Work Central Designated Best Practice

The National Governors' Association designated Work Central as a best practice and invited Connectinc to participate in their webcast series on using technology and public-private partnerships to help low-income workers. We were included in the 2004 Manpower Demonstration Research Project report as an example of innovative programming for family work support centers.

The report can be viewed by going to www.nga.org/cda/files/0504BRIDGES.pdf . The Work Central program is mentioned on pages 40-42.

Work Central Recognized by US GAO

Work Central received recognition from the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) for providing Rural Programs Devised Modes of Service Delivery That Transcend Geography.

This September 2004 report can be viewed by going to www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-921. The Work Central program is highlighted on pages 25, 28-29.

Connectinc. receives $500,000

By JOE MILLER, Rocky Mount Telegram

A local organization that helps low-income families is $500,000 richer.

Rocky Mount's Connectinc. is one of five recipients of a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation of Baltimore. The award is part of the foundation's "Families Count: The National Honors Program." Connectinc. is one of 31 organizations recognized since 2000.

Connectinc., founded in 1999, uses a call center, which fields between 600 and 1,000 calls per day. Counselors provide callers information on available jobs, childcare, financial institutions and training opportunities.

President Jackie Savage said Connectinc. helps families get out of poverty. She said she's thrilled about the award.

"It's such an honor to be chosen by such a fabulous organization," Savage said. "It's just so good for families because it allows us to expand our capacity and to keep going."

The awards are part of the foundation's observance of National Family Week, which lasts through Sunday.

The other award recipients are Asian American LEAD and the Calvary Bilingual Multicultural Learning Center both of Washington, D.C., Family Services Woodfield of Bridgeport, Conn. and the Mutual Assistance Network of Del Paso Heights in Sacramento, Calif.

"We will change the future of our most at-risk children only when we change the present for their parents," said foundation President Douglas Nelson. "The Families Count honorees are as varied as their communities, but they are united in putting families at the center of their work. The results are stronger families that can provide greater economic security for their children."

For more information on Connectinc., call 252-442-3467.

We’ll Call Back

Reprinted from "Families Count" - Annie E. Casey Foundation

Connectinc. combines skilled counselors with sophisticated computer and communications technologies to help rural residents of North Carolina find and keep jobs, develop careers and build assets. Connectinc.’s success has meant greater economic security for thousands of low-income families, scattered across a dozen rural counties.

Counselors at Work Central, Connectinc.’s call center, field between 600 and 1,000 phone calls daily. The initial contact starts a stream of information from Connectinc., everything from money management tips to the location of sites for free tax preparation. Connectinc.’s technology-infused approach means counselors have instant access to a jobs database, childcare resources, financial institutions, training opportunities — even transportation routes.

Through the call center, Connectinc.’s creators knew they could reach virtually all families without requiring them to travel long distances. “Everyone has access to a phone, even in rural communities, through family, a boyfriend, a church,” says Connectinc. president Jackie Savage. Instead of spending hours arranging childcare and then transportation to access services, clients can get support via phone to fulfill their roles as parents and earners. Counselors use three-way calling to help clients set up interviews; the call center faxes or e-mails resumes and job applications to potential employers while the call takes place.

“We are customer-driven and always checking in to see what we can do to help. Anything that happens in the family — a sick child, problems at school — is a job retention issue,” Savage says. “We work with families until they say they no longer need us, and then we ask if we can call back in six months because, you know, life changes.”

“I really feel supported. It seems like I’ve known them for a lifetime.”
Sue Troublefield Scotland County, N.C.

Staying on the Line

When Jackie Savage envisioned a state-of-the-art communications center turned into a human services delivery system, she knew that highly trained counselors
would be essential. Because families aren’t required to use Connectinc., “we knew we needed the best phone skills in the world, because people could just hang up on us,” she says. One woman who called, and stayed on the line, is Sue Troublefield, a mother of seven who found employment in rural Scotland County, N.C., through Connectinc. “Around here, job leads are slim to none,” says Troublefield, who praises Work Central for calling her almost daily with information about local jobs that could improve her financial future. Though most of her grown children have left home, two teens and a seven-year-old grandchild depend upon Troublefield’s earnings at a convenience store. Her Work Central counselor has made sure Troublefield, who quit school in eleventh grade, has access to services that will help her acquire a GED, plus asset-building supports such as a checking account and applications for tax credits. Troublefield says the personal attention has made a difference. “They are more like a friend to you.”

“We are economic development, one family at a time.” Jackie Savage President of Connectinc.

Results that Count

Founded in 1999 to support former welfare recipients making a transition to the work force, Connectinc. encourages families to think long-term. Among 4,400 former TANF clients who entered Connectinc.’s program between 2000 and 2002, 84 percent remain employed and their combined earnings top $41 million. More than 700 Connectinc. customers have opened bank accounts, and customers referred to free tax preparation have claimed more than $250,000 in EITC refunds. Connectinc.’s unique delivery system has helped 1,000 displaced tobacco workers apply for unemployment benefits, and a pilot program is now supporting low-income textile workers in applying for IRS health coverage tax credits. Connectinc. has also launched Teach Central, a program designed to improve teacher retention in rural communities by using three-way calling to connect first-year novices with experienced classroom mentors. Reducing teacher turnover is one way to improve conditions in economically isolated communities, Savage contends.

“If quality teachers don’t stay, then families in those communities will never move out of poverty.”

Kids do well when their families do well and families do better when they live in supportive communities.

Connectinc. was honored by the Points of Light Foundation for the Daily Point of Light Award. The Daily Point of Light Awards are given to individuals and non-profit organizations who find innovative ways to meet community needs, efforts which often lead to long-term solutions and impact social problems in their local communities. The program dates back to the administration of former President George Bush, Sr. "A movement to engage all individuals, families, businesses, groups and organizations in America to solve community problems.

The December 2004 award can be viewed by going to http://www.pointsoflight.org/awards/dpol/winner.cfm?AwardNum=2831