Housing & Employment Navigator Workforce Innovation Fund Study

The Team Workforce Central – Pierce County, WA – Linda Nguyen (Rod Thomas, Pamela Elessa) South Central WDC – Yakima County, WA – Patrick Baldoz Northwest WDC – Whatcom County, WA – Gay Dubigk (Alex Kosmides, Malinda Bjaaland) Building Changes – Technical Assistance – Alice Shobe (Liza Burell) Bolan Consulting – Evaluation – Marc Bolan (Sinan Demirel)

Purpose of the Study Implement a Housing & Employment Navigator Program in three WIBs to study the efficacy of: – Reducing system complexities and improve client access to support – Increasing cooperation between multiple agencies serving homeless families – Leveraging external partnerships and private funding. Impact of Navigators versus non-Navigator

Organization WFC – Fiscal Agent & program partner SC and NW – Co-WIB Partners Building Changes – Navigator training and assistance Bolan Consulting – Evaluation plan as third party evaluator

Logic

Planning twice as long State IRB added two months to timeline Evaluation Starts Random Assignment Baseline Surveys Evaluation Starts Random Assignment Baseline Surveys Implementation Original start date Enrollment 7 JAN JUN MAR 2013 – 30 APR 2015 Implementation Original start date Enrollment 7 JAN JUN MAR 2013 – 30 APR 2015 Planning Period 1 JUL – 31 DEC JUL 2012 – 28 FEB 2013 Planning Period 1 JUL – 31 DEC JUL 2012 – 28 FEB 2013 Evaluation Ends Outcomes Study Completed 31 OCT 2016 Intakes Stop 30 APR 2015 Intakes Stop 30 APR 2015 Life Cycle Planning

Operations WIF Program Outputs: Navigation services for 360 clients Enroll 150 clients in basic skills Enroll 100 clients in cert/degree programs System level: Establish 3 new navigator Initiatives linking WDC’s, housing agencies and DSHS with MOUs Outcomes for Navigator Clients:  105 clients earn GED or gain ABE, IBEST skills  50 clients earn an employer recognized credential  148 clients gain employment, with an average wage of $12/hr  120 clients remain employed after 6 months Housing Providers in 3 regions have 2 roles: eligibility and services Bolan Consulting: Baseline surveys on all eligible families referred by housing. Facilitate the random assignment of eligible families to treatment (navigator) group and control group. Conduct follow up survey on all eligible participants at 9 months post enrollment Conduct a three part evaluation

Technical Assistance Model Development – Regional implementation – Monitoring differences – Training of navigator team On-boarding and ongoing training/support of housing providers – Overall project – Referral process – Human subjects Collaborate with evaluation team – Focus on measuring the model – Coordinate housing, evaluation, project teams

Housing Providers Identify Eligible Homeless Families (i.e., stable housing, no significant barriers, interest in employment services) Non-Veterans 1.Housing staff will introduce the research project to families following the provided script 2.Housing staff provide signed consent form & signed Client Stipend form to Evaluation Team. 3.Evaluation staff completes Baseline survey with family 4.Evaluation staff do RANDOM ASSIGNMENT TREATMENT GROUP (n=360) Will be offered Navigator services and information regarding family will be sent to the WDC/Navigator COMPARISON GROUP (n=360) Not offered Navigator Services. Information is entered into the SKIES database for tracking purposes. Follow-up data collection for all enrolled in project between 3/1/13 & 6/30/15 (12-40 months of data possible) Veterans 1.Honorably discharged Veterans are eligible for Navigator services but will not be part of the research part of the project. 2.Housing staff will explain navigator services and help client assess usefulness (i.e. what other employment services is client engaged in). 3.If client is interested, housing staff will refer them directly to navigators. Direct referral to regional navigators OUTCOME EVALUATION  Employment Rates & Wages  Permanent Housing Rates  Reliance on Public Assistance Sources  Use of Different Programs and Services PROCESS EVALUATION Information about the delivery of the Navigator model in these settings to target population based on data from internal system and interviews SYSTEM IMPACT EVALUATION Information about how Navigator model is affecting other support service systems (e.g., DSHS, housing agencies) based on interviews

Lessons Learned Project Timeline Project Timeline – Award, roll-out, modifications, sub-contracting – Evaluation and project plan approval housing agencies trained in human subjects (IRB TIMELINE MAJOR IMPACT) Need to have our housing agencies trained in human subjects (IRB TIMELINE MAJOR IMPACT) incentivized their partnership Partnership with housing agencies—could/should we have incentivized their partnership (contractually – workload, compensation, etc.)? MOU MOU’s with state and local agencies “Buy-in’s and ‘Exclusions’” “Buy-in’s and ‘Exclusions’” Data sharing agreements and $$$ Data sharing agreements and $$$