Padua Pilot Study - Using Intensive Case Management to Lift Families Out of Poverty

This study will measure the impact of the Padua Pilot, an intensive case management intervention designed to permanently lift people out of poverty. The intervention has three key components: First, participants are assessed along many dimensions (skills and abilities, physical and mental health, resources, etc.) to determine their barriers to self-sufficiency and to develop a personalized service plan. Second, participants are assigned to a two-person case management team (a case manager and a case aide) who will implement the customized service plan. Caseloads will be very low (16 clients/case management team), and service coordination will be comprehensive. Third, temporary financial assistance will be made available on a case-by-case basis to address potential obstacles to self-sufficiency. This study will evaluate the impact of this intervention on key outcomes including family income, poverty, savings, and use of social programs. Participants are selected at random via a lottery from clients who contact Catholic Charities Fort Worth seeking assistance through three of their largest programs: financial assistance, immigration services, and a family support program. The study will include 350 participants, 150 in the treatment group and 200 in the control group. The outcomes will be tracked through a baseline survey and annual follow-up surveys for up to four years.