On May 17th, 2022, LISC was joined by over 70 community partners at the Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) Network 2nd Annual Virtual Open House. LISC presenters included Katrin Kark, Director of Workforce Innovations; Jim Horan, Executive Director of LISC Connecticut; and Christina Dellaventura, Program Officer with LISC Connecticut. Representatives from CT FOC Network partner sites, Michele Conderino, Executive Director and Eddy Agyeman, Financial Coach & Digital Literacy from Open Doors, Danira Martel, Income Support Specialist from The Village for Families and Children, and Zeynep Guven, Income Support Specialist from Community Action Agency of New Haven presented on their experiences as members of the FOC Network. Funding partner Meghan Wright, National Director of Financial Wellness Programs from Lincoln Financial Foundation presented on how Lincoln’s strategic priorities align with the FOC model.
During Fall 2020, in an effort to address racial wealth, health, and opportunity gaps worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, LISC launched a statewide network of Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs). FOCs are career and financial coaching service centers that provide employment and career counseling, one-on-one financial coaching and education, and low-cost financial products that help build credit, savings and assets. “Too often, employment services and jobs alone were not enough to address financial insecurities in a meaningful and sustainable way,” explained Katrin Kark, LISC’s Director of Workforce Innovations, while describing the design of the FOC model.
Michele Conderino, Executive Director at Open Doors, highlighted the impact of the pandemic on her community, the need of these financial services, and the vital importance of the FOC network: “While some of the participants are experiencing homelessness, the majority are people living in the community who are really struggling with housing stability based on the high cost of living in Fairfield County.”
Jim Horan, Executive Director of LISC Connecticut, described the alignment of the FOC Network with local and regional workforce development initiatives: “We see a huge opportunity because there are so many job vacancies in Connecticut and right now there’s often a mismatch between the skills of potential workers and the needs of employers, so FOCs help create that bridge.”
LISC has a network of approximately 130 FOCs across the country, embedded in local community organizations that are trusted and known for their history of providing quality services. In Connecticut, LISC builds the capacity of sites through continued financial support and technical assistance via training, monthly meetings, and peer learning sessions.
In its first year of operation, the CT FOC Network served over 2,200 clients, 80% of FOC clients have accessed multiple services, and placed over 200 clients in jobs across a variety of sectors, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, office administration, finance, security, construction, and logistics and distribution. The average starting wage for clients placed in jobs was $16.24/hour.
In the second year, the program is projected to serve approximately 1,450 Connecticut residents with low-to-moderate incomes. According to Program Officer Christina Dellaventura, the program has three key focus areas this year. First, creating a stronger culture around the collection and use of data for program evaluation. Second, supporting the sites in expanding their partnerships with other community partners, employers, and employment training programs. Finally, tapping into workforce development initiatives taking place at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure that individuals with low-to-moderate incomes participating in employment training programs are able to complete and succeed in these programs and in their careers thereafter.
For information on how you can engage with the LISC Connecticut FOC Network, please contact Program Officer, Christina Dellaventura.