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Michigan Family Independence Agency

An Effective Practice

Description

The Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA) in Kent County and Cascade Engineering developed a partnership to provide retention-focused case management at the work site to welfare-to-work hires. The impetus for this partnership came through Project Zero - a 1996 governor's initiative to move all employable TANF recipients into the workforce. The Kent County FIA came into Project Zero in 1997 and developed local strategies to promote the employment of TANF recipients. At the time, Cascade Engineering had a number of job openings and, in partnership with FIA, committed to hiring TANF recipients. FIA would provide job retention support.

Goal / Mission

The goal of this program is to move employable TANF recipients into the workforce and to provide job retention support.

Results / Accomplishments

Along with serving TANF hires, the on-site FIA case manager helps other lower-income employees at Cascade through, for example, information and referral services. The company developed a comprehensive orientation for all new employees based on the successful orientation used with TANF hires and provides training for all staff on understanding poverty and its impacts on workplace values and behaviors. Cascade has a one-year retention rate of around 95 percent for its welfare-to-work hires. Based on its partnership with Cascade, FIA has begun a partnership with a group of local small employers.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Michigan Family Independence Agency and Cascade Engineering
Primary Contact
Department of Human Services
P.O. Box 30037
Lansing, Michigan 48909
(517) 373-2035
dhsweb@michigan.gov
http://www.michigan.gov/dhs
Topics
Economy / Employment
Economy / Government Assistance
Economy / Poverty
Organization(s)
Michigan Family Independence Agency and Cascade Engineering
Source
Finance Project
Date of publication
Sep 2004
Location
Kent County, MI

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Related Content for: Michigan Family Independence Agency

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.
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