The RuFES Approach

1. The RuFES Approach

2. RuFES – created by… • Annie E. Casey Foundation • With assistance from: • Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group

3. In this session… • Brief Intro: Why RuFES: • The AECF perspective? • Quick Overview: • The RuFES Framework: • Earn It / Keep It / Grow It • Outcomes for each • Family-focused goals for each

4. AECF Core Belief Children do well when their families do well.Families do better when they live in supportive communities.

5. How Are Rural Communities Doing?Tough Transitions • Old economic drivers have lost their engine • New economic drivers are developing • quickly in some places • almost imperceptibly slowly in others • Increasingly missing the middle class • Changing spatialrealities • The world is flat. The market is global. • Virtual connections are required. Regional connections are critical • Stressed communities (economically, socially) + stressed families => heightened vulnerability

6. How Are Rural Families Doing? • Most families work hard. Many struggle to get ahead. • Low wages – One in four rural workers make wages that would not lift a family of four above the poverty level. • Multiple Jobs –25 percent hold multiple jobs, and 50 percent do odd jobs or self provisioning to make ends meet • Environments vary – Some live in struggling communities. Some struggle in thriving communities. • Special obstacles – Limited opportunities. Hard to find appropriate supports. Easy to find predatory practices.

7. How Are Rural Kids Doing? • 22%of rural children live in families in poverty • 27%morelive in working poor families • That meansat least one-halfof all rural kids live in families that struggle to get by, let alone get ahead.

8. What wouldFamily Economic Successlook like? Families getting by andgetting ahead today Building strong financial futures Contributing to and buoyed by thriving communities

9. TheRuFES Framework

10. What does it take to increase Rural Family Economic Success? Earn It – Increase earnings and income Keep It – Stabilize financial lives Grow It – Acquire assets and build wealth in thriving communities

11. The whole > than the sum of the parts • Quilted together • With families at the center • Intentional and targeted Remember: Rising tides don’t lift leaky boats – assuming you even have one!

12. Earn ItMake work work.Make work pay.

13. Confident, predictable, sufficient earnings and income. Preparing for first-time employmentReadiness to earn. Skills match jobs. Landing and keeping a jobLinks to available jobs. Work infrastructure: transportation, child care. Advancing in career and incomePipelines to better jobs. Jobs that are better. Earn It: Desired Result

14. Earn ItGoals Make Workers Ready • Qualifying for a Job • E1: Job seekers have the basic life skills – attitudes, behaviors and reliability – to succeed in jobs in their region. • E2: Job seekers have the basic workplace skills – communication, language, math and technology – to succeed in jobs in their region. • E3: Job seekers have the education or training diplomas and credentials they need to start on a career ladder in their region.

15. Earn ItGoals Make Work Work • Landing and Keeping a Job • E4: Job seekers connect to pipelines that effectively route them to employment opportunities in their region. • E5: Workers have a reliable, affordable and efficient means of transport to get to their jobs • E6: Workers have a reliable, convenient and appropriate child and dependent care they need to maintain a job. • E7:People who create full- or part-time self-employment ventures access technical and financial assistance to improve their chances of business success.

16. Earn ItGoals Make Work Pay • Advancing in a Career • E8: Workers hold jobs that pay wages and offer benefits that support a stable family life. • E9: Workers upgrade their skills and education credentials over time. • E10:Workers advance along a career pathway into better jobs in the region.

17. Keep ItLower the “high cost of being poor”Avoid the “money traps”

18. Establishing Financial HealthGet banked. Repair credit. Avoid predators. Financial education linked to critical life events. Protecting Income / Decreasing Costs Close the gap: Secure all EITC and Child Care tax benefits, vouchers and subsidies. Make good purchasing choices: Options are available for fairly priced goods. Keep It – Desired Result Financial stability Families get by and begin to get ahead

19. Keep ItGoals Count Every Dollar • Establishing Financial Health • K1: Families set short-term and long-term financial goals, and attain them. • K2: Families use reasonably priced services, accounts and products for their savings, checking and other financial transactions. • K3: Families get loans they need without using predatory lenders. • K4:Families reduce their debt burdens and improve their credit ratings over time.

20. Keep ItGoals - Make Every Dollar Count • Protecting Income / Decreasing Costs • K5:Families file tax returns annually. • K6: Families secure all tax benefits for which they qualify, starting with those that reward work – the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit. • K7: Families know about and take full advantage of the wide range of available public and private services that help reduce their cost of living. • K7:Families have ready access to affordable basic goods and services – food, clothing, housing household goods and health care.

21. Grow ItHelp families help themselves

22. Double Bottom Line for Communities and Families Families get ahead. Communities thrive. Accumulating family assets & building wealthStart and increase savings. Purchase and protect assets. Attain higher levels of education. Prepare for retirement. Increasing the value of family assets in the community Homes and businesses are maintained and increase in value. Community economies improve. Charities & endowments thrive. Better economy keeps people in the community. Grow It: Desired Result

23. Grow ItGoals Build Family Prospects • Accumulating Family Assets & Building Wealth • G1: Family members establish a financial cushion by regularly building their savings over time. • G2: Families find, finance at competitive rates, and purchase quality homes in their communities. • G3: Families build retirement-restricted financial assets. • G4: Families maintain and retain the value of any owned or inherited land and property. • G5: Children of working families get high-quality pre-K-to-12 schooling, and attain higher education levels that improve their family’s economic status.

24. Grow ItGoals Build Community Prospects • Increasing the Value of Family Assets in the Community • G6: Family members increasingly participate in community activities and hold leadership roles. • G7: Family-owned housing stock increases in value throughout the community. • G8: Family purchasing power, productivity and entrepreneurship strengthens local businesses. • G9: Families contribute to charitable causes and endowments that benefit the community and its people. • G10: Families and young people want – and are able – to stay in, return to, or move to the community.

25. Desired Result: Family-centered Simultaneous Sustained Approaches: Make services accessible to families Make a “quilt” Avoid unintended consequences RuFES Delivery Systems

26. Thank You! John Molinaro Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group jmol@aspeninst.org