Family Resource Centers and Young Families’ Resource Support Needs

• In Event: Strengthening Supports, Identifying Gaps: How Place and Policy Shape Access to Human Services

Abstract

More than half of U.S. states have Family Resource Centers (FRCs): neighborhood-based organizations that offer a variety of parenting supports and economic resources to low-income families from pregnancy through early childhood. FRCs act as a “hub” of community resources and use a relationship-based approach to connect families with concrete supports, public programs, and resources in the community. Because poverty and material hardship are especially impactful to parent and child well-being, the FRC model is a promising avenue to improve family well-being by facilitating connections to free and low-cost supports. The goal of this study is to examine whether FRCs reduce barriers to accessing healthcare services, means-tested public programs (such as Medicaid, childcare subsidies, and Early Head Start), and community resources among low-income families with young children. 

We combined two sources of data on families served by 17 FRCs in Wisconsin: interview data collected from families served by FRCs and multi-wave survey data that matches 646 families served by FRCs with a comparison group of 1,484 families in the general Wisconsin population. We used reflexive thematic analysis to analyze interview transcripts with attention to parents’ perspectives on how FRCs did and did not help them address material and resource needs. To analyze quantitative data, we used weighted matching to identify a comparison group that is demographically comparable to families served by FRCs. We used multivariate linear regression to compare rates of program participation and economic support receipt between the treated and comparison groups after controlling for observed characteristics. We examined rates of referral to childcare providers, concrete supports for basic needs such as food or diapers, Head Start, Housing or rental assistance, healthcare services, and other community supports. 

These findings present novel evidence of how FRCs support the economic well-being of families with young children. We explore how the FRC model of interpersonal and community practice translates into improved outcomes for families with multiple and persistent financial challenges and material hardships. We discuss the extent that FRCs address barriers to accessing economic supports, such as institutional distrust and burdensome requirements to apply for means-tested programs. We conclude with a discussion of the promises and limitations of FRCs within the context of existing local, state, and federal support programs to bolster families’ economic well-being.

Author

• Anna Walther, Arizona State University
  Presenting Author