Bundling Services: Human Services Coalition

June, 2006

The hub and spoke model used by the airlines is also used by the Human Services Coalition (HSC), of Miami, Florida in its mission of bringing low-wage families into the middle class.

EITC client at Sant La Kickoff

HSC ‘s Prosperity Campaign connects low-wage workers to existing economic benefits programs available to them such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit, Food Stamps, and low-cost health insurance. It also provides individuals and families with individualized financial literacy programs that will help them open a savings account, buy a house or car, or put themselves or their kids through college.

The Prosperity Campaign features nine Prosperity Centers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. These nonprofits offer an array of services that range from free tax preparation services, economic benefit screenings, financial literacy and home buying.

• Beyond EITC: Prosperity Centers counseled EITC recipients on how to use their refunds. Many EITC recipients are encouraged to save their money, pay off debt or set it aside to pay for higher education, cars or for a down payment on a house.
• Home-buying services: Individuals and families can visit Harvest Fire Ministries and Miami Neighborhood Housing to learn about what they need to do to purchase a house or condo. They can also receive information about other housing programs.
• Banking - Savings:   Some individuals and families are just learning how to handle their finances. They’re encouraged to open bank accounts. And those that have accounts, are taught about the benefits of savings and financial planning.
• IDAs: Individual Development Accounts are matched savings programs. The Prosperity Campaign is now working with Micro Business USA to help individuals and families save money for a house or an education.
• Tax Preparation Sites: HSC's Prosperity Centers, City of Miami and Miami-Dade County offered free tax preparation services at more than 80 sites throughout the county.

This degree of bundling of services is unusual among tax preparation programs. By referring clients among the nine agencies for different needs, they maximize the value of the money that clients receive.

During this year’s tax filing season, the Prosperity Campaign completed 1,980 tax returns at nine centers (700 of those coming from one center, Sant La ), which was almost double the number from last year. At the same time:

• 1,109 clients received individualized financial help
• 106 were referred for home ownership
• 132 referred for IDAs
• 121 referred for banking

The Campaign has partnerships with eight banks, each strategically located next to one of the Prosperity Centers. One bank even sends staff to a Prosperity Center each Saturday to open accounts on site.

The clients of the Campaign are the low-income population of Miami, constituted mainly of Hispanics, African-Americans, and Haitian-Americans. While it is neighborhood based, the 25 media spots that featured the program since January have drawn people from as far as Orlando and Key West.

HSC works closely with local business through their Human Resources staff. HSC provides envelope stuffers for their employees, informing them where to go to get their taxes done. They also work with Miami Workforce when a business is closing or employees are being laid off; they tell them how to be matched to benefits, get their taxes done, and locate other services they now need.

Advocacy, as well as direct service, is important to the Campaign. This year, they hosted two politicians at their sites. Carlos Alvarez, the Mayor of Miami-Dade County, came to their January kickoff at the Colombian American Service Association (CASA). The county has its own VITA program but works collaboratively with HSC, and when HSC suggested a joint kickoff, the county readily agreed. The resulting publicity was so effective that 60% of clients who came to the site where the event was held during the tax season said they heard about the service through the media.

Rep. Kendrick Meek (D-FL-17) participated at a February event at Sant La, which drew about 40 people, newspapers, television stations, and radio outlets. The four EITC recipients who spoke “were great,” according to Karla Gottlieb, Program Director of HSC; the event was also called “the most successful EITC event to date in South Florida” by the local IRS partners. The Congressman was very interested and helpful and plans further involvement.

Photo: Rep. Meek with staff of HSC

Funding for the Campaign comes from many sources, with The Children’s Trust (funded by a county-wide tax) , the Knight Foundation and the Alliance for Human Services (for monies they pass-through to the spoke agencies) being the main sources. They receive smaller funding from banks.

The Campaign is pleased with its ability to replicate their model. They sold the idea to Chambers of Commerce and United Ways around state, so now there are Prosperity Campaigns in Palm Beach, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and other cities. At the same time, HSC values what they can learn from the innovations and customization of these other Prosperity Campaigns.

In the planning for next year is a Super Saturday on January 27 at the Orange Bowl stadium, which has been a venue for the Super Bowl. They hope to prepare 1,000 returns, and to provide a multitude of workshops on topics such as advocacy and credit repair.

For the Prosperity Campaign, EITC is the hook to engage with clients. The next stage is the Journey to Prosperity. The Campaign has trained six peer mentors who will work with clients at sites to help them reach further goals. In addition, they are working with other agencies in the area to create a Miami Saves program, based on America Saves.

Also in the works for next year is a Prosperity Campaign billboard strategically located off the Interstate to refer people to the county’s hotline, 311. 311 Operators refer callers to the Prosperity Centers or to any of the 84 VITA sites throughout the county.

Karla, who has been with HSC for 2 years, says, ”The Prosperity Campaign is more than about delivering tax refunds to people. The tax programs provide access to people to whom we can say, ‘Now you have this money, how can you use it to change your life? How can you leverage this money to become financially independent in the long term?’ What we can do is endless; right now we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg. We could be working against predatory lenders and RALs. We are exploring alternative RALs, even though it goes against our model of saving and planning. But the reality is that some people need to access money right away.”

It is this attitude of innovation based on feedback from clients and partner programs that keeps HSC ’s programs at the cutting edge. After four years of operation, the Prosperity Campaign has been brought to scale locally, replicated in communities throughout in the state, and showcased nationally as a model program. It is continually evolving, changing to meet the community’s needs and to be in step with policy changes and the shifting political climate. While some agencies are trying to stay afloat, the eventual aim of the Prosperity Campaign is to “put ourselves out of business,” says Karla. “We hope that customers we are working with now eventually won’t qualify for EITC and other benefits.” With the long term goal of creating a community and an economy that work for all, HSC’s Prosperity Campaign is changing the economic prosperity of South Florida, one tax return at a time.

 

Story by Don Wedd