Goodwill and Family Strengthening

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Goodwill and Family Strengthening

• An Emerging Cultural Shift in the Goodwill
  Approach to Service Delivery

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The Goodwill Movement and Family Strengthening

• Background
• 2001 Goodwill selected by Annie E. Casey
  Foundation (Baltimore) to be one of several
  national human service organizations to operate
  the Family Strengthening Awards Program.
• Every year, four Goodwills have been recognized
  for their commitment to family strengthening with
  20,000 awards.

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Family Strengthening Award Winners (2001-2007)

• GI of Lower SC (Charleston)
• Evansville (IN) GI
• GI of the Chesapeake (Baltimore) (2x)
• GI of Central TX (Austin) (2x)
• GI of Southern CA (Los Angeles)
• GI of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties
  (2x)
• MERS/Missouri GI (St. Louis)
• Goodwill of North Georgia (Atlanta)
• GI of Central Georgia (Macon)
• GI Serving E Nebraska and SW Iowa (Omaha)
• GI of Pittsburgh (PA)
• Goodwill/ES MN (St. Paul) (2x)

• GI of Denver (CO)
• GI of Greater Grand Rapids (MI)
• Seattle (WA) GI
• GI of Tulsa (OK)
• GI of Greater NY and Northern NJ (2)
• GI of Northern MI (Traverse City)
• GI of North LA (Shreveport)
• Southern Oregon GI (Medford)
• GI of Hawaii (Honolulu)
• ES-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain (Idaho
  office)
• GI of KYOWVA Area (Huntington, WV)
• GI of Southwestern MI (Kalamazoo)

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2006 New Approach to Family Strengthening

• First five years - focused on individual
  workforce development programs or initiatives
• New approach Family strengthening is an
  organizational philosophy, not just a program
• New approach Integrate FS into mission and
  vision, throughout workforce services and
  programs, and other departments and divisions

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Goodwill Service Delivery Cultural Shifts

• 1980s Program Model
• 1990s Individual Service Model
• 2007 Family Strengthening Model

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What is Family Strengthening?

• AECF Children do well when their families do
  well, and families do better when they live in
  supportive neighborhoods.

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What is Family Strengthening?

• An organizational commitment
• A philosophical attitude, not an individual
  program
• Connects families to the resources they need to
  thrive and succeed
• Understands that when someone goes to work, it
  impacts the whole family
• Creates opportunities for families to move
  towards financial independence

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Goal of Goodwills Family Strengthening Commitment

• To support and empower individuals and their
  families who are striving to overcome the causes
  of poverty and achieve economic self-sufficiency.
• Deliver high quality services that lead to
  exceptional outcomes.

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Family Strengthening and Goodwill Strategic
Initiatives

• 21st Century Initiative (adopted in 2001)
• Goodwill Industries will help 20 million
  individuals and their families improve their
  economic self-sufficiency through work by the
  year 2020.
• Strategy 2 Goodwill will take a whole family
  approach to service delivery.

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Family Strengthening Linked to Quality and Growth

• Awards recognize quality over quantity awards
  have been given to large, small, urban, and rural
  Goodwills.
• ASR Reports In general, family strengthening
  award winners have more growth than other
  Goodwill members.

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Ten Goodwill Family Strengthening Strategies

• Leadership Commitment
• Financial Commitment
• Human Resource Policies and Practices
• Community Resource Connections
• Youth Development
• Job Readiness and Placement
• Job Retention and Advancement
• Employer Relations
• Financial Education
• Asset Development

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New Initiatives in Family Strengthening

• Family Strengthening Teams
• Opportunity Grants for FS Teams
• 2007 Goodwill winners in Clarksville, IN Mobile,
  AL Phoenix, AZ and Roanoke, VA
• Expansion to Canada
• New National FS Grants (AmeriCorps Northwestern
  Mutual)
• Going International Cambodia

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Where should you begin?

• Begin the journey Family strengthening support
  for family economic self-sufficiency is a
  long-term commitment.
• Start with what you have and make it intentional.
• Form a family strengthening team and select the
  strategies that are right for your Goodwill.
• Attend Family Strengthening Conference, Austin
  Goodwill, November 7-9, 2007.

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For more information

• Eric Olson
• National Director, Workforce Development
• Goodwill Industries International
• [phone], ext. 5282
• eric.olson_at_goodwill.org

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2007 Family Strengthening Award Winners

• Easter Seals-Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain
• Landis Rossi, Assistant Vice President
• Leadership and Financial Commitment
• Goodwill Industries of Southwestern Michigan
• John Dillworth, President and CEO
• Community Resource Connections
• Goodwill Industries of Central Texas
• Katie Navine, VP of Workforce Development
  Services Mission Services
• Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area
• Kim Lewis, Executive Director
• Financial Education