Start Date
23-4-2026 12:00 AM
Description
Community organizations play a critical role in helping vulnerable children, youth, and families achieve stability and independence. This service learning project partnered with Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS) to evaluate how well its programs support client progress toward self sufficiency. Using discharge data from the Arizona Self Sufficiency Matrix, students analyzed outcomes across multiple program types and four service sites. The evaluation found strong improvements in areas related to immediate stabilization, including personal safety, legal status, substance use recovery, and disability support. However, clients continued to face ongoing challenges in childcare access, housing stability, parenting skills, children’s education, and employment—areas closely tied to long term independence. Differences between Single Parent Family and Transitional Living–Adult programs highlighted distinct client needs and variations in how self sufficiency domains applied across populations. Additional site level differences pointed to inconsistencies in outcomes and opportunities for shared learning and program improvement. Overall, the project demonstrates how data driven, community engaged research can strengthen service delivery, promote equity across sites, and support evidence based decision making in human services organizations.
Research Highlights
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The Problem: The project evaluates the effectiveness of Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services (PCHAS) programs in advancing client self-sufficiency for families and young adults experiencing housing instability, trauma, and economic hardships.
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The Method: The mixed-methods evaluation utilized discharge data from the Arizona Self-Sufficiency Matrix (ASSM) to analyze 128 client records across four Texas service sites and two program models.
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Quantitative Finding: Demographic records indicated an 80% female and 10% male population; the highest performing domains included Substance Abuse (mean 4.88), Legal (mean 4.60), Safety (mean 4.58), and Disabilities (mean 4.34); the lowest performing domains were Childcare (mean 2.54), Housing (mean 2.82), Parenting Skills (mean 3.28), and Children's Education (mean 3.36).
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Qualitative Finding: Program comparisons revealed distinct client needs and structural differences in domain applicability; uneven program implementation across sites points to opportunities for targeted, cross-site improvements.
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Finding: Recommendations to improve long-term self-sufficiency outcomes include expanding mental health services with telehealth access, strengthening employment pathways through employer partnerships, and improving transportation access via mobility stipends and volunteer driver programs.
Recommended Citation
Wolf, Olivia and Wolf, Alex, "Turning Service into Stability: Measuring Self-Sufficiency Outcomes at Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services" (2026). 2026 Student Academic Showcase. 29.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/src_2026/Posters/1/29
Included in
Turning Service into Stability: Measuring Self-Sufficiency Outcomes at Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services
Community organizations play a critical role in helping vulnerable children, youth, and families achieve stability and independence. This service learning project partnered with Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services (PCHAS) to evaluate how well its programs support client progress toward self sufficiency. Using discharge data from the Arizona Self Sufficiency Matrix, students analyzed outcomes across multiple program types and four service sites. The evaluation found strong improvements in areas related to immediate stabilization, including personal safety, legal status, substance use recovery, and disability support. However, clients continued to face ongoing challenges in childcare access, housing stability, parenting skills, children’s education, and employment—areas closely tied to long term independence. Differences between Single Parent Family and Transitional Living–Adult programs highlighted distinct client needs and variations in how self sufficiency domains applied across populations. Additional site level differences pointed to inconsistencies in outcomes and opportunities for shared learning and program improvement. Overall, the project demonstrates how data driven, community engaged research can strengthen service delivery, promote equity across sites, and support evidence based decision making in human services organizations.