Indiana's REACH Program Evaluation
Summary
Abstract
The Housing and Community Services Section of the Division of Family
and Children (Indiana Family and Social Services Administration)
developed a program to assist selected Energy Assistance Program
households achieve financial independence. Support for participants
was offered through four Community Action Agencies (CAAs) that cover
north, west, middle and south components of large geographic areas
in the state. The CAAs initiated a process to identify eligible
households and then provided an array of integrated services to
help them become financially stable.
Duration
Three years (FY 1998, 1999, 2000)
Grant Amount
$1,510,840, 1997 funds
Goals
The intent of the program was to facilitate the process of achieving
financial independence and stability in families.
Client Eligibility
Energy Assistance Program participants with a history of high energy
costs, overdue rent and utilities, or frequent changes of address.
(Only clients with metered utility service were included in the
evaluation survey.)
Client Services
The project assumption was that low-income households spend a disproportionate
amount of their income on their energy bills. The Indiana REACH
coordinated a number of services, including support services, health
services, budget and housing counseling, energy education, identification
of barriers to self-sufficiency, and referrals and follow-up to
the appropriate agencies for counseling.
Outcomes
As the Indiana REACH program was originally envisioned, participants
had to be just coming off of welfare or about to lose welfare, and
to have exhausted all other sources of assistance. Both of these
requirements were dropped after the first year of the program.
The program budgeted up to $2,400 per
household. The program components included 1) supportive services
such as clothing, transportation, vehicle repair, and childcare;
2) help with medical services needed for employment; 3) skill development,
particularly energy education and budget counseling; 4) energy benefits,
including EAP, assistance for reconnect fees, deposits and arrearages;
5) housing benefits to erase mortgage and rent arrears; 6) weatherization
services through the federal Weatherization Assistance Program;
and 7) energy efficiency education for those with high energy use.
Because delivery of services and education was extremely time-intensive,
the agencies were allowed to charge administrative costs of up to
50 percent.
The initial program goal was to enroll
a total of 360 households, or 30 annually for three years for each
CAA. Because of program delays, that goal was revised to 240, or
30 annually for two years. The final total for the program was 211
participants.
According to an independent evaluation,
the Indiana REACH program achieved the following goals for participating
households:
- An overall increase in total household
income of about 22 percent
- An average reduction in electric
debt of 15 percent and in natural gas debt of 26 percent
- Overall average family debt increased
by 33 percent; however, 52 percent of the increase was part of
moves toward self-sufficiency, such as buying a car or appliances
or going back to school.
- The proportion of families that
moved decreased by 52 percent; children in participating families
decreased number of days missed at school by an average of 18
percent.
Comments
The evaluation criticized the inconsistency of techniques for collecting
household data that were used to score family stability. Although
it noted that data collection improved as the program progressed,
there was no way to improve the poor data from its initial phase.
Contact: Tom Scott
Energy Programs Specialist
Division of Children & Families
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration
(317) 232-7015
TJScott@fssa.state.in.us
Page Last Updated: December 7, 2005
