Contact:
Rachel Ball
media@omni.org
303.839.9422
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2021
CASE STUDIES DEMONSTRATE FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS SAVE THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM MILLIONS
REPORTS RELEASED ON THE ROI OF TWO FAMILY RESOURCE CENTERS TO THE
CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM: FOR EVERY $1 INVESTED, UP TO $3.65 IS SAVED
DENVER, CO — Today OMNI Institute (OMNI) releases research reports detailing the return on investment of two Family Resource Centers (FRCs) to the child welfare system: every $1 invested in an FRC in Orange County, California, resulted in $3.65 of savings for the child welfare system, and every $1 invested in an FRC in Teller County, Colorado, resulted in $2.92 of savings for the child welfare system.
Involvement in the child welfare system can be disruptive and even traumatizing for children and families, resulting in significant costs to public systems. Services that focus on building the strength, stability, and long-term success of families are critical to reducing parental stress and isolation. Mitigating parental stress reduces incidences of child abuse and neglect and FRCs assist in this mitigation as welcoming hubs of support, services, social connection, and by providing opportunities for families that work with them utilizing a strengths-based, family-centered, multi-generational approach. Despite no dedicated federal funding, there are more than 3,000 community- and school-based FRCs in 33 states and in Washington, D.C. that work with more than two million people each year. FRCs provide programs designed to strengthen parent-child relationships, help families access programs and services through resources and referrals, develop community leadership, peer support, and more. There is evidence that by serving families holistically in communities, FRCs can help prevent involvement in child welfare systems, which generates substantial economic savings.
With support from Casey Family Programs, OMNI collaborated with the National Family Support Network (NFSN) to quantify these economic returns. OMNI used a social return on investment (SROI) approach to measure the impact of the FRCs in relation to savings within child welfare. SROI describes the impact of a program or organization in dollar terms relative to the investment required to create that impact. These case studies examined the cost savings, and subsequent return on investment, to the child welfare system.
The key findings are as follows:
In 2017, reductions in child maltreatment cases in Westminster FRC's Orange County community saved the child welfare system an estimated 1.82MM; in 2016 this savings was estimated at 1.1MM. For every $1 invested in Westminster FRC in 2016 and 2017, the Orange County child welfare system saved an estimated $3.65.
After a formal partnership between Community Partnership FRC and Teller County child welfare was established, the county saved an estimated $2.5MM associated with reductions in child welfare cases. For every $1 invested in Community Partnership FRC, the Teller County child welfare system saved an estimated $2.92
“This research adds to the growing body of evidence that ‘America’s best-kept secret’, Family Resource Centers, make a significant difference in supporting families to be healthy and strong upfront and reducing the need for higher-cost interventions later,” said Andrew Russo, NFSN’s Co-Founder and Director. “It’s important to highlight not only FRCs’ tremendous cost savings to systems, but also the unquantifiable pain, stigma, and trauma through involvement in them that families will not experience.”
“We are incredibly proud to partner in uncovering economic evidence of the benefit of the community-based family support services provided by FRCs,” said Sara Bayless, Ph.D., Director at OMNI. “Return on investment is an important lens through which the benefit of FRCs to public systems can be quantified.”
“These reports further illustrate the value of prevention, offering us examples from two different regions of what prevention looks like and, in tangible economic formulas, how much cost savings early investment in family well-being can yield,” stated David Sanders, Ph.D., Executive Vice President for Systems Improvement at Casey Family Programs. “We must continue to support efforts that offer proactive, community-based supports that strengthen families and offers them what they need to thrive.”
Teller County, CO Executive Summary (read the full report here)
Orange County, CA Executive Summary (read the full report here)
For additional information, please join NFSN, OMNI, Casey Family Programs, FRC staff, child welfare system leadership, and parents for a virtual panel discussion and Q&A session regarding these findings on August 25th, 2021, from 2:30 – 4 pm ET. Register to attend here.
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About the National Family Support Network
Founded in 2011, the National Family Support Network is a membership-based organization comprised of statewide networks of two or more Family Resource Centers working together within a collective impact framework to ensure coordinated quality support for families. The National Family Support Network currently has 34 member networks, comprised of more than 3,000 Family Support and Strengthening organizations, representing the great geographical and demographic diversity of the nation.
About OMNI Institute
OMNI Institute is a Colorado-based nonprofit social science consultancy that provides integrated research and evaluation, capacity building, and data utilization services to foster understanding, guide collaboration, and inform action to accelerate positive social change focused on children and families, community and behavioral health, economic security, and adult and juvenile justice. Founded in 1976, OMNI Institute has honed a nationally recognized service delivery model that is focused on rigorous research and application of best practices, authentic engagement with clients and their vested partners, and the cross-systems expertise and insights needed to address complex social issues.