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              GOALS: Exploring United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Program for Supporting Children and Families from the Bib to the Backpack
      Back
                The GOALS (Gain Opportunities to Achieve Lasting Success) program model is a strengths-based, family-centered intervention that motivates parents to use effective parenting practices in support of child competence. Focused on low-income families in Detroit, MI, GOALS was nested in a multi-agency integrated service delivery model. GOALS program utilized an adapted version of the Family Check-Up model, which is designed for families with risk factors including socioeconomic disadvantage, maternal depression, family and child risk factors for child conduct problems, and academic failure.

**Study Goals:**
The goal of this study was to document the implementation of the GOALS model in five agencies serving the greater Detroit area.

**Research Questions:**
The research questions for the implementation and impact studies were:

Implementation questions:
	How successful is GOALS in enrolling families? i.e., How many families enroll?
		What are the characteristics of families who enroll? In addition to their demographic characteristics, what kinds of needs are identified at the time of enrollment?
		How well is GOALS implemented? Do families move from assessment to services and continue engagement in services?
		What services do families receive? Do families who receive the GOALS model participate in more services than families typically do?
		How long do families continue to participate in GOALS? Do families who participate in GOALS participate longer in services than families typically do?
		Do families who participate in GOALS improve levels of self-sufficiency as demonstrated by improved ability to meet basic needs, parenting skills, social supports, feeding practices, and reduced risk behaviors?
		Do children whose families participate in GOALS improve levels of development as demonstrated by enhanced communication skills, problem-solving skills, social development, social-emotional, and health?
		Is the amount of improvement in the family experiences increased by the number of services received?
		Is the amount of improvement in the family experiences increased by the length of time they participate in the program?
	Impact questions:
	Do families who receive the FCU model make significantly greater improvements in self-sufficiency compared to families who only receive standard services as evidenced by improved: 
		Parenting skills?
			Ability to meet basic needs?
			Social supports?
			Risk behaviors?
			Feeding practices?
		Do children in families who receive the FCU model make significantly greater improvements in development compared to children in families who only receive normal services as evidenced by improved: 
		Communication skills?
			Problem-solving skills?
			Social development?
			Social-emotional health?Findings:
The evaluation found the following:

The implementation evaluation found that GOALS model components were implemented with fidelity, including light-touch intervention with families, completing assessments, setting goals, and supporting families in identifying and using goal-targeted services. 
	GOALS families showed significant gains in parenting. In particular, their levels of affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching showed significant improvement at both six- and 12-month follow-up.
		GOALS families also showed significant improvement in their ability to meet basic needs, parenting skills, social support, and behavior issues at both six- and 12-month follow-up.
	The impact study results showed that GOALS families outperformed the comparison families in some key areas. 
	GOALS families scored significantly higher than comparison families on social support at six-month follow-up.
		GOALS families had significantly higher scores than the comparison group on the Feeding Your Child survey at both six- and 12-month follow-up.
	However, comparison families scored significantly higher than GOALS families on the ability to meet basic needs, the parenting skills at six-month follow-up, and the parenting skills at 12-month follow-up.  It should be noted that the families in the comparison group were receiving services that would normally be offered by the partner agency.
	During the COVID-19 pandemic, GOALS families were significantly more likely than comparison families to score in the low-risk category for the areas of Mental Health, Parenting, Family Connection, and Health CareFor more information, download:

Full Report

Report Brief

      Full report
        Further information
    



      Program/Intervention
                        GOALS (Gain Opportunities to Achieve Lasting Success)
  

      Implementing Organization
                        ACCESS, CARE of Southeastern Michigan, Leaps and Bounds Family Services, National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, Oakland Family Services
  

      Intermediary(s)
                        United Way for Southeastern Michigan
  

      AmeriCorps Program(s)
            Social Innovation Fund
  

      Age(s) Studied
            0-5 (Early childhood)
                  18-25 (Young adult)
                  26-55 (Adult)
  

      Focus Population(s)/Community(s)
            Suburban
                  Urban
                  Low-income
  

      Outcome Category
            School readiness
  

      Study Type(s)
            Impact
                  Implementation
  

      Level of Evidence
            Moderate
  

      Researcher/Evaluator
                        Philliber Research
  

      Published Year
                        2021
  

      Study Site Location (City/County)
            Detroit
  

      Study Site Location (State)
            Michigan Back to main content Sign up to hear about our latest news, events, and opportunities.
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