UNITED WAY OF METROPOLITAN CHICAGO

LIVE UNITED 2020 COMMUNITY FUND

FY14-15 GRANT GUIDELINES

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United Way of Metropolitan Chicago is the largest non-governmental funder in Health and Human services in the region. We partner with community stakeholders and organizations to harness all of our resources to support individuals and families in four key issue areas: Income, Education, Health, and Safety Net, which we believe are essential to building strong families and vibrant communities. Each issue area is built with a specific set of strategies and objectives, which come together as an integrated approach to supporting individuals and communities striving to reach their full potential. This is our decade long vision: LIVE UNITED 2020.

Our mission is to improve lives by mobilizing caring people to invest in the community where resources are needed most. We do this by concentrating our time, dollars, and voice on issues that matter to people in our region. UWMC distributes approximately $40 million each year to health and human service providers working to improve the social conditions of our communities. This document describes how a non-profit organization serving people in Metropolitan Chicago can apply for a grant from the LIVE UNTED 2020 Community Fund.

I. How These Guidelines Could Help You Each year, UWMC receives hundreds of proposals for funding. We appreciate the time organizations put forth in preparing applications and understand that applying for a grant can be a complicated and tedious process. This manual is designed to help you understand what we are interested in funding, expectations, and the application process. It should be coupled with the LIVE UNITED 2020 Impact Plan when determining your organization’s fit with UWMC’s objectives. Both of these have been published to help organizations understand UWMC’s strategic interests and submit competitive proposals for funding. UWMC staff is available to answer questions about the process, but we believe that you will likely find many of the answers to your questions here.

II. How We Make Grants UWMC runs a competitive application process to support high quality programs serving individuals and families in our geographic footprint. Those that are selected for funding align precisely with our areas of focus, present evidence-based models for service delivery, demonstrate effectiveness with data-rich results, and utilize UWMC’s published performance measurement frameworks, which may be found in the Agency Resource page of our website. In the fall of 2012, UMWC will release a single application to fund organizations from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015. Organizations may only submit 1 application in response to this call for proposals. The online application is designed to adjust based on issue area(s) and geography you are seeking to address. Before you consider applying, please read the following sections carefully and answer three key questions:

1. Basic Criteria: Is your organization/application able to meet the basic funding criteria? 2. Geography: Which UW offices are likely to consider your application for funding, given the

population(s) that you serve, your existing partnerships, and depth of impact? 3. Issue Area(s): Do your programs and services fit exactly within one or more of UWMC’s strategic

issue areas?

Basic Criteria: Funding Prerequisites Before submitting an application, all organizations should verify that they are able to comply with UWMC’s basic funding criteria, as listed below:

1. Request as % of budget: No single request should exceed 30% of the agency’s annual budget. 2. Demonstrate history of or significant commitment to local collaboration in the areas of service

delivery and community change. 3. Incorporated as a not-for-profit organization and has been delivering services from an appropriate

facility for at least 2 years at the time of submission. 4. Exempt from Federal income tax as a 501(c)3 and in compliance with regulations and requirements

of the Illinois Charitable Trust Act, Illinois Solicitations Act and Internal Revenue Code. 5. Licensed by all appropriate licensing authorities (if applicable). 6. Does not discriminate based upon actual or perceived age, race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual

orientation, gender identity/expression, veteran or marital status, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, disability, or health status in any area of board or organizational operations.

7. Governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors; Board members are not compensated for their involvement.

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8. Operate with a minimum of one full-time staff person (volunteer or paid staff) who is in charge of day-to-day activities and overall administrative responsibilities.

9. Agree to conduct a best practice United Way campaign for funding amongst employees within the organization.

10. Agree not to solicit donor designations. Geography: The United Way of Metropolitan Chicago Network UWMC is comprised of five local Member United Way (MUW) offices: Chicago, DuPage/West Cook, Northwest, North Shore, and South-Southwest. While all MUWs use the same application for funding, applicants must specify to which MUW office(s) they are requesting funding in a single application. An organization serving clients across multiple MUW offices may apply to more than one United Way office through a single application. Funding decisions, however, are made separately and independently by the volunteer advisory committees that represent each local office. Those local offices are interested in how providers meet the needs, leverage assets, and engage and serve local communities. Please review the UWMC Partner Communities within each of the UWMC Member United Way areas to determine if your organization has a significant presence in the Partner Communities listed. “Presence” is a function of participants served, as well as local leadership, partnerships and collaboration within the Partner Community. It is important to remember that Safety Net program funding is not confined to Partner Communities but may be allocated anywhere within the UWMC footprint. Note: When applying to multiple MUWs, organizations must be prepared to capture clearly the local partnerships and impact in each MUW. Issue Area(s): Funding Fitness The single application adjusts according to issue area(s) you are seeking to address. Organizations interested in submitting a proposal may request funding from 1 or more issue areas. Each issue area team at UWMC will review its set of proposals independently of the other issue areas to determine fit within the issue area(s) selected. Ultimately, issue area teams will design investment portfolios by contributing to the highest quality service providers in each MUW territory. (Some organizations selected may receive funding in more than one issue area.) Organizations may only submit 1 proposal for funding. However, the proposal may request funding from multiple MUW offices across multiple issue areas. UWMC will also accept single issue area, single office requests. Organizations should decide which issues area(s) to address according to local presence/knowledge and strategy/outcome alignment. UWMC does not necessarily prioritize a multi-issue area application over a single issue area application, but rather selects grantees based on alignment with criteria, ability to report on outcomes, potential for impact, and significant commitment to local collaboration in the areas of integrated service delivery. In other words, your organization may apply for only one issue area, but UWMC remains interested in how you work with external partners in a holistic way to meet the needs of the clients you serve. When applying for funding under UWMC issue areas, organizations must be prepared to:

1. Review the impact plan, grant guidelines (this document), and the 4 UWMC measurement frameworks to determine where your organizations programs fit exactly within UWMC’s funding priorities.

2. Select which issue areas are an exact fit for your organization. You should consider only applying for areas where there is strongest alignment.

3. Prepare an application that clearly captures the best practices, partnerships, and impact of your organization’s services.

How Our Application Process Works 1) Pre-step for new organizations: Agencies that have not applied to UWMC within the past 4 years

must register within our system by December 7, 2012 by emailing communityimpact@uw-mc.org. 2) Full grant application: To apply for funding, organizations must submit an electronic application using

CTK (Community TechKnowledge), UWMC’s online database. The electronic application will open January 2013. Hard copy applications will not be accepted.

3) Review and evaluation: Applications that are submitted by the deadline are preliminarily reviewed by UWMC staff for completeness and to ensure that basic funding prerequisites are met. Proposals are then presented to local volunteer advisory committees for review, discussion, and evaluation. Incomplete or late proposals will not be accepted.

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4) Decision-making: The local volunteer advisory committees at each MUW office are charged with designing high quality investment portfolios that uniquely build upon the assets and meet the needs of lower-income residents in their communities. Each local committee then recommends a set of grantees for funding to be reviewed and approved by the UWMC Board of Directors. Decisions made by the UWMC Board of Directors are final.

5) Funding notification: Following UWMC Board of Directors’ approval, UWMC promptly notifies all applicants by letter of final decisions. Award letters to organizations selected for funding include information about the grant contract and funding commencement. Organizations that are not selected for funding receive information about how to contact UWMC staff for constructive feedback on the proposal, if desired.

6) Contract term: Contracts are for 2 years of funding. Previously funded organizations must submit new proposals for funding. Barring poor performance or non-compliance, previous funding is neither a detriment nor an advantage once a new application process begins.

7) Grant extension for high performers: At the end of the grant term, UWMC may select a portion of its portfolio to bypass an upcoming application process and extend funding. These cases may be rare and would only be reserved for highest performing grantees.

Results: Annual Reporting Organizations selected for funding are required to measure performance against issue area metrics and report results using UWMC’s online reporting system. Reporting includes: outcome projections, data entry, annual performance results, financial information, participant demographics, communities served, and efforts to ensure culturally competent service delivery. Continued funding is contingent upon timely and complete reporting. In some cases, UWMC may request a site visit; non-compliance may result in a disruption or termination of funding. More specifically, all organizations receiving funding must:

Deliver and Report Issue Area Outcomes: Organizations are required to report on the outcomes and indicators prescribed by the impact areas within the issue areas for which funding is received.

For example, if an organization is funded in Education (Issue Area) in the Impact Area early childhood education, then it will be responsible for reporting on all of the outcomes and indicators in the impact area section. (Issue Area Measurement Frameworks, including impact areas, outcomes, indicators, and definitions may be found here, in the Application Toolkit.)

Issue Area

•The LU2020 issue-focused strategic priority areas: Income, Education, Health, and Safety Net.

Impact Area

•The cluster of common outcomes within an issue area.

Outcome

•The necessary changes to achieve success within an impact area.

Indicator

•The summative data points used to show progress in desired outcome.

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Report on Collection of Whole Programs: UWMC does not fund on a fee-for-service basis, but rather funds programming that will deliver on identified outcomes. Therefore, organizations must agree to report on outcomes and indicators for all participants affected by the services for the proposal, within the UWMC geography, rather than some portion of client population served. UWMC utilizes outcome data to compare results across grantees. This information is used to facilitate peer learning and capacity-building in the sector—these efforts will only succeed with the capture of all participants in an outcome. (Note: UWMC funding is unrestricted and can be used to support programming, including administrative or overhead costs.)

III. Funding Levels & Partnership Expectations

UWMC grants are two-year commitments that are contingent upon compliance and UWMC’s ability to raise funds annually. Agencies will be asked to apply for grants within the following categories, understanding that generally the higher the funding category, the more competitive the agencies applying. In addition, each grant category will be associated with an expected level of partnership, as listed in the table below. Grants will be made by issue area. The total funding to an organization will not exceed $500,000.

IV. What We Look For: Selection Criteria UWMC invests in partners that align with our strategy, show promise and have a proven track record of advancing their impact or scale of their work in communities. Where possible, UWMC will seek areas of “critical mass” in Partner Communities (see Appendix B for UWMC Partner Communities) where we see a convergence of strong partners, with high impact potential, working to effect LU2020 goals. When determining potential, UWMC seeks partners that demonstrate organizational capacity for impact and high quality service delivery. Organizations that meet all or most of the following criteria will receive priority consideration.

•PARTNERSHIP EXPECTATIONS FUNDING LEVELS

•Delivery on outcomes within at least one issue area

•Strong partnerships in funded MUW territory

•Demonstrated commitment to collaborative service delivery & community change

Level 1: $10,000- 39,999

•Expectations listed in previous level, and:

•Active partnership to recruit and utilize skill-based volunteers.

•Assistance with campaign presentations, recognition of donors. Level 2: $40,000- 99,000

•Expectations listed in previous levels, and:

•Demonstrated/recognized excellence in service innovation or efficacy- Strong leadership within the regional funded cohort- gathering & sharing of best practices, etc.

Level 3: $100,000-199,000

•Expectations listed in previous levels, and:

•Strong leadership (convening, etc.) potential in Partner Community to collaborate with UWMC to achieve community change

Level 4: $200,000-399,000

•Expectations listed in previous levels, and:

•Strong leadership on the regional level to achieve systems (policy) change

Level 5: $400,000-500,000

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a. Organizational Capacity for Impact When considering the organization or collaborative that is submitting a proposal, UWMC considers the following when assessing the health and capacity of each partner.

Partner Community & Potential for Impact: The organization must identify its geographic area of focus, which may include a single community or several contiguous communities up to and including the size of a school district, county, or township. Organizations that provide evidence of or potential to make a community-level impact in a Partner Community will be viewed favorably. Since community change work happens very often at the local level, applications that cover “the region” or that extend across established county or district boundaries will be required to document local relationships and collaborations “on the ground” in each of the communities served.

Experience & Community Standing: The organization must have significant experience in the area for which it has submitted an application. The organization should explain its standing in the community, how it develops relationships to effect community change and how other community bodies support the organization’s efforts.

Fiscal Health, Reporting, & Sustainability: The organization must be in good financial standing, have staff and resource capacity to successfully apply for funding, periodically report on outcomes, and work with UWMC to improve issue area and community outcomes.

Diversity & Inclusion: The organization should seek out, welcome, and build upon the diversity

and the positive attributes that exist within the communities served.

o Accessibility and Outreach: Services are accessible to all individuals regardless of disability, sex, ethnicity, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or language proficiency. Organization provides the best possible environment and curriculum for any participant with a disability.

o Cultural Responsiveness: Organization demonstrates an understanding of, respect for, and responsiveness to the home culture and language of the individuals and families served. The approach should support and demonstrate respect for unique abilities as well as ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity.

Community Engagement & Outreach: The applicant must have the ability to effectively engage the community (families, business, other agencies, etc.) as a strategy for impact.

Collaborative Learning & Planning Efforts: The applicant partners with other providers with similar goals on specific issues. Examples include data/benchmarking partners, process improvement strategy partnerships, or program implementation collaborations. These types of partnerships may or may not share common clients, but they should share strategic priorities or organizational goals.

b. Effective Service Delivery

At the level of service, UWMC considers these factors fundamental in determining the strength and potential for programming delivered in high need communities. UWMC puts significant weight on these criteria. Programming that demonstrates all of these factors are most competitive. (Note: For each issue area, UWMC is most interested in applicants that demonstrate issue-specific high quality services. See Appendix A for issue area specifics for quality.)

Strategy & Outcomes: Programming must align precisely with LU2020 strategies, deliver on the goals and report on outcomes as defined by the issue area measurement frameworks.

Service & Community: There must be a convincing case that there is a high quality service demand and that UWMC funds could add much needed services that are not currently being provided. This could be accomplished by providing additional slots in maxed capacity areas where there is still need, augmenting/improving services where there have been funding cuts to services that have positive impact, or replicating a successful service model in additional communities where

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none currently exists. In all cases, these services must directly address the needs of low-income individual and families (at or below 200% FPL) residing in UWMC’s Partner Communities.

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Quality Improvement & Accountability: Programming must have a history of regular evaluation using practical evaluation tools and methods to assess the features of the program integral to delivering high quality services. Information should be used by program developers to design and operate the best possible services for clients served. Applicants should provide evidence of how this information has been used to improve services.

Service Collaboration: Complex community issues require resourceful efforts that typically go beyond the expertise and capacity of a single organization. Service providers seek to build strong alliances within the communities in which they operate through collaboration, integrated service delivery, and/or linkage to services. Relationships are built with multiple partners who “round out” the programs services in creative, useful ways while maximizing resources in a cost-efficient manner.

Leverage and Sustainability: Programming is supported by consistent fundraising efforts to secure additional funds and other resources sufficient to ensure strong service delivery and sustain efforts beyond UWMC funding.

c. Ineligible Organizations In compliance with IRS tax laws, UWMC only accepts proposals from 501(c)(3) and other tax-exempt organizations. UWMC will not consider proposals from the following entities or for these purposes:

Organizations that do not follow basic funding criteria

Projects addressing issues/serving clients outside of UWMC’s regional footprint

Direct donations or grants to individuals

Projects that are exclusively arts & culture in scope

Political campaigns and legislative lobbying efforts

Building or capital campaigns

Projects that further political activities or exclusively religious purposes

Debt retirement

Government agencies (however, we may work to align our resources with local government partners)

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Appendix A: Issue Area Specifics for Quality For Income, Education, and Health UWMC defines “high quality” in the following issue-specific ways.

Issue Area- Impact Area High Quality Features

EDUCATION- Early Childhood

High quality early childhood programs will include all or most of the following key elements:

Parent/Caring Adult Engagement: Parents, caring adults, and extended family members are engaged in meaningful ways, making them integral to early learning. High quality programs have multiple strategies to encourage family involvement, and a variety of avenues for that participation is typically available (e.g., direct parent/teacher communication, opportunities to serve on a governing board or committee, assist in the classroom, help with field trips, or share expertise).

Comprehensive Screening & Developmental Domains: Addresses all domains of learning and development including physical, social, and emotional approaches to learning, as well as cognitive development. Includes comprehensive developmental screenings at regular intervals (at least quarterly) to ensure that children and families are receiving appropriate service.

Whole Child/Whole Family Focus: children cannot learn when their basic needs are unmet or when special needs go undiagnosed. High quality programs should screen children's vision, hearing, and general health in order to identify problems and make appropriate referrals early. When needed, families should be given access and/or connected to supportive services.

Evidence- based models: Uses research-based methods and is aligned to K-12 learning standards whenever appropriate. Includes comprehensive developmental screenings at regular intervals (at least quarterly) to ensure that children and families are receiving appropriate service.

Quality Instruction & Assessment: Instructors and coaches should know the topic, the curriculum, and participants; and have a classroom presence, the skills to create an enriching environment, and the ability to connect with children. Organizations should demonstrate use of validated assessment tools designed to evaluate program quality, identify staff training needs, and create customized action plans to enhance programming. In addition, the environment should be inviting, respectful, interesting, and conducive to learning. This should also include reasonable staff to child/family ratios: o Preschool: no more than 20 children per class on average o Home visiting: reasonable caseloads that allow for relationship building

and planning.

Transition planning: Programs are responsible for facilitating a smooth transition from hospital to home, from a prevention program into a more intensive intervention program, from a program for birth to three year olds into a program designed for three to five year olds, or from preschool into kindergarten. A smooth transition is important to ensure each child continues to receive enriching early child development services and each family continues to receive the support services necessary for healthy family development.

Partnerships: Programs should leverage support from an array of stakeholders, including private businesses, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. Partnerships encourage shared responsibility and celebrate community success.

EDUCATION- Middle School High quality middle school programs will include all or most of the following key elements

Parent/Caring Adult Engagement: Parents, caring adults, and extended family members are engaged in meaningful ways, making them integral to early learning. High quality programs have multiple strategies to encourage

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family involvement, and a variety of avenues for that participation is typically available (e.g., direct parent/teacher communication, opportunities to serve on a governing board or committee, assist in the classroom, help with field trips, or share expertise).

Developmental Domains: Addresses all domains of learning and development including physical, social, and emotional approaches to learning, as well as cognitive development.

Whole Child/Whole Family Focus: students cannot learn when their basic needs are unmet or when special needs go undiagnosed. High quality programs should screen vision, hearing, and general health in order to identify problems and make appropriate referrals early. When needed, families should be given access and/or connected to supportive services.

Evidence- based models: Uses research-based methods and is aligned to K-12 learning standards whenever appropriate. Includes comprehensive developmental screenings at regular intervals (at least quarterly) to ensure that youth and families are receiving appropriate service.

Quality Instruction & Assessment: Instructors and coaches should know the topic, the curriculum, and participants; and have a classroom presence, the skills to create an enriching environment, and the ability to connect with children. Organizations should demonstrate use of validated assessment tools designed to evaluate program quality, identify staff training needs, and create customized action plans to enhance programming.

Strong School Partnership: Links strongly with a school serving 7th and 8

th

graders. “Strongly linked” means lead partner and school have: o Shared vision: school and agency have similar goals, mainly to increase

academic achievement by means of out-of-school time programming. o Commitment of resources: school and agency are both ready to go to

work for this shared vision. Full commitment on both parts is essential. Agency provides evidence that shows influential parties are appropriately involved in the effort to execute on the strategy proposed.

Partnerships: Programs should leverage support from an array of stakeholders, including private businesses, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. Partnerships encourage shared responsibility and celebrate community success.

INCOME- Financial Capability

High quality financial capability programs will include all or most of the following key elements

ii:

Effective Outreach: marketing and outreach plans that effectively reach those in need of financial help in their community. Particular attention should be paid to high-barrier populations, such as non-English speakers or low-income residents.

Quality Instruction: Instructors and coaches should know the topic, the curriculum, and the participants; and have a classroom presence, the skills to facilitate a lively discussion, and the ability to connect with participants. In addition, the environment should be inviting, respectful, interesting, and conducive to learning among adults.

Partnershipsiii: Programs should leverage support from an array of

stakeholders, including private businesses, government agencies, and other non-profit organizations. Partnerships encourage shared responsibility and celebrate community success.

Personalized, flexible services: Programs should be able to individualize services to each participant and find creative ways to ensure that they have access to classes and counseling, despite hectic schedules, language barriers, cultural obstacles, educational levels, or family obligations.

Curriculum: Comprehensive financial content is the basis for a strong curriculum, but the deliberate framing of the content helps deliver the message. Many good curricula exist, so instructors need not start from

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scratch. Some programs will pull from multiple curricula to tailor the class according to participant needs and learning styles. For example, contextual information on the US economic system should be included for a class of new immigrants. Framing should also take a participant’s current financial knowledge and situation into consideration. For example, are participants struggling to pay all bills on time, or are they ready to work on long-term savings?

Asset Building Context: Asset Building is an overall framework of investment in policies and programs that move working poor individuals and families into the economic mainstream. The specific assets vary depending on the individual or family needs.

Follow-up/Ongoing Engagement: Follow-up services by financial counselors and instructors are needed to ensure that financial education participants understand lessons taught and how to implement the lessons effectively into their lives. This promising practice is most often captured in a community-based organization where other programs, follow-up, and ongoing engagement naturally exist.

INCOME- Employment High quality job training and placement programs will include five key elements:

Adaptability: They are able to meet the ever-changing needs of employers and job seekers.

A strong link to employers: They understand the unique needs of a target industry and its local employers.

Industry-specific training: They create the training curriculum – consisting of basic skills, hands-on technical skills and job readiness – through the lens of a specific occupation or sector.

A keen recruitment and screening process: They work to make an appropriate match between the applicant and the program; and then between the applicant and the job.

Key supports: They provide support to ensure training completion and success on the job, such as help with childcare, transportation, or housing.

In addition, UWMC is interested in supporting certain specific promising practices in the area of workforce development:

Sector-based or industry-specific employment training programs: Preparing unemployed and under-skilled workers for skilled positions and connect them with employers seeking to fill such vacancies. This involves working with employers from a specific, high-demand employment sectors (health care, transportation/logistics, food service, etc.) to design training programs, place participants, and work continuously to improve the program to meet labor demands

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Transitional Jobsv: Wage-paid, short-term employment that combines real

work, skill development and supportive services for the hardest to employ. Three basic program models are used to implement transitional jobs: individual placement, work crews, and social enterprises. In all models, program participants work with a mentor at the work site.

Bridge Programmingvi: Strategies and programs that help adult students get

the academic, employability, and technical skills that they need to enter and succeed in postsecondary education and training programs. Bridge education strategies can be developed and integrated into many different public workforce or education options, including adult basic skills/GED, English as a Second Language, developmental education, adult vocational/technical education, or WIA-supported programs.

Individual Placement & Supportvii

: IPS supported employment helps people with severe mental illness work at regular jobs of their choosing. Although variations of supported employment exist, IPS (Individual Placement and Support) refers to the evidence-based practice of supported employment.

Customized Employmentviii

: a flexible blend of strategies, services, and

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supports designed to increase employment options for job seekers with complex needs through voluntary negotiation of the employment relationship. The job seeker is the primary source of information and drives the customized employment process. It is particularly useful for those who have barriers to employment such as limited skills or education, inadequate childcare or transportation resources, disabilities, or cultural or language differences.

INCOME- Income Supports Strong programs will use all or most of the following key elements for effective delivery of services to increase access to public benefits:

Effective Outreach: Working with trusted community partners and institutions to raise public knowledge about public benefits, eligibility criteria, and enrollment details, such as through employer-, school- or faith-based outreach.

Use of Technology: Helping families self-screen for public benefits and/or generate applications to multiple benefits at once, such as through online tools like SEEDCO EarnBenefits

ix or the Illinois Self Sufficiency Calculator

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and/or online applications for state and federal assistance, such as the Illinois Web Benefits Online Application System

xi.

One-stop/comprehensive service model: Programs that screen and educate clients, while also providing employment and training supports, have shown promise and deserve wider implementation.

No Wrong Door: Programs that allow and assist an individual to apply for multiple benefits at any one service site (vs. one-off benefit applications).

VITA Sites: Partnerships to facilitate volunteer income tax assistance for lower-income families to receive those work supports/tax credits that are built into the tax code as a work incentive.

HEALTH- Access High quality Health Access programs will incorporate one or more of these promising practices:

Projects that connect people with a “medical home” – i.e., a primary care provider which combines the following characteristics: - The nexus of all routine professional medical care - A site of care that is located near the patient’s home or work and is easily

accessible to the patient - Continuity of care over time by a single provider or team of health care

professionals who have knowledge of the patient’s history and family and social circumstances

- A resource to the patient for health information and guidance, preventive care, and other services that allow the patient to assume optimal accountability for the management of his/her own health

- The point of entry into the broader health care delivery system - Coordination of care between the patient and the components of the

broader health care delivery system - The provision of basic oral health, mental health, and/or pharmacy

services

Awareness and outreach to families for All Kids and other public insurance programs.

Linking people who have no or inadequate medical insurance with existing programs and services and to develop new community-based medical resources to fill gaps where assistance is most needed.

School based health centers are used as a way to link individuals to services such as, immunization, mental, dental and other health services.

Partnership with medical provider to utilize social networks to reach disadvantaged populations in underserved communities, through community gathering places to provide health education and basic health screenings.

Embed nurse care managers within the primary care team working in the behavioral health setting, to support individuals with significantly elevated levels of glucose, lipids, blood pressure, and/or weight/BMI.

Create wellness programs within the behavioral health setting to utilize

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proven methods and materials developed for engaging individuals in managing their health conditions, adapted for use in the mental health setting, with peers serving as group facilitators.

Implement cultural competency among health care organizations and conduct racially and culturally relevant health outreach and screenings. This also includes gaining a deeper understanding of community members’ experiences, beliefs, and values around seeking health care services.

Assure regular screening and registry tracking/outcome measurement at the time of psychiatric visits for all individuals receiving psychotropic medications—check glucose and lipid levels, as well as blood pressure and weight/BMI, record and track changes and response to treatment, and use the information to obtain and adjust treatment accordingly.

Co-locate medical nurse practitioners/primary care physicians in behavioral health facilities to provide routine primary care services in the behavioral health setting via a nurse practitioner or physician out-stationed from the full-scope healthcare home.

Utilize community health workers, health promoters, or navigators that serve as “bridges” between community members and the health and wellness services they need.

Link or integrate existing community services in ways that increase effectiveness and/or efficiency by: - Creating plans for community-wide service integration, evaluation, and/or

quality improvement - Using “natural settings” frequented by community members (e.g.,

schools, faith-based organizations) to reach health and wellness goals - Integrating health and wellness services with other areas of United Way

focus (e.g. financial stability, youth education) in innovative ways

Stanford Chronic Disease Self-Management program: Community-based, peer-led self-management programs that provide individuals with the opportunity to improve the quality of their lives. These programs encourage individuals to take charge of their health by monitoring their conditions, educating themselves about their specific conditions, knowing what management and treatment options are available to them, and partnering with their doctors in tracking the progression of their disease.

HEALTH- Prevention High quality Health Prevention programs xii

will incorporate one or more of these promising practices:

Behavioral interventions to reduce screen time, or time spent watching TV, videotapes, or DVDs; playing video or computer games; or surfing the internet.

Community-wide campaigns to increase physical activity that may include: - Involving many community sectors - Incorporating highly visible, broad-based, multi-component strategies

(e.g., social support, risk factor screening or health education) - Addressing other cardiovascular disease risk factors, particularly diet and

smoking

Individually-adapted health behavior change programs to increase physical activity teach behavioral skills to help participants incorporate physical activity into their daily routines. The programs are tailored to each individual’s specific interests, preferences, and readiness for change and teach behavioral skills such as: - Goal-setting and self-monitoring of progress toward those goals - Building social support for new behaviors - Behavioral reinforcement through self-reward and positive self-talk - Structured problem solving to maintain the behavior change - Prevention of relapse into sedentary behavior

Changing physical activity behavior through building, strengthening,

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and maintaining social networks that provide supportive relationships for behavior change (e.g., setting up a buddy system, making contracts with others to complete specified levels of physical activity, or setting up walking groups or other groups to provide friendship and support).

Changes in community- or street-scale urban design and land use policies and practices involve the efforts of urban planners, architects, engineers, developers, and public health professionals to change the physical environment of urban areas of several square miles or more in ways that support physical activity. Design elements might address proximity of residential areas to stores, jobs, schools, and recreation areas; continuity and connectivity of sidewalks and streets; aesthetic and safety aspects of the physical environment; or policy instruments such as zoning regulations, building codes, other governmental policies, and builders’ practices

Point-of-decision prompts are motivational signs placed on or near stairwells or at the base of elevators and escalators to encourage individuals to increase stair use. These signs: - Inform people about a health or weight loss benefits from taking the

stairs, and/or - Remind people to become more active and provide a tangible opportunity

to do so

Creating or enhancing access to places for physical activity involves the efforts of coalitions, agencies, and communities as they attempt to change the local environment to create opportunities for physical activity. Such changes include creating walking trails, building exercise facilities, or providing access to existing nearby facilities.

Enhancing physical education (PE) curricula by making classes longer or having students be more active during class to increase the amount of time students spend doing moderate or vigorous activity in PE class.

SAFETY NET High quality Safety Net programs will incorporate promising practices such as these:

Agency actively participates in coordinating body for impact area, such as Continuums of Cares, regional food banks, etc.

Programs that connect program participants to longer-term supports, such as food programs that assist individuals to gain SNAP benefits, shelter programs that connect participants to on-going counseling/case management, etc.

Legal Services that can connect people to services that directly support United Way’s goals in Health, Income, and Education.

Legal services that prevent individuals and families from experiencing crisis

(homelessness, safety, etc) or address barriers to long-term care including:

- Tenants facing eviction and potential homelessness - Legal representation during domestic violence disputes - Access to public benefits - Record expungement for employment

- Immigration issues

- Barriers to education for wards of the state or enforcing Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)

Utilizing Supportive Housing (as an alternative to shelters or transitional housing) for people who face the most complex challenges—individuals and families who are not only homeless, but who also have very low incomes and serious, persistent issues that may include substance use, mental illness, and HIV/AIDS. See full definition in “Working Definitions” (LU2020 Impact Plan, Appendix A)

Programs that follow Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness’ Plan and program models that focuses on Prevention, “Housing First” models, and provide wrap-around services to promote housing stability and self-sufficiency.

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Appendix B: UWMC Partner Communities

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i Safety Net services are not confined to UWMC Partner Communities. For Income, Education, and Health, the majority of UWMC funds will be directed to services provided within and for clients residing in UWMC Partner Communities. ii For more information on promising practices in Financial Capability, see the Bank of America/United Way of

Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley Financial Education Toolkit: http://financialedtoolkit.org/resources-bp.html iii For more information about cross-sector collaboration, see the US Dept of Treasury Guide to Creating

Financially Capable Communities: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/financial-education/Documents/Local%20Guide%20-%20Creating%20Financially%20Capable%20Communities.pdfiv For more information about Sector-based training models, see the Public Private Ventures’ Sectoral

Employment Impact Study: http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publication.asp?section_id=26&search_id=&publication_id=325 v For more information about Transitional Jobs’ strategies & research, visit the National Transitional Jobs

Network website: http://www.heartlandalliance.org/ntjn vi For more information about Bridge programming, see the Workforce Strategy Center website:

http://www.workforcestrategy.org/what-works-bridgeconnect-stories-from-the-field-toc.htmlvii

For more information about individual placement and support, see the Dartmouth IPS Supported Employment website: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~ips viii

For more information about Customized Employment, see the National Center on Workforce & Disability: http://www.onestops.info/i.php?i=1 ix For more information, see the SEEDCO website at: http://www.seedco.org/programs/work-and-family-supports

x For more information, see the Heartland Self Sufficiency Standard Calculator website:

http://www.ilcalculator.org xi For more information, see the IL Dept of Human Services website:

http://fspp.dhs.state.il.us/register/wb/wbHomePre.do xii

See CDC Change Tool for ideas about how to use best practices to impact community health and measure change.