The Power of Relationships: How the Whole Family Approach Is Improving the Lives of Working Families
Initial Evaluations of the Whole Family Approach Show Promising Results
By Riccina Cabezas and Ross Whiting
Publication time: July 2019
For too many working families, a single unforeseen circumstance, such as an illness or a car repair, can prove disastrous. Without adequate planning and support, these families fall into crisis. And without adequate supportive services, recovery is difficult, if not impossible. Yet, too few supportive services are available to meet these needs.
In May, we attended the American Public Health Services Association’s (APHSA) 2019 National Health and Human Services Summit, which examines key issues and innovations happening within the health and human services community, covering topics related to policy and practice solutions for child, family and community well-being. During a panel discussion at the conference, we discussed an encouraging intervention that helps families to not just survive, but thrive.
Introduced by the Pascale Sykes Foundation, the Whole Family Approach is geared specifically toward working, low-income families also known as ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). The Approach is a family-led method to service provision that equips each family member with the tools they need to set their individual and family goals, take ownership of those goals and accomplish their dreams.
While it is a relatively new approach to service provision, there is already evidence to suggest it is improving the lives of families. During our panel discussion at APHSA, “Delivering Results for Family Mentoring and Community Building with the Whole Family Approach,” we highlighted the Family Strengthening Network (FSN), one of the Foundation’s grantee organizations, and its unique application of the Whole Family Approach, which has delivered strong results for families in rural southern New Jersey.
Family Strengthening Network’s Implementation of the Whole Family Approach and the Power of Relationships
Family Strengthening Network (FSN) implements the Whole Family Approach through an intimate form of counseling that helps families successfully navigate the service provider system and reach their goals. Rather than hiring clinicians who may be unfamiliar with the families’ culture and community, FSN employs trained Family Advocates as counselors. Family Advocates are part-time, paid staff who are hired from within the neighborhood where FSN is located, which helps ensure they understand the unique cultural context as well as available resources within the community.
Family Advocates already have established relationships and a foundation of trust with families when they begin connecting them with services. In many cases, advocates hold trusted positions as community, faith-based and school leaders. Importantly, they are frequently selected by the families receiving services themselves, enabling them to build rapport quickly. In turn, families feel comfortable asking Advocates for the support they need, and Advocates are better able to hold families accountable to their goals. Because they grew up in the same neighborhoods as the families they serve, Advocates often have personal experience navigating similar services and have a strong desire to give back and help their communities flourish.
Family Advocates are also tasked with developing partnerships with existing networks for services and resources in their area, such as local churches, community centers or schools, where they can refer families to established networks of coordinated services instead of sending them to providers outside their neighborhood. Advocates host workshops and community events, and they regularly meet with families to discuss goal-setting and progress, often in their own home. The resources they provide range from helping a parent fill out an application for food assistance, to connecting a family with educational resources for their children, to arranging babysitting, or bringing over donated meals while one parent recovers from surgery.
The presence of one trusted professional in these families’ lives greatly improves successful navigation across agencies and systems.
What We’re Learning About the Whole Family Approach
A recent evaluation of FSN’s approach and effectiveness shows promising findings. The Walter Rand Institute (WRI) at Rutgers University – Camden, in partnership with the Pascale Sykes Foundation, has been conducting a longitudinal evaluation of the Whole Family Approach’s implementation across eight nonprofits in South Jersey. FSN represents a large portion of the families surveyed during the evaluation. Adults surveyed report improved general health for themselves and for their children, as well as a stronger relationship between adult caregivers and children. There is also preliminary evidence that FSN’s methods reduce families’ financial challenges.
Moreover, we are now seeing exciting evidence that the Whole Family Approach positively enhances family well-being across all nonprofits that implement it. For example, the Whole Family Approach significantly increases help given and received between adult caregivers in families, which has been shown to be important in improving quality of life for all family members.
Future research and analysis will provide a deeper understanding of the Whole Family Approach across family functions, but these initial findings, along with the direct impact we’re seeing on the ground with organizations like FSN, offer an encouraging glimpse into the ways this service model benefits families and communities.
Riccina Cabezas is a Senior Family Advocate at Family Strengthening Network (FSN), where she helps marginalized families connect with their communities. Since joining FSN, she has advocated for more than 50 families across multiple agencies while building community partnerships to further the Whole Family Approach.
Ross Whiting, Ph. D. is a Senior Project Administrator at the Senator Walter Rand Institute for Public Affairs. He serves as the principal investigator of the South Jersey Strengthening Families Initiative Evaluation, where he oversees program evaluations and su0pports organizational development.
