The NRCFCP conducted a process and outcome evaluation of Partners United for Supportive Housing in Cedar Rapids (PUSH-CR), Iowa’s first supportive housing project designed specifically for homeless/unstably housed families who are also involved with the child welfare system.  PUSH-CR was one of five demonstrations across the country testing innovative approaches to supportive housing in child welfare systems.  PUSH-CR’s model used rapid housing access, service coordination, and strong community partnerships to prevent out-of-home placement, reunify families, improve child and family well-being, and to create sustained practice changes in the way that child welfare systems serve homeless families.

The video below — Building Community, Building Hope, sponsored by the U.S. Children’s Bureau and the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect — highlights PUSH-CR as an innovative community response to child maltreatment.

PUSH-CR, a collaboration between Four Oaks Family and Children’s Services, the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Affordable Housing Network, Inc., and more than 20 community partners, quickly transitioned families into housing and provided supports and services tailored to the needs of each family and child.  Over the five-year funding period, PUSH-CR served about 100 families who were homeless/unstably housed, had an open child welfare case, low incomes, complex health/mental health needs, and children aged 12 and under.