charities usa magazine: fall 2011

7/31/2019 Charities USA Magazine: Fall 2011

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Holistic, Flexible,& IndividualizedBuilding a Service Delivery System around People

Poverty Summit Brings

Together National Partners

Family Strengthening Awards

Go to Anchorage, Phoenix

& Philadelphia Agencies

Annual Gathering Hosts

Think Outside the Box

THE MAGAZINE OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA Fall 2011 | Volume 38 Number 3


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Featurearticlesontopicsthatmattertotheworkof

CatholicCharities

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UpdatesonCCUSAslegislativeandpolicywork

Informationonmemberbenets,training,andevents

NewsfromCCUSAandagenciesnationwide

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THE MAGAZINE OF CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA


4/48

Istarted working at Catholic Charities USA the

week ater the terrorist attacks o September 11.I wasnt very amiliar with the work o Catholic

Charities at that time, but I elt a deep sense ocommitment among the sta to do all that they

could to support agencies in responding to the needso people in their communities who were suering.Numerous disasters have ollowed since then, most no-tably Hurricane Katrina, which mobilized our networkin an even broader eort to respond. And by the end othis year, 2011, we may have responded to the highestnumber o natural disasters yet.

Ive come to appreciate that Catholic Charities is alwaysresponding to disastersthe ones caused by hurricanes,oods, and tornadoes as well as the ones caused byhuman agency, apathy, and olly, the ones that mete outdestruction across the landscape and the ones that wreakhavoc in individual lives. For the lives o more than 40million Americans, poverty does just that. It is our ongo-ing national disaster.

While we cant control the elements or anticipate the actso people determined to do us harm, we can do some-thing about poverty. And Im very proud that as a net-

work we are, and with ideas that have originated romour long experience as a network working with people

who are poor.

Tis issue oCharities USA explores more o the policyideas being promoted by the National Opportunity andCommunity Renewal Act, specically the building o a

service delivery system around people, one that is holistic,exible, and individualized and that utilizes case man-agement as a core strategy to reduce poverty. Te articles

weve brought together explore this kind o service deliv-ery system and why it can be more eective in reducingpoverty than the system we now have.

Tese are good ideas, bold and challenging, especially tothose who think the status quo is acceptable. While wedont claim to have all the answers, and we welcome con-structive input, I so appreciate that we have that samedeep commitment to respond to this disaster o pover-ty as to other disasters, enough to invest considerabletime and resources into developing the best strategies wecan to reduce povertys impact on peoples lives. So go

Catholic Charities! n

Ruth LiljenquistManaging Editor

To comment on this issue, please write to Ruth Liljenquist

at [email protected].

Building a Service Delivery System Around People

6 20

On the Cover:Photo: Steve Liss, AmericanPoverty.org.


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FALL 2011 | 3

Features

6 Building a Service Delivery System around People

10 Achieving Better Outcomes or PeopleTe Goal o Case Management

12 On the Path to Where I Wanted to Be

One Womans Journey to Sel-Suciency

13 Te Power o a Mentoring RelationshipA Perspective rom a Receiver and Giver o Case Management

15 A Central Role or Case ManagementReducing Poverty through a Holistic, Flexible, Individualized Approach

20 Remembering September 11

22 Starting a National Conversation about Poverty ReductionPoverty Summit Brings ogether en National Organizations Fighting Poverty

24 Tinking Outside the Box in Fort WorthAnnual Gathering Hosts Have Set Out to End Poverty

29 Te 2011 Family Strengthening Awards

33 An Epidemic o Disaster

Catholic Charities Stretched by Recent Natural Disasters

Departments

4 Presidents Column

36 CCUSA News

38 NewsNotes

44 Working to Reduce Poverty in America

38 4

Charities USA(ISSN 0364-0760) is

published by Catholic Charities USA.

Address all correspondence to the managing

editor. 2011 Catholic Charities USA,

Alexandria, Virginia.

Editorial and Business Ofce

Sixty-Six Canal Center Plaza

Suite 600

Alexandria, VA 22314

t: 703-549-1390 : 703-549-4183

www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org

[email protected]

Publisher

Rev. Larry Snyder

Executive Editor

Roger Conner

Managing Editor

Ruth Liljenquist

Creative Director

Sheena Leaye Crews

Contributing Writers

Roger Conner

Katelin Cortney

Ruth Liljenquist

Editorial Committee

Jean Beil

Kim Burgo

Kathleen King

Kristan Schlichte

Rachel Lustig

Candy Hill

Jane Stenson

Catholic Charities USA is the National Ofce orne o the nations largest social service networks.

Member agencies and institutions nationwide pro-

ide vital social services to millions o people in

eed each year, regardless o their religious, so-

ial, or economic backgrounds. Catholic Charities

USA supports and enhances the work o its mem-

ership by providing networking opportunities,

ational advocacy, program development, training

nd consulting, and fnancial benefts.

Donate Now: 1-800-919-9338

Contents


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4 | CHARITIES USA


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FALL 2011 | 5

One year ago, we as a network met in Washington,

DC, or our Centennial Gathering to celebrate

our century o service and to advance our work

to reduce poverty in America. A year later, we are

meeting again at our 2011 Annual Gathering in Fort Worth,

X, hosted by Catholic Charities o the Diocese o Fort Worth.

Tis time, however, its not just the Catholic Charities net-

work that is gathering. A number o other organizations ght-

ing poverty will also be joining with us in the rst National

Poverty Summit, to be held in conjunction with our gathering.

Tis Poverty Summit grew out a desire to build on the energy

and momentum that came out o our centennial gathering and

also out o the recognition that we, as the Catholic Charities

network, cannot accomplish the work o poverty reduction on

our own. It cant just be us, we acknowledged, and we began

looking or other organizations that were talking about reduc-

ing poverty. Over the last year, we have been building relation-

ships with many national organizations to build a coalition and

a much broader strategy to accomplish our goals.

Te group o partners that we have brought together in the

National Poverty Summitthe Coalition on Human Needs,

the Corporation or Economic Development, Bread or the

World, the National Alliance to End Homelessness, Save the

Children, and several othershave dierent spheres o inu-

ence, but we all have proven strategies or reducing poverty and

we believe that together we can move orward in a common di-

rection. At the summit, we hope to identiy common ground,

common goals, and common strategies that we can pursue

together.

Te National Poverty Summit will not be a one-time event.

Next year and in years to ollow, the summit will be hosted by

our summit partners, in conjunction with their own annual

meetings. We will take part in these subsequent summits,

which will not only give our summit coalition a national orum

in which to raise up the issue o poverty, but give us the oppor-

tunity to measure our progress, identiy obstacles in meeting

our goals, and reinorce our common strategy.

I believe that through this summit we are truly realizing the

vision o the Cadre Study, wherein we were called to serve, ad-

vocate, and convene. Trough numerous ways, we have con-

vened our network and many people and organizations in the

Catholic community. But through this summit, we will be con-

vening much more broadly, bringing together people o good

will everywhere, just as the Cadre Study envisioned, to raise up

the issue o poverty in this country, to nd together the best

solutions, and to call our lawmakers to take notice. As I con-

template the power o so many people o good will working

together, it give me tremendous hope that we will accomplish

great things and truly bless the lives o the people we are advo-

cating or. n

By Rev. Larry Snyder

Presidents


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6 | CHARITIES USA

Photo: Steve Liss, AmericanPoverty.org


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It may come as a surprise to some that as a country weve

never really made a systematic eort to reduce the in-

cidence o poverty. Yes, we have committed substan-

tial resources to assisting the poor, but on the whole,

our ederal saety net programs are not designed to

reduce poverty, only to alleviate it. Te programs we now

haveemporary Assistance to Needy Families, Medicaid,

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, and otherscame aboutlargely as reactions to dire human conditions that lawmakers

and the public observed throughout our nation and were de-

signed to ensure that people did not all below a minimal level

o subsistence. From poorhouses and county arms to ood

stamps and subsidized housing, the programs were put in place

to ensure that people didnt starve, that they werent home-

less, and that they didnt suer due to the lack o medical care.

Tese programs have been successul in reducing the hardship

o poverty, but they have not reduced the incidence o poverty.

As the current recession has reinorced, we still need to commit

resources to alleviating the suering o poverty, but we alsoneed a systematic strategy or helping people move out o pov-

erty and achieve sustainable independence, whether they have

lived in poverty their whole lives or whether they have allen

into poverty due to an unexpected lie circumstance. Te

policy ideas being advanced by Catholic Charities USA in the

National Opportunity and Community Renewal Act outline a

bold and innovative strategy or reducing poverty. One o the

key components o this strategy is to re-engineer our nations

saety net service delivery system so that it better meets peoples

immediate needs and helps put them on the pathway to sus-

tainable independence.

As mentioned above, numerous ederal programs exist today

to alleviate the hardship o Americans living in poverty. While

well-intentioned and eective in ullling their respective pur-

poses, these programs make up a program-centered service de-

livery system that does not always work well in meeting peo-

ples needs. First o all, the existing programs may not meet a

persons specic need. Second, with dierent eligibility require-

ments or dierent programs, some people may end up being

ineligible or the assistance they need and eligible or assistance

they do not need. Tird, some people in need may not be eli-

gible or any programs, and thereore cannot get any assistance.

Fourth, with programs being unded in dierent ways and at

dierent levels, people may not be able to get assistance when

program resources are low.

A Central Role or Case Management

Government administration o todays saety net programs cen-

ters largely on determining peoples eligibility or benets and

making sure benets are paid out or received. When a person, a

consumer, seeks assistance at a government agency, the agency

gathers inormation, such as annual income and employment

status, to determine eligibility and le the paperwork to ini-

BUILDING A SERVICEDELIVERY SYSEMAROUND PEOPLE

By Candy Hill

FALL 2011 | 7


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8 | CHARITIES USA

tiate benets. Te process operates on a decit modelde-termining what the person lacks and what can be provided to

make up that lack.

Catholic Charities, other nonprots, and some very innovative

local social services directors are taking a dierent approach

to assisting people in needone centered on engaging with

people. Generally, when a person comes to a nonprot or as-

sistance, especially a aith-based nonprot, a case manager or

other client advocate meets with the person, learns about their

lie, discovers their needs by listening to their story, and dis-

cusses with them the circumstances that have led to their need

or assistance. Te case manager and the person then developan individualized plan that helps the person in their immedi-

ate crisis but also in resolving the problems that have put them

in need. Te case manager may help the person enroll in public

benet programs, but will also coordinate a number o servic-

es that will assist the person in building personal and nancial

assets and accessing opportunities that will help them move

out o poverty. From that initial point o contact, the relation-

ship between the case manager and the person continues, as

they work together in accomplishing the goals o the plan that

will help the person move toward sustainable independence.

Tis people-centered asset model has proven to be the mostecient and eective way o helping people overcome pov-

erty. Case managers or client advocates take on a mentoring

role, jointly determine with the consumer the type and level

o services, and ocus on the persons strengths, all o which

enable and support the person in reaching their ull potential.

Members o CCUSAs Consumer Advisory Council, who are

ormer consumers o Catholic Charities programs, all agree

that the most important thing that helped them overcome pov-erty was the act that someone was there to listen to them and

walk with them in making positive steps in their lives.

Catholic Charities USA is calling or a service delivery system

that ocuses on engaging with people and understanding their

needs, a system where case management and an individual-

ized plan to move people toward sustainable independence are

central.

Flexibility in Using Saety Net Resources

Even with a people-ocused case management model, case

managers at Catholic Charities and other nonprots oten en-

counter problems in helping people achieve sustainable inde-

pendence because our service delivery system and programs

are not designed to address the issues that can result in pov-

erty. Tey do not allow much exibility or a targeted strategy

in helping people meet specic needs, so case managers oten

have to patch programs and resources together to help ami-

lies make progress, even though it results in a less than ideal

solution.

For example, a amily is struggling because the breadwinners

do not have reliable transportation. Tey live in a rural area,

where there is no public transportation, and i they had a car,

they would be able to perorm better in their jobs, perhaps

get more hours or even be promoted. What they need is some

assistance in getting a second hand car. Instead, they are en-

rolled in SNAP (ood stamps) because there is no program to

help them buy a car or there are no remaining unds in a gen-

eral transportation assistance program. Te hope is that with

monthly ood assistance the amily will be able to save money


11/48

over time to buy a car. While this strategy might work, it pro-longs the amilys need and delays their ability to access oppor-

tunities and begin building nancial assets. And it is likely, that

over a years time, the amount o ederal dollars that will have

been spent on ood stamps or this amily will be equal to or

higher than the amount that would have been used to help the

amily purchase a used car.

Catholic Charities USA is calling or a service delivery system

that allows more exibility in using program dollars so that

case managers and consumers can develop plans that target

specic needs, thereby helping individuals and amilies move

more quickly to sustainable independence.

An Efcient and Streamlined System

Te current service delivery system can be dicult to navigate,

both or the case manager and the person needing assistance.

Programs are administered by dierent ederal, state, and local

government agencies, have dierent eligibility requirements,

and may have dierent application procedures. Tis oten re-

quires people to go to several dierent agencies to get assistance

and to go through several application processes. Tis not only

makes things more dicult or consumers, but creates many

layers o government bureaucracy. Further, the one size tsall structure o our current system can be inexible in meeting

unique community needs.

CCUSA is calling or service delivery system that allows com-

munities to design their own local service delivery systems to

meet the unique needs o their respective communities and

through which individuals can more easily access services and

opportunitieswhere there is a single point o entry into the

service delivery system, a single set o eligibility requirements,

and a case manager or client advocate to engage the consumeras they successully move through this locally designed system.

A service delivery system that has at its center a people-ocused

case management model, that provides exibility in using ed-

eral unds to reduce poverty, and allows locally designed sys-

tems to better serve consumers and address unique communi-

ty needs is not just good or consumers and communities, but

also or governments that und the services. A system that un-

derstands the value and need to pair available resources with

case management will begin to reduce the incidence o pov-

erty in this country. A system that has the exibility to target

specic needs will result in people moving to sustainable inde-pendence more quickly and accessing opportunities that will

enable them to contribute more to their communities and

nation. And locally designed service delivery systems with a

single point o entry and a single set o eligibility requirements

will reduce government bureaucracy and allow government

unding to be used more eectively.

In the National Opportunity and Community Renewal Act,

Catholic Charities USA supports authorization or a pilot proj-

ect that would test this proposed service delivery model in ten

communities nationwide. In the next ew months, as Congress

takes on the dicult task o making signicant budget deci-sions, lawmakers will be looking or ways to lessen the impact

o cuts to saety net programs over the long term. We believe

that a new approach that maximizes eciency and is ocused

on reducing poverty will be not only an appealing solution but

one that is required or the uture. n

Candy Hill is senior vice president o social policy and government

aairs or Catholic Charities USA.

FALL 2011 | 9


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10 | CHARITIES USA

hroughout my career at Catholic Charities in Rockville

Centre, NY, I worked to help clients struggling with

mental health issues receive the services they needed

to handle the challenges they lived with. Case management was

central to our work, and it proved time and time again to be

the best strategy or getting better health outcomes or clients

as well as containing costs or insurers and the government.

Case management, which as a service modality has been large-

ly associated with the medical and behavioral health elds, is

also being used successully by Catholic Charities agencies, St.Vincent de Paul chapters, parish outreach programs, and other

nonprots to help people overcome the challenges o poverty.

While the clients challenges are somewhat dierent, the goal is

the sameachieving better outcomes or people.

The Evolution o Case Management

Te roots o case management in America can be ound in sev-

eral social, health, and behavioral health movements o the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Each o these proes-

sions o social work, public health nursing, and vocational re-

habilitation has a clear and credible history in the implementa-

tion o case management practices and standards.

Social workers reer to the role o the settlement houses as a

precursor to case management, prevalent in the latter part o

the nineteenth century. For example, Chicagos Hull House,

ounded by Jane Addams, the mother o modern social work,

applied the principle o person-centered service by rst assess-

ing the needs o its residents, devising remedies, and pursuing

the resources necessary to meeting those needs.

Later, as service delivery systems developed and became in-

creasingly complex, case management emerged as a dened

service modality. Prior to that, the individual and/or amily

member served as advocate in identiying need and accessing

services. Ironically, as services expanded to meet various needs,

the role o proessional case managers arose to contend with

an increasingly overwhelming tangle o programs and services

necessary to addressing the circumstances o service recipients.

Te various eligibility thresholds, requirements or participa-

The Goal o Case Management

By Denis Demers, PhD, LMSW

ACHIEVING BEER

OUCOMES FOR PEOPLE



13/48

tion, myriad o orms, access points, payer criteria, and coor-

dination o multiple services and resources made or a dizzying

complexity well beyond the knowledge and skills o the average

consumer and amily member.

Even as case management has developed as a person-centered

care model, it has also developed in the medical and behavior-

al health elds and in some social services as a cost contain-

ment strategy or health insurers and government. oday, while

a tension between person-centered care and cost containment

exists, the two are not antithetical, and eective case manage-

ment can contain costs by providing exactly what the patient or

client needs in a timely and ecient manner.

Case Management Defned

Whether working with people suering rom mental health

issues or people suering rom poverty, case managers strive to

help people access services through the coordinated execution

o a tailored plan. Te case manager enters into a collaborative

decision-making relationship with the client to identiy the cli-

ents strengths and talents and to build o them in determining

what, when, and how much support or services are to be pro-

vided. Troughout this process, case managers apply the ol-

lowing core service elements: a) engagement, b) assessment, c)

planning, d) implementation/coordination/monitoring o ser-

vices, e) advocacy/client support, ) reassessment/evaluation,

and g) disengagement/discharge planning. Implementation o

these core elements signicantly increases the chances or posi-

tive outcomes.

Appropriate, timely, and proportionate services and support

are at the crux o outcome-ocused, person-centered case man-

agement. Tey are also the hallmark o eective case manage-

ment. Te case manager advocates on behal o the service re-

cipient and helps navigate a complex service delivery system,

resulting in an inormed and engaged service recipient who ex-

periences better outcomes.

The Eectiveness o Case Management

In my proessional career, I have seen the dramatic impact

case management has on recipients as they become aware o

their own abilities and gain condence and hope or their re-

covery. Te critical actor was a trusting relationship between

service recipients and their case managers working together to

create a mutually agreed on plan. By coordinating the deliv-

ery o community-based services and access to timely and ade-

quate resources such as ood, transportation, housing, and em-

ployment, case managers assist service recipients in successully

navigating the complexities o services and resources essential

to a positive outcome.

With tailored, directed, and coordinated services, case man-

agement as it is practiced in the medical and behavioral health

elds signicantly reduces the cost o recovery. As a strategy or

poverty reduction, case management can be equally eective in

reducing service costs by avoiding or minimizing the need or

more expensive interventions resulting rom unattended needs

and eliminating duplication o services that sometimes occurs.

Harkening back to the Hull House strategies, individuals are

helped to assess their needs, talents, and skills; given a leg-up

in getting started on their plan; and provided the encourage-

ment, support and, advocacy necessary to succeed, as well as,

most importantly, the dignity and hope essential to rising up

rom poverty.

Case management, as a service modality, has proven its value to

service recipients across the human service spectrum. By em-

bracing case management as a central strategy in reducing pov-

erty, Catholic Charities will continue to grow its capacity to

signicantly improve outcomes or people struggling to over-come rom poverty.n

Denis Demers retired rom Catholic Charities in Rockville

Centre, NY, last year, ater 21 years o service.

FALL 2011 | 11

Whether working with people

suering rom mental health issues

or people suering rom poverty,

case managers strive to help people

access services through

the coordinated execution o a

tailored plan.


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12 | CHARITIES USA

About eight years ago, Stephanie Baldwin was home-less. Having ed an abusive relationship, she and

her 9-month-old son were sleeping on the living

room oor o a relatives home. She desperately

needed help in nding a home but also in charting a course

to stability. When she was accepted into a transitional hous-

ing program run by Catholic Charities in renton, NJ, she re-

solved to take ull advantage o it. I needed to do well, to do

whatever I could, so that when I let the program I would be

able to provide or mysel and my son.

ransitional housing programs typically provide low-cost

housing to individuals and amilies or a period o 12 to 24months. During that time, case managers work with residents

to strengthen their ability to support themselves, providing

support and linking them to counseling, nancial education,

lie skills training, educational opportunities, job development,

and other services.

Stephanie began working with intake worker Sally Landers and

case manager Annette Tomas Allen to develop a plan. Tey

listened to her story, assessed her needs, and helped her apply

or assistance that would help in the short term. Tey also

worked with her in setting some goals. Right o, Stephanie

told them o her desire to go back to school. She knew sheneeded more than a high school diploma to support hersel

and her son. Annette conducted a career assessment to help

Stephanie decide on a course o study and then helped her

apply or student aid and enroll at the local community college.

With a second-hand computer Annette ound or her, Stephanie

started classes. She also began attending the programs support

groups and budget workshops and ound a part-time job. She

consulted regularly with Annette, who monitored her progress,

helped her resolve past issues, and gave her valuable advice and

inormation. Near the end o her time in the program, Annette

and Sally helped Stephanie nd a job, with Catholic Charitiesas it turned out. Tey also helped her get settled in an apart-

ment, providing the security deposit and some nancial assis-

tance or her rst ew months.

All the inormation, assistance, advice, encouragement, and

support that Annette and Sally provided Stephanie strength-

ened her ability to provide or hersel. Years later, Stephanie,

who still works or Catholic Charities in renton, can testiy to

the important role played by case managers in helping people

overcome poverty. Tey took me rom where I was and start-

ed me on the path to where I wanted to be.n

ON HE PAH O WHERE

I WANED O BE

One Womans Journey to Sel-Sufciency

Photo: Laura SikesPhoto: Laura Sikes


15/48

FALL 2011 | 13

heres probably nothing that better prepared me to

be an eective case manager than going through the

process o case management mysel. Ive eectively

lived in poverty a ew times throughout my lie, and

understand what our clients experience and how dicult it can

be to put trust in a stranger to assist you. Tese experiences

have shaped my work as a case manager, where I have wit-

nessed the power o a mentoring relationship in helping people

make positive steps in their lives.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit. Te area I lived in suered a100 percent loss o homes and businesses. I suddenly ound

mysel homeless and unemployed, with ew clothes and no car,

possessions, or money. Tats when I had my rst encounter

with case management. Te big name agencies and non-prots

that were supposed to help me instead made me eel dehuman-

ized and judged. Te assistance process was ull o ultima-

tums and orders. Case managers were very impersonal and un-

caring, and not able to ully understand the devastating scope

o what had happened to me. Poverty had again touched my

lie. I had briey experienced it growing up, when the econo-

my was bad and my parents out o work, but we never called

it that.

In March o 2006, living in an inamous FEMA trailer, and

ater being out o work or seven months, I was blessed to

become employed with Catholic Charities Archdiocese o New

Orleans. As a edgling case manager, I had a lot to learn about

what I should do, but I already knew what not to do.

When clients walk in our doors, they eel a multitude o things:

embarrassment, ear, anger, deensiveness, humiliation, shame,

distrust, all things I had elt mysel. I vowed no one would eel

that way or long i I could do anything about it. Immediately,

I would take in all aspects o the person in ront o me, like

speech, body language, demeanor, etc. I would really listen,

not just hear, what they were saying and make mental notes

or use later. Combing my own mental les and experiences,

I searched or what commonality I had with this person, no

matter how seemingly insignicant, and used that to build the

A Perspective rom a Receiver and Giver o Case Management

By Petrina Balser


HE POWER OF A

MENORING RELAIONSHIP


16/48

14 | CHARITIES USA

rapport necessary or the relationship to be mutually benecial

and successul.

I preer the term mentor to case manager because it deinsti-tutionalizes the case management process and changes our as-

sumptions about it. As a mentor, you have to be several things:

personable, ethical, sensitive, empathetic, open-minded, non-

judgmental, and most o all REAL. You also have to be candid

and rm, yet proessional and personable. It is not always easy

to be all o these things at once, but as mentors, we must try

our best. I am no longer a case manager/mentor per se (though

I still do it when the need arises), but I supervise case manage-

ment sta, and I use my experiences to help them in their quest

to deliver services and make a dierence.

Poverty is one o the most pressing problems in our country,and generational poverty is one o the most dicult areas to

address. From urban areas to rural, we need to adapt ourselves,

communicate eectively, and make those one-on-one connec-

tions to acilitate success, especially when clients come to us at

dierent levels o readiness or the process. We live in a soci-

ety o instant gratication and eelings o entitlement, so to the

person I am working with, who am I to tell them, Cancel your

cable, budget your unds, and create a savings plan? Nobody,

because I will not tell anybody what to do. What I will say is

this, We will work together to go over practical ways to help

you address barriers and budget killers and build wealth. Yes, it

will take time, but time passes no matter what, so you will see

the outcome.

A particular avorite client o mine came in angry, depressed,and out o work. She wanted to know what I was going to

give her. I said nothing, but told her that together we would

ormulate a plan o goals and tasks to address her barriers and

needs. She did not react well, and I thought that was the last

time I would ever see her. I tried to ollow up, but she was not

really interested. Ten, about a month later, she called me to

say she was ready to come see me again. She had gotten a job,

made new riends, and was in a better state nancially, emo-

tionally, and physicallyall, she said, because I told her to get

o your butt and get a job. Now, I did not really say that to

her, o course, but in her mind that is what she told hersel andit was this motivation that she used to seek a new path. I was

thrilled or her and in the end I got many hugs and thanks or

being real with her, sharing my own experiences, and not let-

ting her negative attitude aect the way we interacted.

Tis is what its all about at the end o the day. Tis is what

being a mentor is, and I am genuinely happy or my clients

when they succeed. Every step upwards, no matter how small,

is a success to be celebrated. n

Petrina Balser is coordinator o parish and community ministry or

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o New Orleans.



17/48

With case management taking a central role

in the broad poverty reduction strategy that

Catholic Charities USA is advancing through

the National Opportunity and Community

Renewal Act, we asked three colleagues rom our network to

discuss with us the practice o case management and why it is

an eective strategy or reducing poverty. We spoke with Mary

Fitzpatrick, emergency services director or Catholic Charities,

La Crosse, WI; Robin Neal, division manager o pregnancy sup-

port and adoption program, Catholic Charities, Portland, OR;

and Keith Kozerski, director o St. Josephs Home or Children,

Catholic Charities, Archdiocese o St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Charities USA:Why is case management an eective tool in pov-

erty reduction?

MF: With case management, you take the time to nd out

why a person or amily is coming to ask or help. I a amily

is making recurring requests or assistance year ater year, you

have to nd out whats really going on and what the barriers

are to them becoming more sel sucient. You have to nd out

whats preventing them rom accessing the resources they qual-

iy or and, once they have those tools in their tool box, rom

managing uture crises on their own. You learn that by let-

ting amilies tell their story. When they do, they nd comort,

knowing that they dont have to deal with these troubles on

their own, that there is help out there, and that youre going to

walk them through the steps to get that help. Te case manag-

er is the anchor to make the connections with the other agen-

cies and to collaborate with them on the services amilies need.

KK: Case management works as an eective strategy or pover-

ty reduction because it really is about connecting a client with

resources in their community and helping clients identiy ser-

vices or benets that they may be eligible or that they werent

aware o beore. Its a natural avenue or Catholic Charities

to take because the goals o case management pretty much go

hand-in-hand with poverty reduction.

Reducing Poverty through a Holistic, Flexible, Individualized Approach

FALL 2011 | 15

A CENRAL ROLE FOR

CASE MANAGEMEN



18/48

RN: Case management requires a holistic approach. Youre

dealing with the whole person and all the circumstances o

their lives, rom people who were raised in generational pov-

erty to individuals who are experiencing situational poverty. In

case management, we take a holistic approach to addressing

that individual or amilys needs. I know that CCUSAs pov-

erty reduction eort emphasizes a holistic approach also, so it

eels like a parallel process. I would also add that case manage-

ment is a collaborative process. Case managers help with assess-

ing, planning, implementing, coordinating, and monitoring allthe pieces but in a very collaborative eort with the other in-

dividuals, the other partners, amily members, and communi-

ty members.

Charities USA:Case management ocuses on peoples strengths

and personal assets, not on their deciencies. Why is this

signicant?

MF: A strengths-based approach helps clients see whats right

about themselves, what personal qualities, skills, and talents

they have that can be used to move them orward. Teyre eel-

ing pretty low when they come in, and a strength-based ap-

proach reminds them that even though there may be a crisis

going on now or maybe theyve made some wrong decisions

they have a lot o skills and strengths to resolve this crisis and

move themselves toward sel-suciency. It gives them hope

and a sense o sel-worth.

RN: Strengths-based services involve conducting a compre-

hensive assessment o the client and his/her resources and then

building on the innate, organic strengths and assets already ev-

ident or present in the clients lie. Clients have tremendous

strengths. Tey just dont always see it! For example, a recent

client we worked with was literally working 20 to 22 hours a

day to provide or hersel and three children. She is now preg-

nant again and experiencing severe nausea making her unable

to work. In the process o interviewing and interacting with

her, it became clear that while she cant currently work, she

was being incredibly proactive in accessing and obtaining re-

sources or hersel and her children. We helped her identiyher strengths: resourceulness, tenacity, perseverance, resilience,

hard work, and commitment to her children. Tis approach

is important because identiying, harnessing, and building on

strengths helps clients gain hope and see the areas o their lives

that are working well. Furthermore, clients are then oten able

to use their strengths, assets, and resources to assist with identi-

ying new resources and overcoming challenges.

Charities USA: Good case managers across the human services

spectrum generally work to create individualized service plans or

their clients. Whats the value o having an individualized plan?

RN: An individualized plan emphasizes the idea that clients

are the experts about their lives and they know what they need.

Our job is to listen to them, hear what theyre saying, and help

them get what they need. Tey identiy the goals. We help

them achieve them.

KK: Te rst thing we do is a unctional assessment with the

client to gure out whats been going on and where theyre at

16 | CHARITIES USA


19/48

and what their goals are. And then we help to build that plan

and put it down on paper. Tey give input into what the goals

or their amily should be and what strategies well use together

to meet those goals. Tey help determine i a strategy is work-

able or i it will be valuable to them and their amily. When

you dont make up that plan, theres a lot that can be unspoken.

People assume theres an agreement because o a stated need,

but until you put it down on paper and really esh it out or

people, theres a big chance or misinterpretation or or good

intentions to go bad. An individualized plan really empowersthe client to be able to direct their care.

MF: When we make a service plan, we start with the prob-

lem that the person needs help with, but we also cover dier-

ent areas in which they might be needing help. We put down

on paper all these dierent areas in which we can help them.

Ten we set some short-term goals and long-term goals. Maybe

weve got a single mother who is 20 and never graduated rom

high school and thinks she is just going to have to work wher-

ever she can now. So we ask i she knows about a GED and

i shes thought about getting one or i she knows about pro-

grams that help people go to college or a vocational school.Maybe these are not things shell act on right away, but weve

planted the idea and given her the connections and resources

to get started.

Charities USA:In our current service delivery system, not ev-

eryone can get case management services. ypically, case man-

agement is located in a particular program, and people have to

be eligible or that program to get case management. Whats the

impact o that on clients?

RN: Its hard on them, especially when theyre in a crisis. Tats

just the reality o limited dollars. o quality or our pregnancy

support program, the client has to either be pregnant or par-

enting a child up to the age o six months. I a client comes

in and her baby was born our months ago, shes able to re-

ceive two months o services. Tis program is unded exclu-

sively through private donations, and those are limited, so we

just have to have those constraints. Tere is an endless number

o women who are pregnant and/or parenting and experienc-

ing nancial and emotional stress, but we cant help them all.We get calls rom women wanting to access our services, but

theyve got a one-year-old, and so we have to reer them out or

give them inormation about other resources that they could

tap into. Tey cannot access case management services that we

provide.

Charities USA:What other challenges and issues do providers

ace in providing case management?

RN: Sta training and development is one. Not all case manag-

ers are excellent case managers, so I need to make sure that Im

hiring well or those positions that require that excellent case

management skill set. And then there is the challenge o case

load limitsshould we serve ewer clients longer and more in-

tensely or more clients less intensely? Tats a dilemma, and we

have that conversation over and over again. Should we reduce

our case load limits so that we can stay involved with clients

longer and in a more intense manner or do we serve everybody

that comes in and do whatever we can, even i its just an inch

deep in terms o the impact on their lives?

FALL 2011 | 17

Photos: Steve Liss, AmericanPovety.org


20/48

18 | CHARITIES USA

MF: Tat dilemma also applies in how we use our resources.

Do we help ewer people with more unding to help resolvetheir situation or, because we have so many people coming to

us, do we help more people with less unding? Its hard. Its just

really, really hard. Some o our ederal unding lters down to

a county board, which can set the amount o assistance that we

can help each amily in that county with, and that makes it di-

cult when you know that maybe a bit more unding would

really make a dierence. So we have to work within those con-

straints. Some o our unding is unrestricted and with that

were able to make a judgment on how much we can help a

amily with. I a little more would help more, then were able to

do that, but its rustrating when were not able to do that with

some unding streams.

RN: Clients come in with so many needs. Teyre incredibly

vulnerable and acing so many risk actors. Women come in

with a pregnancy or a brand new baby, but oten theyre experi-

encing a housing crisis. On top o that, theyve oten had abuse

histories, trauma histories, maybe domestic violence, drug and

alcohol addiction or substance abuse issues, mental health

issues, and employment instability. Te needs are so great.

And we have limited dollars and limited sta hours, and so wetriage. We try to attend to the immediate needs, but oten it

eels woeully inadequate. We try to partner or utilize the other

resources in the community and we certainly do whatever we

can to help clients tap into the other resources that exist, but in

terms o being able to truly help those clients with all o their

needs, it eels inadequate.

Charities USA:CCUSA is advocating or a service delivery

system in which case management is the entry point or everyone

that comes seeking assistance and where there would be greater

fexibility in using program unds to meet peoples needs. I we had

that kind o a system, how would that change the way you serve?

MF: What we do now is a lot o collaborating with other agen-

cies to put together a pool o unding that will meet a persons

need. I case management was unded adequately and there

were a pool o unding resources to draw rom, we could ully

meet the need ourselves. People wouldnt have to run around

to dierent agencies and ll out more paperwork to get into

their system and to meet one need.


21/48

RN: It would allow us to help clients by assisting with very real

and practical needs and helping them to improve the circum-stances o their lives. Te idea that clients could come in and

that case managers could do the work o case management

the work o truly listening to the client, assessing the needs, as-

sisting with planning, and making a comprehensive plan with

them and then having the exibility to implement it is very ap-

pealing. For example, i a client needed an income subsidy or

612 months, we could help with that, or i a client needed

a child care subsidy or a period o time, we could assist with

that. We could have the exibility to meet real needs. Tats

how I understand the new service delivery model, and its very

appealing.

KK: I think what were seeing is that the interventions weve

put in place so ar havent gone to the root issues o generation-

al poverty. So until we go at it completely anew, its going to

be hard to make meaningul impacts on the systems we have

in place. n

FALL 2011 | 19

What were seeing is that the

interventions weve put in place so

ar havent gone to the root issues o

generational poverty. So until we go

at it completely anew, its going to

be hard to make meaningul impacts

on the systems we have in place.

Photo: Laura Sikes


22/48

20 | CHARITIES USA

Visit www.CatholicCharities911.org

to learn more about our networks 9/11

response eforts and 10th anniversary events.


23/48

FALL 2011 | 21

R

emembering the events o September 11, 2001,

carries an enormous weight o emotion. We re-

ect with soberness on the evil that was perpe-

trated that day, with grie or the people who losttheir lives, with heart-elt sympathy or the amilies and loved

ones that were let behind, and with compassion or the many

people whose lives were impacted in other ways.

As a Catholic Charities network, we can also reect with peace

and condence on the eorts we made to alleviate suering

and to help people recover rom this disastrous event. On the

day o the terrorist attacks and in the days, months, and years

that ollowed, Catholic Charities agencies responded to people

in need, whether it was helping people nd their missing loved

ones in the hours ater the attacks, providing ood to respond-

ers and Ground Zero workers, assisting amilies with uner-al and burial costs, counseling grie-stricken parents, spouses,

and children, providing nancial assistance and ood boxes to

people suddenly without a job, coordinating services or ami-

lies with long-term needs, providing reerrals or legal aid, spon-

soring support groups and childrens therapy activities, oering

mental health services, organizing job airs and job develop-

ment services, setting up scholarship unds or children who

lost a parent, mobilizing parish ministries, organizing outreach

events to immigrant communities, or many other thoughtul,

compassionate, and vital services.

In addition to these local agency eorts, Catholic Charities

USA coordinated response eorts with other national organi-

zations and government agencies, provided technical assistance

to agencies in impacted areas, and managed national commu-nications about our response eorts. Catholic Charities USA

also processed more than $31 million in donations and distrib-

uted the unds to impacted agencies to provide long-term re-

covery services.

Our capacity as a network to respond to disasters grew through

our September 11 eorts. We already had tremendous resourc-

es with which to respond, but still we learned valuable les-

sons in providing disaster services and working together as a

network.

In commemoration o September 11, we recognize the selesswork o the sta and volunteers o impacted Catholic Charities

agencies, who truly gave their all to ease the suering o others.

We recognize the generosity o many thousands o people who

donated money to help us respond. And we recognize, with

gratitude, the opportunity we had to be the hands and heart o

Christ to so many people in need. n

REMEMBERING SEPEMBER 11

FALL 2011 | 21


24/48

22 | CHARITIES USA

SARING A NAIONAL CONVERSAION ON

Poverty Summit to Bring ogether en National Organizations Fighting Poverty

POVERY REDUCION

American Human Development Project

Bread or the World

Catholic Campaign or Human Development

CFED

Coalition on Human Needs

Feeding America

National Alliance to End Homelessness

Save the Children

Society o St. Vincent de Paul

Catholic Charities USA

Whats the next step? Tat has been the question or Catholic

Charities USA since its centennial year came to a close. During

the centennial year, CCUSA and the Catholic Charities network

engaged their communities in a nationwide series o leadership

summits on poverty reduction, discovering and elevating eective

strategies in a process that culminated in bold and innovative pov-

erty reduction legislation.

Rev. Larry Snyder led CCUSA in nding an answer to the ques-

tionto start a national conversation on poverty reduction byengaging national partners also dedicated to reducing poverty. In

February o this year, Fr. Snyder convened a meeting o the pres-

idents and CEOs o nine partner organizations, major players in

the eld o poverty reduction, and addressed the single issue that

rose up rom all regional discussions at the Centennial Leadership

Summitsthe need or collaboration. Out o that meeting and

those that ollowed came the idea or an annual National Poverty

Summit, a platorm rom which to launch a national conversation

about poverty that will lead to action.

Te rst National Poverty Summit will take place in September,

hosted by CCUSA in conjunction with the Annual Gathering in

Fort Worth, X. It will bring together CCUSA and nine other

national organizations in an eort to inspire active participation

in a national movement to reduce poverty; re-imagine the way

America addresses poverty; and to identiy, design, and implement

innovative and measureable tactics towards the common goal o

reducing poverty in America.

We hope to see people come out o this summit committed to

having a national conversation about poverty. We have a respon-

sibility to see that it happens and that it continues. And we needto come out with a strategy or that, said Candy Hill, CCUSAs

senior vice-president or social policy and government aairs.

Te summit will eature several speakers, interactive workshops,

and an idea marketplace, where attendees will discuss and build

consensus around ten innovative ideas on poverty reduction pre-

sented by CCUSA and the other summit partner. With the input

rom this session, CCUSA and the summit partners will urther

develop the coalitions poverty reduction strategy.

National Poverty Summit Partners


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Ater long witnessing the lack o preparedness or planning or

the needs o children in disasters, Save the Children led a coali-

tion that successully advocated or the creation o the National

Commission on Children in Disaster. Catholic Charities USA was

an active partner in that coalition and has played a role in the

commissions work since then. The relationship between the two

organizations is now continuing with Save the Childrens partner-

ship in the National Poverty Summit.

We were honored by the invitation, says Save the Childrens Mark

Shriver, senior vice president o U.S. programs. His organization

is also working to reduce poverty, ocusing domestically on liter-

acy and healthy eating programs and disaster preparedness or

children.

The poverty rate or children is at an all time high1 in 5 na-

tionally, and 1 in 4 in rural areas, says Shriver. We are work-

ing to shine a light on kids in poverty, on their needs, and on the

solutions.

The solutions, Shriver insists, must be eective and cost-efcient.

Save the Childrens literacy and healthy eating programs have

proven to be so, partnering with schools and providing fnancial

resources and training so school sta can administer these sup-

plemental programs to low-income children and their amilies.

Finding what works is one o the benefts o working with other

organizations. Were not into reinventing the wheel here, says

Shriver. I we can learn rom others, we will.n

FALL 2011 | 23

PERSPECIVES FROM WO SUMMIPARNERS

Mark Shriver, Save the Children

Andrea Levere, CFED

A ew years ago, in a cab to the airport ater a Leadership

18 meeting, Andrea Levere, president o the Corporation or

Enterprise Development (CFED), a national organization commit-

ted to helping low-income amilies build assets, laid out CFEDsposition to Fr. Snyder. I you dont pair a poverty reduction strat-

egy with asset building, you will not be able to move people out

o poverty.

That conversation prompted a new emphasis in CCUSAs poverty

reduction eort and marked the beginning o a valued relation-

ship between CCUSA and CFED that now continues with CFEDs

partnership in the National Poverty Summit.

When it comes to mission and a vision about what kind o society

we want to create, we are very strongly aligned with CCUSA, says

Levere. We see the opportunity to bring our intellectual capital

and experience and our ocus on policy to this coalition.

Levere appreciates that CCUSA recognizes the power o linking

asset building with essential saety net programs to build mean-

ingul pathways to household fnancial security through education,

business development, and sustainable homeownership. Shealso appreciates that the Catholic Charities network o afliates is

essential to scaling proven strategies to build assets.

As or the summit, says Levere, It is also critical in its role o rais-

ing up the issue o poverty, and the ability to implement strategies

that can work to address it, i we work together across all the sec-

tors. This is our opportunity to stimulate a new national conversa-

tion that will start building wealth rom the bottom up.


26/48

24 | CHARITIES USA

Annual Gathering Hosts Have Set Out to End Poverty

HINKING OUSIDEHE BOX IN FOR WORH


27/48

FALL 2011 | 25

It would be easy to come beore you today and say something

trite, like lets work harder or I think we can do better, says

Heather Reynolds, CEO and president o Catholic Charities

Fort Worth (CCFW), as she addresses a room o over 250 em-ployees. Tat would be easy, but I am not about easy, and

doing the easy thing is certainly not what God called this

agency to do.

Its been a deliberate and steadast road or Catholic Charities

Fort Worth, growing and evolving into every inch o its

100-hundred year history, and the numbers prove it. In 2010,

CCFW served 110,199 people, up rom 55,112 just six years

ago when Reynolds became CEO at only 25 years old. Just this

year, the agency experienced its largest sta and budget size

in history, sustaining over 40 programs that serve as a lieline

to residents in the surrounding 28 counties. Now one o thetop social service providers in Fort Worth, the agency has set

it sights on an even bigger goal: ending poverty in its commu-

nity. We have to be bold. Our aim and our ocus must be on

ending poverty, says Reynolds. We will ail; its true. But, we

will make the greatest impact i this is our goal.

With consistent messaging to be bold and innovative, become

outrageous, and get it done, the sta at CCFW has not only

thought about it, theyve done it. In 2006, the agency began

a capital campaign to build a new acility and meet a desper-

ately growing need. In 2010, the agency opened the doors to

the new building, a complex that allows CCFW to more thandouble its capacity and provides easier access to the community.

Te new acility is one more step towards thinking big, literally.

Central to the agencys success is innovation. CCFW believes

its not enough or social service providers to do what everyone

else is doing i they truly believe in ending poverty. We have

to think outside o the box, we have to nd new ways to prot,

or ourselves and or our clients, says Reid Strobel, director o

Business Ventures. And no ones ideas are too ar-etched. Te

sta at CCFW is encouraged to think big and then submit

their ideas to go through a easibility vetting process. Whats

come out o this open-door idea policy is a window to theagencys uture: innovative ventures that pay their own way.

WORN, the latest socially conscious concept-turned-reali-

ty, is a ashion scar label hand-knit by local reugee women.

Formerly a part o the reugee services sta, Abbi Ice saw a rad-

ical way out o poverty or the women she served when she saw

the intricate handiwork in their homes. Last all, Ice present-

ed the idea o developing a scar label that could then be sold

We have to be bold. Our aimand our ocus must be on

ending poverty.


28/48

26 | CHARITIES USA

at local boutiques and online or prot, both providing a sup-

plemental source o income to the knitters as well as prot or

the agency. CCFW partnered with the University o exas at

Arlington School o Social Work to help und and evaluate the

impact this project would have on the lives o the women. Te

agency ormulated a business plan, ormed a ashion adviso-

ry board comprised o proessionals nationwide, and invested

time and resources into making it happen. Now, 22 women are

ecstatic to be a part o a project that is changing lives and ul-timately driving more money back into their own community.

Another such program is the ranslation and Interpretation

Network (IN). CCFW worked with the exas Department

o Health and Human Services to improve client communi-

cations in healthcare, immigration, social services, education,

and legal support. Capitalizing on the reugee populations

knowledge o a breadth o languages, CCFW sta saw a way


29/48

to connect their skills with a steady income that could provide

a needed service to the community. IN now has over 200 in-

terpreters who speak 70 languages. With an eye on continued

expansion, CCFW continues to think orward. Projects likethese are amazing on their own, but the collaboration doesnt

stop there. Te agencys ervor or creating dynamic partner-

ships remains true even inside company lines. ake nancial

stability services, or example. What was once basic nancial

assistance has expanded to a whole breadth o services meant

to champion the end o poverty, person by person. Tese ser-

vices were set in motion to help amilies increase household -

nancial stability by empowering clients to manage their own

money eectively and build assets. Right now, nancial stabili-

ty services are working closely with WORN to help teach these

women about managing money, meeting basic needs, and cre-ating goals.

Te education component or clients, such as those rom

WORN, is derived rom the desire to create permanent solu-

tions to poverty. Te agency knows that nancial coaching has

a proven track record o instilling long-term behavioral chang-

es in clients, not to mention all the other agency resources they

are able to benet rom during sessions. Te program ocuses

on making amilies aware o income supports, like childrens

health insurance available statewide, Volunteer Income ax

Assistance (VIA), ways to improve credit practices, and set-

ting up savings accounts.

I want us to end poverty, Reynolds reiterates. Ill say it again;

I want us to end poverty. Te spirit o the agency echoes this

outspoken request. Teres a team hard at work now investigat-

ing the purchase o an apartment complex to house clients, a

team nalizing a plan to implement a ull service dental clinic

by the beginning o 2012, a team putting together poverty sem-

inars to educate sta and the public, and a team working to get

young people engaged in the agencys mission. Everything we

do is outside o the scope o our job; thats what makes it real,

rewarding work, says Jari Mema, vice president o programs.

Its this kind o drive, this kind o momentum that keeps the

agency, the clients, and the donors on their toes. Its this kind

o thinking that will end poverty.

Catholic Charities Fort Worth cannot wait to give you a exas-

sized welcome this September. We invite you to visit our build-

ing, watch our innovation in action, and share your ideas instrengthening the work we all do to serve the most vulnerable

among us. Howdy, Yall! n

Te scarves will be or sale at this years CCUSA Annual Gathering

and Poverty Summit. o read the stories about the women and learn

more about the WORN movement, visit www.wornorpeace.org.

FALL 2011 | 27

Central to the agencys success is innovation. CCFW

believes its not enough or social service providers to do what

everyone else is doing i they truly believe in ending poverty.


30/48

28 | CHARITIES USA

Corinne Ball is an attorney and a senior partner or international law

frm Jones Day, where she directs the frms global corporate restructur-

ing practice. She led a team o attorneys representing Chrysler LLC in its

Chapter 11 reorganization. That successul plan won the Deal o the Year

Award 2009 rom the Investment Dealers Digest. Ms. Ball also serves

on the Board o Trustees o Catholic Charities o the Archdiocese o New

York and is a major supporter o its work to help the needy, Catholic and

non-Catholic alike.

Ms. Balls experience in helping distressed corporations inormed and

strengthened her response to individuals and amilies in need. She wit-

nessed frst-hand the eects o job dislocations and cut backs that con-

tinue to be the result o the 2008 economic downturn and the current

fnancial maelstrom. There were amilies who never had to ask or help

beore coming to ood pantries so that their children would not go hungry,

the newly unemployed who needed fnancial support and practical guid-

ance to look or work, and people who or the frst time could not pay their

rent and were threatened with eviction and homelessness.

In 2010, Corinne Ball organized Catholic Renewal, a group o about 400

proessionalsrom lawyers and investment bankers to accountantsin

the corporate restructuring industry who are committed to providing char-

itable assistance to individuals and groups in need and to sustain their

eorts through inspiration and spiritual growth. Catholic Renewal has al-

ready raised $100,000 to support the work o Catholic Charities o the

Archdiocese o New York. That work includes providing 6.1 million healthy

meals a year to hungry amilies and individuals and sheltering more than

8,000 homeless people. Recently, Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive

director o the agency, celebrated the Red Mass, traditionally oered or

lawyers, with members o Catholic Renewal in attendance.

Ms. Ball continues to work with Catholic Charities to expand the eorts o

Catholic Renewal as its membership grows. Shes was quoted recently in

The Wall Street Journal as saying, Doing the right thing does come natu-

rally to most. It certainly comes naturally to her.

Thank you, Ms. Ball, for your generous support of Catholic Charities and

for your compassion for the people Catholic Charities serves. The support

of volunteers and donors makes it possible for Catholic Charities USA and

Catholic Charities agencies nationwide to serve people in need.n

A THANK YOU TO THE PEOPLE WHO

SUPPORT CATHOLIC CHARITIES

DOING THE RIGHT THINGCORINNE BALL


31/48

FALL 2011 | 29

Congratulations to three outstanding amily strengthening programsthat have been selected as Catholic Charities USAs 2011 Family

Strengthening Award Winners: the Philadelphia Family Service Centers,

Catholic Social Services, Archdiocese o Philadelphia; Paths o HOPE,

Catholic Charities Community Services, Phoenix, AZ; and Reugee Assistance &

Immigration Services, Catholic Social Services, Anchorage, AK. Congratulations also

to seven other programs that have been named as nalists.

Te Family Strengthening annual awards program, which has been made possible by

the generous support o the Annie E. Casey Foundation, aims to recognize excep-

tional programs that take a holistic approach to strengthening amilies by providing

services that support healthy amily relationships, work to improve a amilys over-

all nancial situation, and enhance the community where the amilies live. Te three

winning programs will each receive a $25,000 award and will be ormally honored at

Catholic Charities USAs Annual Gathering and Poverty Summit, September 18-21,

in Fort Worth, X.

WINNERS

THE 2011


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30 | CHARITIES USA

Philadelphia Family Service Centers

Catholic Social Services, Philadelphia

Tree amily services centers in Philadelphiathe Northeast

Family Service Center, the Southwest Family Service Center,

and Casa del Carmen in North Philadelphiahave taken

amily strengthening to heart. Operated by Catholic Social

Services, Archdiocese o Philadelphia, these centers are hubs o

activity in their communities, bringing people o all ages and

many ethnicities and nationalities together in sae, supportiveenvironments where they can access a wide array o services

and programs designed to strengthen amilies, especially those

who ace numerous barriers to prosperity.

Each center has taken great strides to integrate the amily

strengthening philosophy into all aspects o service delivery so

that amilies can seamlessly access services in a coordinated and

comprehensive way, advocate or themselves, and assume lead-

ership roles in their homes and communities. Te centers uti-

lize a comprehensive intake and assessment tool with amilies

that seek nancial assistance, which enables sta to reer ami-

lies to a more in-depth process where they can work with stato develop a plan to achieve nancial stability. With so many

services available, either oered by the centers or by outside

providers who provide services on site, amilies can access the

services they need to succeed, such as housing stabilization and

homelessness prevention, credit counseling and debt manage-

ment assistance, housing counseling, nancial literacy class-

es, workshops on tenant rights and responsibilities, job devel-

opment and training, prenatal care and education, parenting

classes, and many others.

Te centers also oer pre-school programs, out-o-school-time

programs or school age youth, youth development and youthjob training programs, social activities or seniors, as well as

computer labs where community members can access job op-

portunities, prepare resumes, and submit online job applica-

tions. All around, the centers oer amilies a wealth o resources

to assist them in becoming stronger and achieving sustainable

independence.

Paths o HOPE

Catholic Charities Community Services, Phoenix

Paths o HOPE helps nancially vulnerable yet motivated am-

ilies access and develop resources needed to achieve long-term

prosperity. Resources or prosperity include income, housing,

personal and amily health, positive social relationships, strong

role models, educational advancement, and more. Developed

in answer to CCUSAs call to reduce poverty in America by 50

percent by 2020, Paths o HOPE helps vulnerable amilies de-velop their own plans or accessing the resources o prosperity

through nancial education, personal development, planning,

and mentoring.

Paths o HOPE helps people who are nancially vulnera-

ble, those who experience requent nancial crisis, and those

who lack the required physical, emotional, social, and spiritu-

al resources to achieve long-term prosperity. For many o these

people, a culture o day to day survival prevails. Access to edu-

cation, jobs with sustainable wages and benets, supportive re-

lationships, permanent housing, and the opportunity to build

a stable uture are not likely when ocus and energy are directedat just getting by rather than getting ahead. Paths o HOPE

ocuses on matching people in vulnerable situations who have

desire, determination, and drive to achieve prosperity with the

people and resources they need to chart a course to a stable,

secure lie.

Paths o HOPE begins with a ree three-part nancial edu-

cation series where participants set saving goals, learn how to

create and maintain a budget, and get tips on managing credit.

Te next step is participating in Getting Ahead in a Just-

Getting-By World, a 15-week series o personal development,

resource building, and planning workshops. Participants grad-uate rom the course with their own dream plan or prosper-

ity. Te path continues through Circles o HOPEvolunteer

mentor teams that help participants work on their dream plan

and achieve long-term prosperity. Along the path, the program

provides ree tax preparation services through its IRS-certied

VIA volunteers. Paths o HOPE services are delivered by the

HOPE Corps, trained volunteers rom the community.


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FALL 2011 | 31

Reugee Assistance & Immigration Services

Catholic Social Services, Anchorage, AK

Te Reugee Assistance & Immigration Services (RAIS) pro-

gram o Catholic Social Services (CSS) is the sole provider o

reugee resettlement services in Alaska. Te program specical-

ly ocuses on comprehensive amily support to newly arrived

reugees arriving in Alaska.

Trough the provision o a wide range o servicescase man-

agement, job readiness and job development, ESL instruction,nancial education, assistance with navigating American sys-

tems, and so onRAIS provides a bridge or reugee amilies

rom their ormer lie experiences to the new skills required or

success in the United States. Te programs ultimate goal is to

assist reugees to obtain a liestyle that has sustainable nancial

support, and in which the amilys basic needs are ully met on

a long-term basis. As o March 31, 2011, 93 percent o adult

reugees had obtained employment within 6 months o arrival,

100 percent o employed clients retained their employment or

more than 3 months, and 75 percent o reugee amilies receiv-

ing ANF (emporary Assistance or Needy Families) termi-nated their benets due to employment. Tese benchmarks are

tracked quarterly and indicate RAIS success in helping amilies

achieve sel-suciency.

Although the program began with the main goals o econom-

ic sel-suciency in mind, RAIS has evolved to incorporate

unique enrichment programs that deepen the programs goals

to strive or amily community integration and ulllment, not

just nancial security. Te Garden Project, the Reugee Music

Group, the Reugee Youth Soccer eam, and the Older Reugee

Project are all enrichment programs stemming rom reugee re-

quests or uller lie activities, RAIS creativity, and communi-ty partnerships.

As the program has grown, it has maintained a ocus on being

strengths-based and client-centered, achieving excellence in

services provided, and staying exible and innovative in its pro-

gram elements.n

2011 FINALISTS

Bridges to Circles Poverty Initiative

Catholic Charities o Northwest Florida

Family Service Center

Catholic Charities o St. Paul and Minneapolis

Omaha Family Enrichment Program

Catholic Charities, Omaha, NE

Our Place

Catholic Charities, Manchester, NH

Reugee Match Grant Program

Catholic Charities, Fort Worth, X

Regina Maternity Services

Catholic Charities, Rockville Centre, NY

St. Marthas Hall

Catholic Charities, St. Louis, MO

Read about these innovative programs at www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org.

Photos: Steve Liss, AmericanPoverty.org


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32 | CHARITIES USA

An Epidemico Disaster

Catholic Charities Stretched by Recent Natural Disasters


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FALL 2011 | 33

Frost Damage. Ice Storms. Floods. Severe Storms.

ornadoes. Wildre. More Floods. More ornadoes.

Its being called the new normaldisaster ater di-

saster, one ater another, taxing local, national, and

government response agencies, damaging or destroying com-

munities, and most signicantly, taking lives and turning sur-

vivors lives upside down.

Te rst hal o 2011 has seen so many disasters that were on

pace to set a new record. Last year, FEMA declared 81 major

disasters throughout the United States, the highest number

ever. In the rst seven months o 2011, weve already had

59 major disasters. In the same seven months, rom Januarythrough July, CCUSA distributed 40 short-term disaster as-

sistance grants, just eight grants less than the total number o

grants CCUSA distributed in 2010.

Its been an epidemic o disaster, said Mandi Janis, director o

disaster response or CCUSA. Weve had 20 agencies respond-

ing to disasters in just the last three-month period (April, May,

and June).

wo places in the country were particularly devastatedcen-

tral Alabama and Joplin, MO. On April 27, central Alabamawas impacted by a historic number o tornadoes67 in one

day, resulting in widespread destruction across the mid-section

o the state. Birmingham was slammed with a massive EF-4

tornado, which wiped out whole neighborhoods o the city,

while tiny Hackleburg, with a population o only 1500, was

almost completely destroyed by a monstrous EF-5 tornado.

Tese tornadoes were just a ew o the 178 tornadoes counted

between April 25-28 as a powerul storm system swept through

the South, killing 321 people. CCUSA and Catholic Charities

agencies in Biloxi, MS; Mobile, AL; Baton Rouge, LA; and

Orlando, FL; stepped in to assist the Birmingham agency in re-

sponding to the disaster.

Ten on May 22, another class EF-5 tornadothe most pow-

erul tornado there iswith winds exceeding 200 mph tore

through Joplin, MO, on May 22, cutting a six-mile wide swath

o destruction through this city o 50,000, destroying 7,000

homes, and killing over 150 people. CCUSA, the non-im-

pacted Missouri agencies, and other agencies in Wichita, KS;


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34 | CHARITIES USA

Brooklyn, NY; Biloxi, MS; and Brownsville, X; rallied to

assist Catholic Charities o Southern Missouri, which had only

two sta members able to assist, in responding to the crisis.

Tese disasters have really stretched the capacity o agencies.

Tey have been asked to be everywhere at once and all things

to everyone, said Janis. At the same time, Catholic Charities

agencies have really emerged in their communities as strong

players in disaster response.

Janis was pleased to see how strongly the Catholic Charities

network came together to assist in responding to the disasters.

We had coordination calls several times a week and oten had

people on these calls rom non-impacted agencies who wanted

to learn how they could help.

Currently, CCUSA is in the process o distributing nearly $2

million in donations to the most impacted areas. n

Catholic Charities agencies have

emerged in their communities as

strong players in disaster response.


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SUMMER 2011 | 35


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CCUSA NEWS

CCUSA Stresses the Need or Innovation in Poverty

Reduction in Statement on Debt Ceiling Deal

Following the August 2 debt ceiling deal made in Congress,

Rev. Larry Snyder made the ollowing statement:

Catholic Charities USA is pleased that our nations poli-

cymakers have averted the likely economic disaster that would

have resulted rom deault, however, it is clear that the deal

they have reached to raise the nations debt ceiling puts tre-

mendous pressure on critical domestic discretionary spending.

While a national economic crisis has been avoided, the man-dated cuts to domestic programs have the potential to cause

an even greater economic crisis or the nations most vulner-

able citizens.

We remain deeply concerned that with an approach that o-

cuses solely on cutting spending, eorts to balance the nations

budget will continue to result in dramatic negative impact on

the nearly 48 million Americans living in poverty, neglecting

the moral imperative to adequately address the needs o those

most vulnerable among us.

In the short-term eort to achieve the cuts agreed to in the

debt ceiling debate, we urgently call or our nations policy-

makers to achieve these cuts by creating and maximizing bu-

reaucratic eciency, rather than by simply sacricing vital ser-

vices on the ground, the impact o which would be even greater

strain on amilies who are already struggling in the nascent eco-

nomic recovery.

However, we cannot continue to look or short-term solutionsto long-term challenges. o eciently, eectively and sustain-

ably meet the needs o the tens o millions o Americans living

in need, our nations policymakers must join us in an eort to

identiy 21st century solutions to 21st century poverty. Until

that conversation takes place, and government takes the steps

necessary to reorm its service delivery systems, we will contin-

ue to stand rmly against any initiative that threatens the well-

being o the 47.8 million Americans who are struggling in pov-

erty and the 14.1 million who are unemployed.

36 | CHARITIES USA


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FALL 2011 | 37

CCUSA Names New Board Members and Ofcers

CCUSA recently named new ocers and members to its

board o trustees, men and woman who are collectively poised

to lead the organization into its second century o caring or

those in need.

We are deeply blessed by the caliber and commitment o those

who guide us and lead us at the national board level, said Rev.

Larry Snyder, president o CCUSA. Tese individuals manage

overwhelming demands on their time, but each generously de-

votes their talent and treasure to Catholic Charities. We are in-

credibly grateuland very ortunate indeedto ollow our

2010 Centennial year with these leaders.

Te CCUSA Board o rustees named as ocers: John Young,

chair, Yakima, WA; Kathleen Flynn Fox, vice chair, Naples, FL;

Rev. Monsignor Michael Boland, secretary, Chicago, IL; and

Marcos Herrera, treasurer, San Jose, CA.

Joining the CCUSA Board or three-year terms are: Marguerite

Peg Harmon, ucson, AZ; Bill Jones, Covington, KY; AndrewLinbeck, Houston, X; Martina OSullivan, Santa Cruz, CA;

and Rev. Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, New York, NY. Retiring

CCUSA Board members are: Brian Corbin, Youngstown, OH;

Paul Martodam, St. Paul, MN; Robert Siebel, Brooklyn, NY;

and Janet Valente-Pape, Wichita, KS.

Tese changes are scheduled to take eect at the September

board meeting to be held during the CCUSA Annual Gathering

in Fort Worth, exas, September 18-21, 2011.

Board Ofcers

John Young, Chair, is the executive director o

Catholic Charities o the Diocese o Yakima,

Washington. Prior to joining this agency in 1996, he

served Catholic Charities organizations in Mobile,

AL, and Memphis, TN. Young joined the CCUSA

Board in 2004, becoming treasurer in 2006 and

vice chair in 2008.

Kathleen Flynn Fox, Vice Chair, is a principal with

Silver Fox Partners, a marketing and communica-

tions company specializing in the U.S. retailing in-

dustry. Since 1980, she has been an avid volunteer

working directly with children, promoting childrens

literacy, and supporting programs that help those

with special needs, including a literacy program or

Head Start Children in Collier County, FL. Fox joined

the CCUSA Board in 2007.

Rev. Monsignor Michael M. Boland, secretary,

has served as the administrator, president, and

CEO o Catholic Charities o the Archdiocese oChicago since 1997. Msgr. Boland also serves

the Archdiocese o Chicago in a number o other

capacities: he is a member o the cabinet o

charities usa magazine: fall 2011

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