functions. By jointly marketing our services as “HERO,” and meeting regularly with employers, we hope to raise employers’ awareness of the availability of the services we provide and increase the likelihood that employers will turn to us when they need job applicants or training. I helped launch HERO because I believed our FSS program would be more effective if we had closer relations with key employers. My hope was that employers would let us know of job openings and contact us for help when some of our clients are experiencing obstacles (such as lack of proper work attire or lack of training) that could lead to their dismissal. While it’s still too early to tell how well the concept will work, early indications are positive. We’ve developed an attractive brochure and begun meeting with employers, who seem very receptive to working with us. We plan to meet with two employers per month. I’d be happy to speak with others who are interested in this concept or who have established similar networks.
As of this date, the following agencies are participating in HERO: LCSC Workforce Training, Idaho Educational Opportunity Center, LCSC Adult Learning Center, IFHA Family Self-Sufficiency Program, S.L. Start Workfirst Program, LCSC Center for New Directions, Nez Perce Tribe-TANF Program, Community Action Family Development, Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Goodwill Workforce Development and 211 Information Referral (of Idaho).
Employment Readiness
Name: Welfare-to-Work Employment Center
Organization: Newark Housing Authority
Contact: Donnell Brown, Director, Section 8 Program, (973) 273-6231
Estina Baker, Job Trainer, (973) 273-6231
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
The Newark Housing Authority's (NHA's) Employment Center is the result of a partnership among the housing authority, the Department of Labor (DOL), and the New Jersey Network (NJN) public television station. NJN is NHA's primary partner and has been integral to the success of the its Workplace Literacy Program. NHA was selected to be one of 10 pilot sites participating in New Jersey's Workplace Literacy Program.
The center opened in November 2000 and provides key employment and literacy-training resources; both a Job Literacy Program and Job Placement Services are available in the Employment Center. The Job Literacy Program is an intensive eight-week skill-development program that runs for eight hours a day. The program has 15 computers, all with Internet access donated by NJN. The computers also have training software for GED preparation, computer literacy, filing, typing, and some basic job skills training. The "virtual" training available in the literacy program decreases the need for additional center staff.
Meanwhile, the Employment Center's Job Placement Services are designed to help families locate jobs, develop resumes, fill out applications, and access the World Wide Web. Currently, the job placement program has four computers with Internet access. These computers provide direct access to the DOL job bank, which allows clients to post their resumes and retrieve job listings.
In addition, the Employment Center maintains a strong partnership with the NJN television station. NJN has developed 11 major programs aimed at providing employment assistance and job skills training. One such program is called the "NJ Job Minute" and is a video bulletin board listing available jobs in the community. Another program called "Workplace Essentials" is an eight-part series that focuses on skill development in reading, writing, math, communications, and problem solving for those who need a foundation of basic skills to prepare them for jobs.
NJN also offers an online community Web site called, Job Cast, that provides tips to participants seeking job opportunities in New Jersey and also displays success stories of program participants who have graduated from the program and successfully found and retain jobs (http://www.njn.net/workforce).
For the complete write-up on HUD's web site, click here.
Financial Education
Name: San Antonio Housing Authority Financial Literacy Training
Organization: United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County (United Way) and San
Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA)
Contact: United Way: Rebecca Diane Brune, Director of Family Self-
Sufficiency, (210) 352-7095, RBrune@unitedwaysatx.org
SAHA: Alicia Walter, Family Services Manager,
(210) 220-3344, alicia_walter@saha.org
Posted: December 10, 2004
With the assistance of the United Way of San Antonio & Bexar County, a collaborative partnership was established between Broadway Bank, Frost Bank, the San Antonio Housing Authority (SAHA) and Fannie Mae to institute financial literacy classes as part of SAHA’s Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program.
The partnership decided to use the FDIC Money Smart curriculum as the curriculum of choice given its versatility (user friendly application) and availability in both English and Spanish. Prior to these efforts, the SAHA FSS program had not included a formal financial literacy component. As part of the program, United Way of San Antonio and their banking partners organized and facilitated a train-the-trainer workshop for 21 of SAHA's FSS and Section 8 casework staffers.
Less than a year later, the program has already generated impressive results. SAHA FSS staff are now teaching a series of ongoing financial literacy classes to public housing residents; the program has graduated 57 financial literacy class participants; six of these graduates have used their escrow dollars to purchase a home; 3 are currently attending University of Texas San Antonio; 7 have opened savings accounts; 11 have paid off debt; and 22 have enrolled in the City IDA program.
These financial literacy classes (cumulative of 12hrs.) are now a required component for successful completion and graduation from the FSS program.
Click here for a more detailed description of this program. To download program materials (posters, curricula, MOU, etc.) used in the program, click on this zip file and save it to your hard drive. (For help on how to open a zip file is available, click here)
Loans -- personal
Name: FSS Loan and Grant Program
Organization: New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency (NHHFA)
Contact: Kimm Phillips, Family Services Administrator, NHHFA, 603-310-9230, kphillips@nhhfa.org
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
Many FSS Participants need funds to help meet their self-sufficiency goals - for example, to purchase or repair a car to enable them to get to work - but cannot qualify for conventional loans because of credit issues or limited budgets that cannot support payments. While some FSS participants may be able to use interim withdrawals to meet these needs, other do not have enough escrow or do not wish to tap into their escrowed savings.
Accordingly, NHHFA decided to meet this need with grants and low interest loans. NHHFA set aside $40,000 for the FSS Loan & Grant Program. The funds are available through application with the FSS case managers. NHHFA also established a Loan & Grant Review Committee to review the applications and make determinations of eligibility based on established guidelines. These guidelines include a client's standing in the program based on the Contract of Participation, case manager recommendation, household budget, current employment and history, need, and proposed use of funds in relation to the goals of the Individual Training and Service Plan. Past credit problems are not a prohibiting factor in receiving funds, although willingness to participate in credit counseling is often required. Grants are limited to $750 per request with a lifetime limit of $1,500 and do not need to be repaid. Loans are limited to $4,000 and are offered at a one-percent rate of interest.
Participants received $40,000 in loan and grant funds during FY 2003. These funds were used for such things as auto repairs and purchases, dental work, computer lease fees, education expenses, and debt consolidation.
Online Learning
Name: Virtual Classroom
Organization: New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency (NHHFA)
Contact: Kimm Phillips, Family Services Administrator, NHHFA, 603-310-9230, kphillips@nhhfa.org
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
FSS Participants said they would like to participate in skill-building workshops, but have transportation, childcare, and scheduling barriers to attending workshops onsite. Another problem is that NHHFA serves individuals throughout the state, complicating on-site service delivery. To make available curriculums more accessible, NHHFA developed free, online training. NHHFA discovered that local colleges and Universities were offering online education through a server host called Blackboard.com. Blackboard allows short-term enrichment courses to be created and hosted on their site free of charge. The FSS Coordinator developed a plan for offering workshops through Blackboard's online service to FSS participants who had access to computers and the Internet. NHHFA then collaborated with other agencies and local businesses to develop curriculums relevant to the needs of FSS participants. Since February 2002, 26 registrations have been received for classes in the Virtual Classroom. From the convenience of home, participants are learning at their own pace while enrolled in workshops for computer skills, banking basics, employment skills, remedial academics, and career specific training.
Service Networks
Name: Human Employment Resource Options (HERO)
Organization: Idaho Housing and Finance Association FSS Program
Contact: Deborah Winchester, deborahw@ihfa.org, 208-743-0251
Posted: June 28, 2004
Human Employment Resource Options (HERO) is a network of North Central Idaho agencies involved in a wide variety of job placement and support functions. By jointly marketing our services as “HERO,” and meeting regularly with employers, we hope to raise employers’ awareness of the availability of the services we provide and increase the likelihood that employers will turn to us when they need job applicants or training. I helped launch HERO because I believed our FSS program would be more effective if we had closer relations with key employers. My hope was that employers would let us know of job openings and contact us for help when some of our clients are experiencing obstacles (such as lack of proper work attire or lack of training) that could lead to their dismissal. While it’s still too early to tell how well the concept will work, early indications are positive. We’ve developed an attractive brochure and begun meeting with employers, who seem very receptive to working with us. We plan to meet with two employers per month. I’d be happy to speak with others who are interested in this concept or who have established similar networks.
As of this date, the following agencies are participating in HERO: LCSC Workforce Training, Idaho Educational Opportunity Center, LCSC Adult Learning Center, IFHA Family Self-Sufficiency Program, S.L. Start Workfirst Program, LCSC Center for New Directions, Nez Perce Tribe-TANF Program, Community Action Family Development, Idaho Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Goodwill Workforce Development and 211 Information Referral (of Idaho).
Student Interns
Name: FSS Internship Program for Students at three different state universities
Organization: Iowa City Housing Authority
Contact: Mary Copper, Program Coordinator, 319-887-606, Mary-Copper@iowa-city.org
Posted: February 4, 2005
The Iowa City Housing Authority hosts student interns from three state universities. Students help out in a variety of ways including case management, program development, workshop planning, research, policy development, etc. The students are supervised by the FSS Program Coordinator, Mary Copper, who is a LMSW, and serves as a field supervisor / practicum instructor for interested students. The students come from a variety of disciplines, including students working towards a BSW or MSW, as well as students working towards Public Policy degrees and Housing and the Near Environment degrees
The following documents are available about this program: Cover letter from ICHA to Social Work School; Field Experience Narrative # 1; Field Experience Narrative # 2; Field Placement Objectives -- FSS; Field Placement Objectives -- General ICHA; Info about ICHA for social work students.
Transportation
Name: Wheels to Work Collaboration
Organization: New Hampshire Housing Finance Agency (NHHFA)
Contact: Kimm Phillips, Family Services Administrator, NHHFA, 603-310-9230, kphillips@nhhfa.org
Source: HUD W2W TA Materials
Posted: March 9, 2004
FSS participants need reliable transportation but often cannot qualify for conventional financing to purchase a car. To meet this need, NHHFA partnered with a local non-profit to provide reliable cars at affordable prices. Wheels to Work, a non-profit program operated through a local community action program, operates a vehicle donation and distribution program and works with various referring agencies who serve low-income people entering the workforce. Financing of the vehicles was supported through a local bank with stringent credit requirements and market interest rates. Since a large number of FSS participants have past credit issues, however, many were not able to obtain the financing needed to purchase the cars. Wheels to Work and NHHFA's FSS Program collaborated to allow financing for FSS participants through NHHFA's Loan & Grant Program. FSS participants now have access to low-mileage, reliable vehicles, that are priced well-below book value, and financed with a one-percent interest rate. Since March 2002, five FSS participants have financed Wheels to Work vehicles through the FSS Loan Program. All of these participants were denied conventional bank financing because of problem credit or a lack of established credit history. The vehicles distributed were all 1997 or newer with less than 60,000 miles. The average loan payment is less than $100/month and carries a term of 2.5 years.
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