2 Gen Equity

The Path Finder program is an intensive 24-month career and life development program, open to San Francisco families headed by a single mother between the ages of 18 and 25, with full custody of at least one child between the ages of 0 and 5, living below the federal poverty level. Utilizing a home visiting model, a family coach helps each mother develop her life plan, connects her to needed services to achieve this life plan, advocates for her and models positive parent and child interactions. The family coach helps navigate access to the six critical areas of opportunity, from helping mothers evaluate child care options and place children in high quality early childhood education, to ensuring that families obtain mental health support to address the effects of trauma commonly seen in poverty.2Gen Equity measures program success through detailed metric tracking, data evaluation, and Path Finder surveys. We collect data on our families progress in establishing assets in all six critical areas including, housing, physical and mental wellness, educational attainment, acquiring a living wage job, health parenting practices and financial management practices. We accomplish this tracking through a survey at intake and quarterly surveys of all families in our program. As our families move from poverty to self-sufficiency, we track these key metrics to measure progress. In addition to survey data, our family coach conducts a family functioning assessment at intake and on a quarterly basis. The family functioning assessment evaluates the stability of each familys shelter, nutrition, health care, employment, income/budget, adult education, childrens education, family relations, parenting, and risk of substance abuse or addiction. Results include:Dependency on cash aid from CalWorks has decreasedPath Finder's monthly income has risen from an average of $1,000 to over $2,000Avg. savings increased from $0 to $2,992 100% of Path Finders created a 529 account for their child(ren)Avg month since a preventive care check up went from 10 months at intake to 2months Avg time spent reading to children increased to 2 hours 6min./weekAvg time spent on math activities increased to 1hr. 42min/week Avg childs bedtime is now 8:53p.m. from 10:03p.m.Avg days without cell phone service dropped to 0.2 days/monthIn sum, first generation Path Finders report feeling more confident in their parenting along with having a stronger bond and understanding of their child(ren). Mothers also report an increase in the funds they are saving. All mothers have opened a 529 college savings account for their child(ren). Lastly, mothers report that framing their goal setting around the Cycle of Opportunity has helped to focus their efforts, and increased productivity. Mothers in the Path Finder program meet weekly with their family coach for support and monitoring progress towards self-sufficiency. Path Finder mothers meet as a cohort once a month in formal workshops addressing topics from childrens literacy to financial planning.