Family Self-Sufficiency Demonstration Development Grants and Evaluation Support Contract

OVERVIEW OF THE FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY DEMONSTRATION DEVELOPMENT GRANT RECIPIENTS  (PDF)

ACF is committed to building evidence through strong evaluations to identify approaches that more efficiently and effectively serve families and children with low incomes. Part of this work includes supporting efforts to build research and evaluation capacity among state and local human services agencies through the provision of evaluation technical assistance (TA). To that end, in 2021, OPRE awarded 20 two-year grants to support the planning for and execution of evaluation-related activities by organizations that serve families with children with low incomes. The Family Self-Sufficiency Demonstration Development (FSSDD) grantees operate programs that are client-centered and target outcomes related to employment and family well-being (e.g., education, health, food security, financial security, or social capital). Grantee programs are also part of a network of services available to families who are eligible for or at risk of becoming eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF).

The 20 FSSDD grantees are:  

Grantee State 
Maggie's Place, Inc. AZ 
Community Action Commission of Santa Barbara County (CommUnify) CA 
Brighton Center, Inc. KY 
OneHeart SD 
Housing Authority of the City of Austin TX 
Cook Inlet Tribal Council AK 
Lutheran Services in Iowa IA 
HomeFront, Inc. NJ 
Michaels Community Services Corp. NJ 
Northern Virginia Family Service VA 
Bethany Christian Services Michigan MI 
Family Assistance for Renaissance Men MI 
Urban Neighborhood Initiatives Inc. MI 
FamilyWise Services MN 
Hennepin Healthcare System, Inc MN 
Community Partnership of Southeast Missouri MO 
Ascentria Community Services Inc. MA 
Project Self-Sufficiency Sussex Co. NJ 
Korean Community Service Center VA 
Prevent Child Abuse Virginia VA 

Under the FSSDD Evaluation Support contract (known as the Supporting Evaluation Efforts for Demonstrations in Self-Sufficiency (SEEDS) project), the FSSDD grantees are working with an evaluation technical assistance provider (Mathematica and its partner The Adjacent Possible™, or TAP) to build their capacity to conduct research and evaluation, use data to improve program outcomes, demonstrate the value of their programs, and ultimately, contribute to the evidence base on interventions serving families with children with low income. The evaluation TA provider is collaborating with each grantee to understand their existing evaluation capacity and providing research and evaluation support through activities appropriate to the particular stage of development of each grantee’s intervention. Such activities may range from creating a program logic model or theory of change to conducting pilot or other small-scale studies. Throughout the project, Mathematica and TAP will also coordinate FSSDD grantee meetings, learning communities, and other universal/cross-site support to foster learning and collaboration among grantees. At the end of the FSSDD grantees’ project periods, grantees’ readiness for future research and evaluation activities will be assessed and possible next steps to move them toward rigorous evaluation will be identified.  

Point(s) of contact: Amelia Popham, Emily Ross, Sarita Barton, and Siri Warkentien.