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Goals two‑generation homeless‑family program shows improved housing stability, earnings and service access, county‑funded evaluation finds
Summary
An independent randomized evaluation found Arapahoe County’s Goals two‑generation program improved housing stability, increased employment and earnings, and increased families’ access to health, education and public‑benefit services.
An independent outcomes evaluation presented to the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 14 found that Goals, a two‑generation, family‑centered housing program, produced measurable improvements in housing stability, employment and service access for participating families.
Renee Davis of the Center for Policy Research (CPR) reported a randomized design in which 566 families were referred and 150 were enrolled in the evaluation (75 assigned to the Goals program and 75 to a comparison group that received standard community services). The evaluation used baseline surveys, a custom two‑generation index, follow‑up telephone interviews at 12 and 24 months, and administrative data from HMIS, CBMS and wage records.
Key findings presented by CPR included: - Treatment‑group families who completed Goals were significantly more likely to exit to stable housing and less likely to return to homelessness over the 12‑ to 24‑month follow‑up period; the report cited a roughly 32 percentage‑point increase in access to stable housing for treatment families compared with the comparison group. - Employment rates increased: the treatment group saw a 12% rise in employment rates and successful completers had a 16% increase; successful completers’ annual earnings increased by about $8,000 on average. - Treatment families improved access to public benefits and to adult and child education services; treatment families were roughly 25% more likely to access child educational supports and adult education than the comparison group at 12 months. - Families reported improved physical and mental health and sustained access to family‑support services.
CPR and county staff drew operational lessons: staffing and ongoing training are critical, program expectations and rules should be clearly communicated before entry, administrative data should be used for continuous improvement, and flexible length‑of‑stay policies and structured post‑exit outreach support long‑term outcomes. Family Tree (the program operator) said it will continue internal continuous‑quality‑improvement work and track post‑exit outcomes.
Commissioners praised the findings as evidence the two‑generation approach yields durable gains but asked questions about funding sustainability; staff cautioned that much of Goals’ current support comes from TANF and related streams and that future state funding decisions could affect replication. CPR said the study will be shared with national audiences and policy groups.
No formal board action was taken; commissioners asked staff to share the evaluation with municipal partners and state legislators and to consider the report’s recommendations in budget and policy planning.
