Cash assistance, work supports, and traditional case management may enable families to make it through difficult periods, but these supports may not be enough to address the barriers to sustained economic security. In 2016, the DC Department of Human Services (DHS) started a pilot coaching program that used a person-centered approach to supporting families in place of the usual one-size-fits-all case management model. DHS was interested in adopting this coaching approach for all Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) customers in their employment program, but first, they wanted to learn from the past three years of coaching with a pilot group of residents. To inform how DHS refined the coaching model, The Lab @ DC conducted a descriptive analysis, provided resident-centered enhancements to the coaching model, and developed a user-testing protocol to support development of a new career pathways tool for coaches.
Why is this issue important in DC?
The traditional service delivery approach focused on service providers guiding residents receiving cash assistance towards getting and keeping jobs. While successful with some residents, the case management approach failed to constructively engage many. A better, more personalized approach was needed.
Research suggested that coaching might support residents building skills to confront challenging circumstances related to living in impoverished neighborhoods and the daily stresses of making ends meet.1
What did we do?
In 2018, DHS received a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services to revise, test, and scale up their coaching program.2
We conducted an exploratory study on the coaching program with an analysis of administrative data and through qualitative interviews. This report guided DHS’s decision to invest in coaching for all TANF customers through a phased rollout. To further solidify the models and tools, we developed a plan to user test a newly-designed tool—a career pathways website. User testing helped refine the tool before it was introduced to all coaches.
What did we learn?
Through our descriptive analysis of DHS’s pilot coaching program we learned that 1) the coach-customer relationship is paramount, 2) coaches’ adherence to the coaching model is mixed, 3) some program tools and systems could be more customer-centered, 4) coaches and customers struggle with changing rules, and 5) there are substantial opportunities to better align coaching program data, tracking, and systems with the program’s mission.
“[In traditional case management, it’s] just timesheets. [They] don’t ask you anything. [In contrast, in the coaching program] they know you, and you know them… A coach is someone who cares about your well-being. [My coach] is always asking about my home life.”
What comes next?
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, TANF case management had to move from in-person to phone and video chat sessions. In Fall 2020, DHS plans to introduce the coaching model and tools to all residents receiving TANF in a way that takes public health guidance into account (e.g. virtual coaching, access to internet and digital devices).
What happened behind the scenes?
We first started working with DHS and the TANF Employment Program through Form-a-Palooza. That relationship has grown, and now we describe adopting a customer-friendly approach to coaching materials as “form-a-palooza-ing” it!
1 Pavetti, LaDonna (2014).
2 Administration for Children and Families, US Department of Health and Human Services. Policy Academy for Innovative Employment Studies (PAIES) Grant #90FJ0003-01.