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Reach Up Annual Report 2020 9 the first increase in benefits families received in 14 years, which helps them meet more of their basic needs. Pilots such as the Financial Empowerment program, which enable families to build assets and learn about their finances at the same time, provide a crucial income boost for very low-income families. These families still live in a constant state of scarcity. Scientists have likened living in chronic poverty to trying to function with a missed night of sleep.13 The toxic stress associated with poverty (especially long term), affects the ability of both adults and children to plan for the future.

The chart below illustrates the percentage of Reach Up participants assessed as having specified barriers. The case manager enters the results of assessment into ACCESS, from which the following data is extracted. During the period from October 2018 to September 2019, case managers assessed 5,080 participants and found 14,710 barriers, an average of 2.9 barriers per participant. The average number of barriers per participant has been slowly increasing since 2012 when the average number of barriers per participant was 2.2. Though caseloads continue to decrease, the participants remaining on Reach Up have more obstacles and challenges to overcome as they work towards sustained employment and financial stability.

Key to Domains:

• Adult Employment – Poor or no work history, no employment opportunities, other employment factors • Finances – Severe debt problems, poor or no budgeting skills, bankruptcy, other • Transportation – No driver’s license or permit, no transportation, unreliable transportation, suspended license, owes fines, needs CRASH, needs car repairs, other • Emotional Health – Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, mental health issues, other • Health and Safety – Physical health issues, lack of medical providers, dental work needs, other • Education – No diploma or GED, doesn’t speak English, difficulty learning, lacks essential skills, learning disability, other • Shelter – Homeless/living in shelter, dangerous/inadequate housing, lack of affordable housing, owes back rent, other • Community Relations – Poor relationships with neighbors, isolated from community/services, other

13 Mullainathan, S and Shafir, E, Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much 62% 49% 29% 24% 21% 20% 19% 17% 16% 12% 11% 8% 3% 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Number of Participants with Barriers Types of Barriers Reach Up Participants with Barriers