NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Monday, April 16, 2018

Brooklyn, NY, April 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Financial Clinic (the Clinic) announced April 11 the launch of WorkBOOST National, a three-year initiative that will bring financial security approaches to scale, made possible by a $2.5 million grant from MetLife Foundation. In the first year of the initiative, the Clinic will partner with seven high-performing workforce development organizations serving a diverse cross-section of vulnerable populations in North Carolina and Ohio — including immigrants, refugees, people with disabilities and people living in poverty — to embed financial security strategies into their existing programs and services. WorkBOOST National will grow to include an additional six states in its second and third years.

Financial insecurity is pervasive and often stymies nonprofits from fully and effectively serving their communities. Program participants have sought workforce development services to improve their income opportunities, but they often do so in the face of financial challenges, like issues with debt and poor credit scores. Few organizations have the expertise, support or resources to fully address their participants’ financial insecurity while also helping them obtain employment.  The Clinic has created the financial security ecosystem, an approach designed to complement workforce development programs in order to build financial security at scale and improve the financial health of participants.

Following a competitive RFP process, the Clinic proudly announces the launch of the first year of WorkBOOST National with seven partners: North Carolina African Services Coalition (Greensboro, NC), The Power of the Dream (Raleigh, NC), Durham Technical Community College (Durham, NC), Goodwill (Columbus, OH), Jewish Family Services (Columbus, OH), Per Scholas (Columbus, OH), and Towards Employment (Cleveland, OH). Initial trainings in April will engage approximately 50 frontline staff members who will ultimately share these skills and reach thousands of motivated jobseekers through 2018.

The Clinic and WorkBOOST National partners will integrate proven financial security building strategies into their existing service delivery models. Services are facilitated by the Clinic’s web-based financial coaching platform, Change Machine. The Clinic and its partners will also use the data collected through Change Machine to inform future intersections between financial security and workforce development to better serve jobseekers nationally.