Family-Centered Community Change

We are partnering with community development initiatives in Buffalo, Columbus and San Antonio to improve the quality of schools for kids and, at the same time, build job and parenting skills for their parents.

• Launching a financial coaching pilot program for parents in the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood.
• Linking data from various public systems — such as schools, housing and labor — in San Antonio to accurately track outcomes for neighborhood kids and their families.
• Bringing together local partners in Ohio to develop a vision and goals for their community and determine how best to serve children and their parents.

Providing grants, staff support and consulting to established local initiatives already improving outcomes and conditions for kids and families in high-poverty neighborhoods to:

• connect the programs and services supporting kids’ health and academic success with those helping their parents find and keep a job, achieve financial stability and bolster their parenting skills.
• involve parents and other residents in any efforts to improve education, access to jobs and training, housing or other community changes.
• integrate data from multiple sources — such as social service agencies or housing providers — to better evaluate child and family well-being.

• In this Q&A with Ryan Chao, our vice president for civic sites and community change, he shares what led to the development of Family-Centered Community Change.
   
• The Weinland Park Collaborative Progress Report from Sept. 2013 highlights the strides the Columbus, Ohio, initiative has made since its beginning in 2008 and goals for the next several years.
   
• The Weinland Park Evaluation Project video highlights the Ohio State University's community survey of neighborhood residents.
   
• What came before Family-Centered Community Change? This report captures what the Foundation learned from a 10-year community change initiative and how those lessons are informing its current work, including Family-Centered Community Change.
   
• The Urban Institute's Housing Opportunity and Services Together takes an innovative approach to coordinating services and programs for adults and youth in public and mixed-income housing, helping parents in low-income neighborhoods confront barriers to self-sufficiency while also providing services to children and youth.