Current Initiatives

Since our formation in 2019, we’ve initiated projects to raise awareness of United Way’s 211 information and referral system (including a wider distribution of in-person and virtual trainings) and to increase access to GED training. We have supported convening workforce organizations in the area with the goal of developing best practices that are focused on jobs. We’ve also successfully piloted a joint case management system across organizations that serve the complex needs of individuals and families living in poverty. This work was based on an initiative of the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS), working in partnership with Enrichment Services Program (ESP) and the Coalition.

In 2023, one of our main priorities is to expand the joint case management system. In this project, families referred to DFCS who were found to be experiencing by-products of living in poverty, rather than substantiated child abuse and neglect, were referred to the joint case management system. From here, several organizations worked together to connect these families to the community resources that would address their true needs. As of January 1, 2023, we had worked with over 115 families through the joint case management system.

In addition, we are supporting Better Work Columbus and Ashbury United Methodist Church with the expansion of Jobs for Life class initiatives. This initiative launched in 2022, focusing initial efforts in the Oakland Park area and systematically determining best practices. Our hope is to expand this initiative outward throughout the region. The first Jobs for Life cohort graduated in 2022, and registration is currently underway for a second cohort to begin in March 2023.

Finally, our third priority area in 2023 is the COVID and Safety Net Innovation (CASI) Initiative, which is focused on improving coordinated services and mental health services in Muscogee County.

Across our initiatives in the past several years, we have increased cross-organizational collaboration among PRC-participating organizations, breaking down walls between previous silos. Additionally, we regularly seek family input about our projects through active and advisory participation, as well as through periodic community focus groups. Community feedback and integration is a vital process of our work.