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Reach Up Annual Report 2020 8 Reach Up Participants with Barriers Reach Up Case Managers assess participants’ strengths and barriers to employment on an ongoing basis. Data are collected in several ways. Case managers enter data into the Family Support Matrix in the ACCESS system as changes occur in the participants’ situations. Additionally, in 2019 Reach Up conducted a survey designed by Yale University for mothers in Reach Up living in Chittenden and Franklin counties. This study, called a “Goals and Needs Assessment,” provided additional data about strengths and obstacles families participating in Reach Up experience.

Some of the most significant obstacles Reach Up participants face include: • Availability of affordable childcare – Reach Up provides a full childcare subsidy for participating families. It also offers a deferment for parents to delay the work requirement in order to care for their children under age two. However, the availability of childcare (especially for children under age two) and required copayment (commonly $25-$50 per child, per week) continue to present challenges for parents trying to enter the workforce. According to the Goals and Needs Assessment, nearly 65% of respondents reported an issue with childcare within the last year. Most of those cite unaffordability and lack of childcare options as the specific issues. Many of those who experienced childcare challenges noted that it affected their ability to work.

• Housing – The Reach Up grant is not high enough to cover market rent in most Vermont towns, and only one quarter of Reach Up participants live in subsidized housing. Additionally, housing stock is severely limited. The Goals and Needs Assessment found that more than half of mothers surveyed screened positive for housing insecurity. However, the case management support provided by Reach Up does help mitigate these obstacles to a degree. For example, 51% of families experienced an improvement in their housing situation after participating in the program for one to two years.12

• Work skills and experience – Most Reach Up participants still move into low-wage work, however, wages are gradually increasing. Reach Up contracts with Vermont Adult Learning, The Vermont Association of Business Industry and Rehabilitation (VABIR), and Parent Child Centers to provide job coaches and employment specialists.

• Transportation – This barrier has gradually decreased over the last several years and has decreased again from 31% in 2018 to 29% in 2019. Reach Up purchases vehicles to support working families each year, provides rides for those with no transportation through the Good News Garage Ready to Go program, and helps participants develop plans to pay fines and obtain their licenses. However, the effects of the lack of transportation are profound. The Goals and Needs Assessment found that lack of transportation caused nearly one-third of participants to lose a job, and over half to miss a doctor’s appointment for someone in the family (including children). Despite the decrease in overall transportation barriers as noted above, 61% reported at least one issue with transportation in the previous 6 months. Even when transportation exists, it is often precarious. Families face expensive car repairs, unaffordable fines, unexpected break downs due to unreliable cars, etc.

• Mental health, physical health and substance use disorder – Each district office has direct access to a clinician, clinical case manager and/or wellness coach specifically for Reach Up participants. This access is especially important for pre-contemplative work and removing barriers to treatment. Additionally, starting in February 2020, mothers participating in Reach Up in Chittenden County may have the opportunity to participate in the Vermont MOMS PartnershipSM, a program that addresses maternal depression with proven results in improving employment outcomes and reducing depressive symptoms.

• Finances – Though the cost of living increases steadily, and housing costs in particular have skyrocketed, the Reach Up grant remained stagnant until 2019 when it increased slightly. This was

12 Black-Plumeau, L and McIntyre, R, Emergency Housing Program by families receiving Reach Up