Benefit Coach Pilot

There are two interrelated challenges facing health and human services professionals.  First, a relatively large percentage of poor families do not receive (for a wide variety of reasons) the public benefits for which they qualify.  Second, young children associated with substantiated allegations of neglect are at a high risk for experiencing a subsequent substantiated incident of neglect.  These problems are interrelated in that poverty and neglect are correlated.  To help address these two problems, we are developing and rigorously evaluating the use of a benefits coach to simultaneously (1) increase the take-up rate of public benefits and (2) decrease the risk of repeat neglect.  The current project represents a collaboration between Michigan’s Children’s Services Agency, Poverty Solutions and the Child and Adolescent Data Lab.  The benefit coach model is located in Detroit’s south central field office. 

Photo by WOC in Tech Chat