Whole Family Catalog - University/Colleges - CAP Consulting

People. Empowered.

The Community Action Partnership is Lancaster County’s largest anti-poverty organization and boasts a service profile that interrupts inter-generational poverty with programs that assist families at every age and place in life.

Knowing that poverty is complex and its contributing factors vary, CAP is committed to creating innovative, person-centered initiatives, including social enterprise businesses, to augment our many longstanding and successful anti-poverty programs that advance the social and economic mobility of families. CAP is person-centered, outcomes-based, data-driven, and focused on greater sector impact and systems change.

CAP has been providing services to economically disadvantaged individuals and families across Lancaster County, PA for more than 50 years.

Local community leaders who founded CAP of Lancaster County were part of the larger national consensus that held that:

Poverty was unacceptable

Poverty could and should be eradicated

As an integral part of the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act, Community Action Agencies emerged across the nation with the purpose of eliminating poverty in local communities. Each agency has been designed to meet the specific needs related to poverty within the community it serves.

In 2015, CAP underwent an internal re-structure aimed at breaking down silos and expanding internal connectivity, which resulted in the creation of four teams: Education & Child Development, Health & Nutrition, Household Stability and Safety & Empowerment. These teams work collaboratively to make sure each CAP customer is connected to the most beneficial services for their unique needs.

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What We Offer

For families to truly thrive, we must focus on both parents and children. Poverty is a complex issue that is regularly over-simplified and often misunderstood. At the Community Action Partnership, we work with leaders, organizations, and communities understand that there is no “culture of poverty" by engaging in myth busting, interactive exercises and discussion designed to build understanding.

Consulting

Professional Development & Training

Direct Service

CAP plans to continue leading these conversations with partners across various sectors including nonprofit, for-profit, education, government, and more to rethink how we develop and provide programming and services while approaching how we serve using a holistic approach to create a community where everyone thrives.

Our team of professionals will work with you every step of the way to help shape your organization. All pricing is available upon request.

For more information or to request one of our services, contact Amanda Burns, Chief Strategy Officer, by emailing aburns@caplanc.org or visit caplanc.org/consulting

Consulting

Campus Coaching

We believe that a whole family, 2Generation approach to post-secondary education not only increases community wellbeing and equity in educational spaces, but it also is a strong and research-based approach to increasing student enrollment and retention and graduation rates for institutions. We want to work together to create a future where every family has the opportunity to access post-secondary education and greater economic mobility and thriving futures, which requires that we adapt our institutions to become more responsive and friendly to parenting students their children and their whole family systems. Across the U.S. 1 in 5 undergraduate students are also parents, and yet the degree completion rate for this population of students is less than 50% due to the unique combination of challenges and competing priorities faced by students who are also parents.

Our family-friendly campus consulting can support post-secondary institutions with the process of reimagining the pathways through post-secondary education to center equity and a systems approach to the parenting student experience in order to take a more integrated approach to addressing barriers parenting students experience, strengthening retention and enrollment rates, and increasing opportunities for parenting students and their families to improve their overall wellbeing and thriving. Often the work on campuses to increase the family friendly experience creates increased access and equity for all students with limited economic resources, not just those who are parents.

Our consulting includes support navigating the steps of the family-friendly campus toolkit, including family friendly assessments, coalition formation, data collection methods, and recommendations for promising practices that increase parent voices. As part of our datadriven process, we engage students, parenting students, staff and faculty in quantitative and qualitative data processes and review policies, practices, and benefits. Our methods include formal surveys, stay interviews, informal data collection practices, and focus groups. We also stay tuned into new promising practices in the family-friendly campus employment space as they develop. We believe in empowering post-secondary institutions to embed strategic priorities connected to family-friendly practices into their established priorities and goals. Our consulting services include a presentation and report of recommended strategies that support parenting students.

Pricing is available upon request

Childcare Consulting

We believe reliable childcare is essential for families. Childcare is also essential in a thriving community. Our consulting supports post-secondary institutions with childcare needs assessments, data collection and analysis, and strategic recommendations to address childcare needs for their parenting students, staff, and faculty. Our childcare consulting can address barriers in accessing affordable childcare, increasing attendance rates, strengthening enrollment rates, and increasing overall wellbeing and thriving.

As part of our consulting, our data driven process includes quantitative and qualitative data collection processes, a review of benefits that pertain to childcare, an analysis of high-quality childcare options near the campus, and alternative options for care. Our methods include formal assessments and surveys, interviews with department leaders and management, focus groups, and other informal data collection practices. We also continue to provide resources and best practices as they develop.

Pricing is available upon request

Professional Development & Training

Poverty and Its Impact on Families

The Poverty and Its Impact on Families training provides participants a framework for understanding poverty and the connection to wellbeing. The training includes an overview of poverty and its causes, census data and local qualitative data, as well as, the connection of poverty to public health.

The training includes workplace strategies and concludes by sharing promising practices and recommendations for employers who employ those of low-income. During the presentation, there will be opportunities for individual reflection, small group discussion and reflection, and large group interactive Q&A.

Pricing is available upon request

Poverty Simulations

Poverty simulations are a series of role-playing scenarios that give participants the opportunity to learn about the realities of poverty and its impact on society as a whole.

During the poverty simulation, participants adopt a new persona and family profile for the purpose of the exercise. Participants of the simulation navigate through daily tasks that many of us take for granted. During four timed “weeks”, those assigned adult roles try to maintain their home, feed their families, send their children to school, and retain utility services while trying to navigate local supports and resources.

Those assuming the roles of children have an opportunity to see what it is like to go to school and cope with family dynamics, peer pressure, and the need for love and attention within the context of a family in poverty. The outcome of the simulation is unpredictable and demonstrates how strategizing with limited resources can make meeting even the most basic needs very challenging for a family.

A poverty simulation can be a profoundly moving experience. It is thought-provoking and promotes insightful conversation about the realities of poverty. It demonstrates the importance of a community working together to address the problem of poverty. Most importantly, it inspires action and moves people to get involved in making a difference.

As the simulation concludes, participants come together to discuss their experiences. The power of this unique learning resource is its ability to provide real insight into the barriers that low-income families face daily and to motivate participants to work for change in their communities.

*The simulation is best paired with the Poverty and Its Impact of Families training

Pricing is available upon request

Thriving Family Mindset Training

The Thriving Family Mindset training integrates concepts that are integral to taking a whole person approach to supporting parenting-students on campus.

Participants will explore internal mindsets and mental models that shape assumptions, language, and actions that can negatively impact parenting students’ wellbeing, retention and enrollment, and trust within the campus. Participants will learn new approaches to supporting parenting students that are strengths-based, build psychological safety and trust, and improve campus culture through coaching and partnership.

Direct Service

Resource Liaison

Campus resource liaisons support parenting students who have urgent needs and need to be connected to a resource. The work is focused on the Social Determinants of Health and connecting parenting students to resources within those areas. Resource liaisons equip parenting students to overcome short-term barriers and continue to stay enrolled in their post-secondary education.

Campus resource liaison positions can be designed based on the campus need. Investing in resource liaisons is person and family centered, can increase graduation and retention rates, create campus psychological safety and trust, and increase parenting student well-being.

Resource Liaisons will support and expand the capacity of existing campus service programs.

Pricing is available upon request

Strength Coach

Campus strength coaches support parenting students and their families to pursue goals that will lead to a thriving life. Coaches support parenting students with creating plans to achieve their goals that consider all aspects of life.

This includes career and career pathway goals, education and degree completion, parent-child relationships, and much more. The strength coach positions can be designed based on the campus need and integration with existing services and supports. Investing in strength coaches is person and family centered, can increase retention and graduation rates, create campus psychological safety and trust, increase awareness of and sensitivity to parenting students and their family needs among faculty and staff, and increase student-parent well-being.

Pricing is available upon request