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Catholic Charities Fort Worth Provides Proven Model for Helping Individuals Out of Poverty

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By: AIF Staff

The economic impact of COVID-19 is still reverberating across the country, but thus far, the pandemic has already caused tens of millions of hard-working Americans to be unemployed and a host of families to need basic services like food and shelter for the first time. As more and more Americans find themselves in economic distress, local organizations and civil society — which occupies the space between people and their government, have become more important than ever.

The American Idea Foundation believes that even as legislators in Washington, DC get bogged down in partisan fights and gridlock, there are people and organizations doing amazing work in communities around the country. At this time of hardship, policymakers should find inspiration and a sense of optimism from those individuals and groups that are helping their communities rebound and rebuild.

This stark contrast between lawmakers mired in ideological battles and organizations persevering for people in need has reaffirmed the American Idea Foundation’s mission and approach. The Foundation is motivated to identify these organizations that are assisting people in meaningful ways, to validate their efforts through the support of data and evidence, and to encourage leaders to view these problem-solvers as examples that could be replicated elsewhere.

One group that is making a huge impact in Texas is Catholic Charities Fort Worth. For decades, Catholic Charities Fort Worth has lifted families and individuals out of poverty using a comprehensive approach that treats people with the dignity and respect they deserve. Their case management model is relationship-based and Catholic Charities assists its clients through an array of support services ranging from navigating the green card process to vocational skills development; from reducing homelessness to securing employment. Most recently, Catholic Charities partnered with other local organizations in Fort Worth to provide food to families who were dealing with hunger and economic insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

American Idea Foundation President and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan has long been a proponent of the approach that Catholic Charities Fort Worth takes to helping those in their community. In April 2018, he visited the organization to hear and see firsthand how they are making a difference. You can view Speaker Ryan’s thoughts here.

Singling out the daily difference that Catholic Charities Fort Worth is making, Speaker Ryan described their impact at the 2018 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, saying in part:

“We believe every person has a role and a voice in the community of concern and protection. No one is written off.
  
“The good news—the great news—is that there are new evangelizers living out this doctrine all around us. One of them is a woman named Heather Reynolds. Heather runs Catholic Charities Fort Worth.
 
“For years, I had been hearing about all the great work they were doing down there. Last month, I finally had the chance to see it firsthand. We sat down with some of their clients and case workers. That’s how they do everything: case management, a customized approach.
  
“One gentleman, his name was Chris. Chris grew up in a big family, and he watched his older siblings get into all kinds of trouble. His fate was the farm or the oil field. That was it. No way out.
  
“One day Chris told his wife, he wanted to go to nursing school. He reached out to Catholic Charities They helped him navigate the system, figure out how to make it work. Even after he graduated, they are still there for him and his family.
  
“What stands out for Chris is not any one thing Catholic Charities did to help him. It is, he said, ‘the feeling that you have an out, that you don’t have to settle.’”

Speaker Ryan went on to say: “Organizations like Catholic Charities are doing heroic work in our communities to fight poverty. This is among the keys to breaking the cycle and getting more people into good-paying jobs…. The case management system is the best possible system. It’s individual, it’s focused, it’s customized. The cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.”

Interviewing a client of Catholic Charities who attended Ryan’s visit, the North Texas Catholic provided some valuable perspective on the case-management approach:

“Tonita Burbage, a Catholic Charities client who attended the town hall, was laid off in 2014 and struggled with unemployment and underemployment for two years. She credited Catholic Charities’ assistance in helping her find a full-time job with benefits so she could support her two daughters without government assistance. The organization helped her with job training, developing a resume, and providing interview outfits. However, Burbage said what helped the most was ‘to have someone support everything that I want to do and having that open door where I could call anytime or email — to have someone listening.’”

The model used by Catholic Charities Fort Worth puts an emphasis on results, rather than on dollars spent. It’s a view that Speaker Ryan has long embraced, saying in a 2018 interview with Margaret Hoover on PBS’ Firing Line, that:

“[People] have defined success in the war on poverty based on how much money are you throwing at a problem. How many programs are you creating? How many people are on the federal programs? Not defining success based on results. Are there fewer people in poverty?

“I mean what ought to happen if we are successful, is fewer and fewer and fewer people are using the program because they aren’t poor anymore, and that is how we think success ought to be defined, so I think the metrics had been distorted for a long time, and now we finally can get to a conversation where what works is what we ought to do.”

One pilot program, undertaken by Catholic Charities Forth Worth and Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities (where Ryan serves on the Board), called the Padua Project has taken this evidence-based approach and utilized a network of specialists to support individuals as they get back on their feet. As Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities detailed in a Case Study evaluating the project:

“The Padua Pilot is a “supercharged” case management program developed by Catholic Charities Fort Worth to help families experiencing poverty achieve long-term self-sufficiency. The program combines wrap-around case management with low caseloads, detailed needs assessments, customized action plans, and financial assistance. Stakeholders commissioned the study to learn more about the program’s impact on outcomes such as income, employment, and health.”

As WAMU detailed in a 2016 article on the Padua Project, Catholic Charities Fort Worth “started small: 100 clients the first year. The goal? In three years, each person will be financially self-sufficient. Each person will have three months of savings. And each person will be off government assistance.”

Because of this individualized, hands-on, comprehensive approach, people like Keith Collins are benefitting. As Cynthia Allen summarized in a Fort Worth Star Telegram op-ed:

“According to CCFW, participants in the Padua Pilot on average increased their liquid assets by over $5,000, reduced their debt by over $2,000, and experienced a 23 percent increase in full-time employment. In two years’ time, 73 percent of those who entered the program not housed were stably housed and working toward self-sufficiency, and those who came into case management stably housed had a 36 percent increase in full-time work and a 34 percent increase in monthly earnings.”

As Speaker Ryan said when working on reforms to federal poverty-fighting programs: “This is about saving souls, not dollars. The federal government should monitor supply lines, provide resources, but they shouldn’t micro-manage the front lines in fighting poverty. The people and the groups on the ground, eye-to-eye, soul-to-soul, person-to-person, they are the ones best equipped to solve these problems and help people.” 

Catholic Charities Fort Worth is one of these groups, helping people eye-to-eye and soul-to-soul and having a profound impact as they do. Their Padua Project provides a prime example of how the case management model can work and policymakers would be smart to take note of the lives that they are changing on a daily basis.

President Trump Spotlights Jon Ponder & HOPE for Prisoners’ successful recidivism reduction program

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By: AIF Staff

Earlier this week, in a moving ceremony, President Donald Trump issued a formal pardon for Jon Ponder, who was previously convicted of bank robbery and who, after serving his sentence, went on to found HOPE for Prisoners, a nationally recognized, Las Vegas-based organization that provides a number of reentry and reintegration services to men and women exiting various parts of our judicial system. Ponder’s story is one of redemption and shows how policymakers can help individuals make the most of their second chance and make an impact in the lives of others.

American Idea Foundation President and former House Speaker Paul Ryan has been fortunate to develop a relationship with Ponder and HOPE for Prisoners over the years, and he was delighted to see the President recognize their efforts. In describing the transformative work that Ponder has done, President Trump said: 

“He has created one of the most successful reentry programs, HOPE for Prisoners, in Las Vegas. HOPE for Prisoners is a movement that began as a dream, in a tiny prison cell, and is now making a difference in the lives of thousands, truly bringing hope that there is an opportunity and a community that is waiting and willing to offer them a second chance.”

During a 2018 visit, Speaker Ryan spoke with Jon Ponder and met with program partners and individual participants to learn how they are rebuilding their lives and recognizing their versions of the American Dream after paying their debt to society.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal covered at the time:

House Speaker Paul Ryan joined former U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy in Las Vegas for a panel discussion on criminal justice reform with participants in a program that Ryan says should be an example for the entire country.

The private discussion, held at the Las Vegas-based Hope for Prisoners office, included law enforcement officials and elected leaders such as Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and former Nevada Gov. Robert List….

“What I’m so impressed with Hope for Prisoners is the fact that you do this in conjunction with local law enforcement, with the DA, with local elected officials,” Ryan said, sitting at a table flanked by Hardy and Ponder. “That, to me, is extremely impressive.”

In touring the facility and in his discussion with HOPE for Prisoners’ graduates, Ryan focused on how the HOPE for Prisoners’ model is results-driven and aimed at helping one individual at a time get the customized support necessary to become forces of good in their communities.

Since its creation in 2004, HOPE for Prisoners has assisted over 3,000 individuals and their program participants have just a 6% recidivism rate. It has been recognized by policymakers from across the ideological spectrum for its innovative programming and personalized approach to recidivism reduction. Earlier in 2020, President Trump addressed a group of HOPE for Prisoner program graduates, stating in part:

“We are here to reaffirm that America is a nation that believes in redemption.  And that’s what it’s about: redemption.…You’re returning to your families.  You have paid your debt to society and shown a commitment to change.  You’ve overcome many challenges: broken free of addiction, learned new skills, and replaced old habits with fresh resolve….

“And now you have a chance to begin a new chapter that you are proud to call your own.  And I have little doubt you’re going to be very, very successful.  Your future does not have to be defined by the mistakes of the past.”

Without question, the HOPE for Prisoners model of success is one that needs to be looked at by policymakers and replicated by community leaders around the country. Every day, Jon Ponder and his team are helping individuals’ build lives of purpose one step at a time. This work is not easy, but it is making a huge impact in Nevada.

Through their mentorship programs, their vocational training models, and their emphasis on financial responsibility and life skills, HOPE for Prisoners is working person-to-person, soul-to-soul, to assist individuals get back on their feet. Their efforts have ripple effects reverberating in neighborhoods around Las Vegas and are yielding impressive results.

They have developed a model that involves local officials, community leaders, and members of our criminal justice system who all work in tandem to reduce recidivism and encourage successful reintegration into our communities. It is very similar to the approaches taken by United Health Care and JPMorgan Chase, which Speaker Ryan highlighted this summer in a virtual panel discussion entitled 2nd Chances: Developing New Solutions for Returning Citizens.

The work that Jon Ponder is doing is inspiring, and as lawmakers from both parties examine reforms to our criminal justice system, their learning from groups like HOPE for Prisoners will undoubtedly improve public policy outcomes.

Consistent with its mission of promoting public policies and evidence-based models that expand the American Idea and advance upward mobility and economic opportunities, Speaker Ryan has focused on reforming our criminal justice system since leaving Congress. Earlier this year, he penned a foreword for the journal, Rethinking Reentry, produced by the American Enterprise Institute, which detailed a host of strategies to reorient our criminal justice system so it better promotes reintegration and redemption, as opposed to just retribution. 

The President’s pardon of Jon Ponder and his highlighting of HOPE for Prisoners put a bright light on an individual and an organization making a tangible difference in the lives of others, and Ponder’s work should serve as a reminder of how powerful a second chance can be. 

Jack Kemp’s “Playbook” for Expanding Opportunities Continues to Inspire

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By: AIF Staff

Jack Kemp was a unique leader. He was “the football player turned congressman, Cabinet Secretary and GOP anti-poverty crusader,” who inspired scores of legislators, community leaders, and future public servants.

Jack Kemp continues to be revered because he had an inclusive approach to public policy, one that recognized the dignity and inherent worth of every American’s experience and point of view. He possessed an eternal optimism, believing that lawmakers could help people and communities through economic policies like opportunity zones.

Jack Kemp’s personal impact on American Idea Foundation President Paul Ryan is undeniable, and his impact on many Americans was equally profound. A new documentary, titled The Jack Kemp Playbook, putsKemp’s life, legacy, and worldview in proper perspective while also capturing how “a famed quarterback turned political icon reached across the aisle and brought out the best in everyone.”

As the American Idea Foundation works to expand economic opportunities by highlighting success stories occurring in communities across the country, Jack Kemp’s approach to public policy inspires us on a daily basis. A preview of The Jack Kemp Playbook, which is currently airing on FOXNation, is available here.

Andrew Walworth, one of the film’s producers, summed up Kemp’s approach and its current relevance in a recent Fox News op-ed:

“Kemp’s empowerment agenda also promised to raise up the poor and provide minorities with their shot at the American Dream. No Republican has ever stood as boldly for racial equality, and none did more to design policies with the explicit aim of solving the problems of the inner cities….

“Crucially relevant in this era of highly personalized partisan nastiness, Jack Kemp believed that politics was primarily a competition of ideas. For him, politics was not about personal advancement or attack, but about imagining policies, testing them, and moving forward.”

Legislators continue to realize that Kemp’s approach to fighting poverty, to battling over ideas rather than impugning motives, to building solutions and strengthening communities one person at a time, is a winning one.

In 2016, at the height of a contentious Republican Presidential primary, two acolytes of Jack Kemp’s, then-Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina hosted the “Kemp Forum on Expanding Opportunity,” which gave many of the leading presidential candidates a chance to talk about their plans to give more people the chance to realize their version of the American Dream.

Around the summit, Speaker Ryan and Senator Scott channeled Kemp’s locally-driven approach and called for the federal government to do better when it comes to fighting poverty. In a  Wall Street Journal op-ed, they said in part:

“Both of us have seen firsthand the good work being done in our communities—from the Goodwill in Greenville, S.C., to Catholic Charities in Janesville, Wis., to the House of Help City of Hope in Washington, D.C. The federal government treats these groups as little more than social workers with street cred.

“But they’re much more than that; they’re social entrepreneurs. Precisely because they have credibility, they can get through to people others can’t. The federal government should assist the people and communities leading these efforts, not elbow them out of the way. Along these lines, the other author here, House Speaker Ryan, has proposed giving states and communities flexibility to try different solutions. We need to take the focus in Washington off intentions and put it on results.”

As a policy staffer, Speaker Ryan had the opportunity to travel around the country with Jack Kemp and see first-hand how having inclusive, opportunity-focused policies could make a tangible difference in people’s lives. As he told Mort Kondracke for the Kemp Oral History Project:

“What I enjoyed about traveling with [Jack] was that people of all walks of life, people of all backgrounds, people of all ethnicities, and all races gravitated toward this man and they really liked him. They liked him because they knew he cared. They knew that he actually was trying to make a positive difference in people’s lives and that he didn’t have a racist bone in his body. He had ideas that really gave people a sense of optimism that they could make it.”

Speaker Ryan has taken these lessons from Jack Kemp and infused them into his elected and post-elected career. In fact, the idea that all Americans should be given the opportunity to succeed and realize their full potential is at the heart of his Foundation’s mission. As Ryan told the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute a few years ago:

“Too many people are getting left behind. They’re being isolated, and we can do better. As a moral society, it’s our obligation to do better. Not just in government, but just as people in our communities. When we see our fellow citizens being isolated, falling through the cracks, missing their potential, we have an obligation to help fix that.

“We’ve got to see the successful stories: Violence-free zones at Pulaski High and at Rufus King; Victor Barnett at Running Rebels; Milwaukee Working, which is a really cool program. We’ve got to see what they’re doing, and not federalize it or institutionalize it but just support it. That means open up this space for civil society, protect what they’re doing, retell their story, and amplify their efforts. That means with our dollars from private charity, yes, but also with our time and our talents….

“If you care about upward mobility, about prosperity, about freedom, about a flourishing life where you can do what you want — you need to get involved and fight for a civil society and for community.”

Just like Jack Kemp, Speaker Ryan has made it his life-long mission to advance policies and ideas that expand opportunities and give all Americans, regardless of their income, race, religion, or zip code, the ability to realize their potential. Fighting poverty, rebuilding lives, and empowering communities are not easy problems to fix, but Speaker Ryan and the American Idea Foundation will continue to approach these challenges with the infectious optimism of Jack Kemp. Without a doubt, Jack Kemp’s legacy and example will serve as a lodestar for our efforts.