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Buckner Family Place
Hope shines here.
FOUNDING COLLABORATIVE
PARTNERSHIP
AngelinaCollege
BucknerChildren & Family
Services
Women's Shelterof
East Texas
Buckner Family Place
Buckner Family Place
Angelina College
Buckner Children and
Family Services
Women’s Shelter of East Texas
Initial Funding
Private Foundation Grants for Construction,
particularly TLL Temple Foundation
Program Site provided as extension of college
campus.
Angelina College owns the land, Buckner owns
the buildings
FAMILY PLACE BEGINNINGS
Physical Layout Originally 20, two-bedroom duplex apartments
built in 1997
20 additional units added in 2000 for a total of 40 apartments
On-site child development center licensed for 134 children
Administrative offices and coin-operated laundry facilities
FAMILY PLACE BEGINNINGS
Inability to earn a living wage due to insufficient education
Inadequate Housing
Unreliable Transportation
Lack of safe and affordable child care
BARRIERS TO ACHIEVING INDEPENDENCE
Financial Aid
Safe and secure subsidized housing and utilities
through TBRA
School, childcare, and other basic needs within
walking distance
Childcare
Onsite
Funding CCMS
Lab school
Early Head Start
SERVICES
Stephen F. Austin State University
Grant expansion allows for transfer to four-year programs
DETCOG
HUD Vouchers – portable
Family Self-Sufficiency Program
Dovetailing Services within Buckner
Early Head Start
TRAIL
CONTINUING COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS
Structured Setting Guest restrictions
No alcohol, tobacco, or firearms allowed
Protected Environment Resident police officer
Academic Requirements Minimum GPA
Maintain enrollment each semester; fall, spring and summer I and II
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Counseling Master Level Licensed Professionals
On-Site Services available at no cost to residents and their children for the duration of their stay
Case Management Assistance accessing community resources
Financial literacy training
Advocacy, information and referral
Family Strengthening Early Head Start
Immunizations, hearing and vision screenings, annual physicals for children under 3
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Personal and Social Development Developing and maintaining healthy relationships
Effective problem resolution
Organizational skills, punctuality, follow through
Character Counts curriculum
Creating Community Peer support/sense of belonging
Pride in home and neighborhood
Group meetings with guest speakers
Special events, graduation celebrations, holiday parties, VBS
Community garden
SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Lufkin
Initial Family Place Model as a self-
contained campus community
Challenges of replicating this model depend
on location/community and can include
capital campaign, access to resources,
eligibility for housing subsidy, and fiscal
management of property.
EMERGING MODELS
Amarillo, Lubbock, and Dallas Repurposing of existing space to family living
quarters
Not eligible for state Housing subsidies, but funded through private donations and resident contributions
Greater flexibility in work/school balance while in program to achieve financial sustainability
Same access to support services as in other programs enhances likelihood of success
EMERGING MODELS
Midland
Campus-based. Originally 8 units, expanded in
2012 to 14. Four additional units finalized 2014.
Eligible for state housing assistance.
Daycare, schooling are off-site
Social/supportive services offered on-site
Coordination with local community colleges
EMERGING MODELS
Community Based:
Houston and Conroe Utilize existing housing via collaborations with
apartment complexes, campuses, etc.
Option for rental subsidies or community/donor based subsidies
Diminished overhead and maintenance
Heavily dependent on local resources
Support/social services provided on-site or in nearby location.
EMERGING MODELS
WHO DO WE SERVE?
Families: 99% female head of household
Average of 1.5 children
44% Caucasian, 31% African-American, 19% Hispanic, 6% Asian-American
80% have experienced some form of domestic abuse
Majors: 58% health careers, 14% business/accounting, 11% paralegal, 6% technology, 11% other
WHO IS THE “AVERAGE” PARTICIPANT?
Referral Sources Domestic violence shelters
Homeless shelters
Other transitional living programs
Schools, colleges, universities
Churches
Other community and nonprofit organizations
HOW DO FAMILIES FIND FAMILY PLACE?
Of female single
parent households,
60% live in poverty
90% OF SINGLE PARENT
HOUSEHOLDS ARE
HEADED BY WOMEN
Once a parent has
successfully left an
abusive partner, his/her
child is 2 times less likely
to remain in an abusive
relationship as an adult.
A woman who has some college education earns 15% more than a high school graduate.
A woman with a two-year degree earns approximately 22% more than one with a high school degree . If that degree is in nursing, she will earn 70% more than a high school graduate.
A woman who goes on to earn her baccalaureate degree will earn, on average, 63% more than one with a high school degree.
(Bureau of Labor & Statist ics, 1996)
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Once a parent has had ANY college experience, his/her child is 2-3 times more likely to attend college themselves (http://home.okstate.edu/homepages.nsf/toc/first_generation2)
LASTING IMPACT
Longitudinal tracking of Family Place residents
over the past 16 years shows that of children
who lived at the Family Place while under 18
years old and are now 18 or older, 91% have
gone directly into higher education or
vocational/technical training directly out of
high school.
Tracking data also shows no further incidents of
homelessness, abuse to the child, or interaction
with the juvenile justice system on the child’s
part.
BREAKING CYCLES
Brenda Dunn, Clinical Program Manager of Buckner
Family Place in Lufkin, recently reported the
following:
“We at the Lufkin Family Place looked at the
number of former residents (18 people) who had
children old enough to be in higher education. To
our pleasant surprise, we discovered there are a
total of 23 children who are of age to be in higher
education. Of these 23, 21 children, or 91%, are
enrolled in or have completed higher education!”
BREAKING CYCLES
Funding sources are not as l imited as you might
imagine. Be creative.
Churches, individual donors, local and national grants, etc.
Community collaborations and connections can make all the difference in the services you are able to
provide.
Various types of facil it ies can work. Know your
community and the resources that may be available.
Flexibil ity is important.
Recently, we’ve modified Family Place to allow for part -time
student status based on financial aid limitations.
It works!
A FEW THINGS WE’VE LEARNED
In a recent publication, Brenda Dunn, Clinical
Program Manager at Lufkin Family Place said:
“The Family Place program has indeed
accomplished what it was established for: ending
the cycle of poverty and abuse. Single parents are
empowered through education, which in turn
provides a path for them to secure a professional
career.”
BREAKING CYCLES
Marisa Phillips, Executive Director, BCFS, Lufkin, TX
Cari Latimer, Program Director, Family Place, Houston, TX
www.buckner.org
CONTACT INFORMATION