Program Implementation

Tips to Implementation/Keys to Success:

• Community Partnerships: Forming partnerships with the right community agencies to ensure their commitment to the program and provide participants with choices (i.e., microenterprise, housing, and education) is critical to meeting your IDA program objectives. Because partner agencies recruit and refer participants, handle case management, and provide asset-specific counseling, it is important to forge sustainable partnerships with organizations that have missions and goals that align with the IDA program goal of moving people toward self-sufficiency.
• Managing Client Expectations: To help clients understand their expectations, have all participants take part in an orientation and meet with a counselor to discuss the asset they wish to purchase. Even before they begin the program, the counselor will help them understand the feasibility of purchasing the asset during the 24-month saving period.

Challenges:

• Target Audience: Recruiting participants who complete the program successfully has been among the program's challenges. Over time, it became clear this program was not the best fit for individuals recently transitioning out of homelessness or those without stable employment and no safety net. However, the program has been ideal for those who have been off TANF for one or two years and have developed stable employment, health, and housing but still have difficulty accumulating the savings needed to purchase assets that would assist in achieving long-term self-sufficiency.
• Funding: Another challenge was posed by the restrictive nature of Assets for Independence (AFI) funding. As a result, MHUW made an effort to obtain non-AFI funding for match dollars. MHUW also has been successful in forming a partnership with Denver Human Services to use TANF funds for the IDA program.