GOALS: Exploring United Way for Southeastern Michigan's Program for Supporting Children and Families from the Bib to the Backpack

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 Care

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