Casa Central

Casa Central improves communities by promoting self-sufficiency and a higher quality of life for families and individuals. The agency serves residents from throughout the City of Chicago, regardless of age, ethnicity, religion, or ability to pay. Programming is focused in three main areas: Children and Youth; Individuals and Families; and Seniors. To measure progress across all programs, Casa Central has developed a set of ten domains used by each program when developing their yearly work plan, which outlines their specific goals and outcomes for the upcoming Fiscal Year. The domains are divided into the following three objectives:

Physical Well-Being:
•Environmental Safety: Participants are physically and/or emotionally safe within their environments.
•Functional Ability: Participants receive support to maintain or enhance the functional abilities needed to remain engaged in activities of daily living.
•Housing: Participants secure and maintain stable housing.
•Physical Health: Participants receive support in order to maintain or enhance a healthy lifestyle.

Emotional Well-Being:
•Interpersonal Safety: Participants engage in emotionally supportive and nurturing relationships.
•Mental Health: Participants are emotionally stable and able to function day-to-day.
•Parenting/Caregiving: Parents/Caregivers are nurturing and provide age-appropriate, responsive care to their children or loved ones.

Social Integration:
•Access to Services: Participants are aware of community resources and are able to advocate for their immediate and longer-term needs.
•Career Resiliency: Participants are equipped to secure and/or maintain long-term employment.
•Childcare: Participants have access to safe and age-appropriate childcare.
•Child Education: Participants have the academic and/or social emotional skills to succeed.

Each year, all programs establish a variety of measurable objectives that fall within any of the 10 domains listed above. By using a set of unified agency domains shared by each program, Casa Central is able to better measure achievements as the agency pursues its mission of increasing the self-sufficiency and quality of life of individuals and their families.

Many Hispanic families with language barriers, limited resources, and those intimidated by cultural differences often do not receive the help they need from the government or other social service agencies. Casa Central's bilingual and bicultural programs build an important bridge to help Hispanics overcome these barriers and make positive contributions to their families and communities. The agency takes a family-centered, holistic approach to service delivery. Upon intake into any given program, staff works with clients to identify any additional factors which may have an impact on the family's stability and self-sufficiency, and as needs are identified, may provide referrals to other agency program or services. As part of Casa Central's current strategic plan, the agency is developing a universal intake form that all program will use to help determine participant and family need, and to better measure the impact of our programming.

Casa Central has over 60 years of experience working with underserved Hispanic populations. Over this period the agency has grown to efficiently and effectively manage a $18 million budget, while employing a staff of over 500 members. Nearly 90% of Casa Central's funding is derived from government entities, meaning that the agency is continuously audited and reviewed by numerous city, state, and federal boards. Among these government agencies are: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Administration for Children and Families, the Illinois Department on Aging, and the City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services.

The agency has shown itself to be in compliance with all government grants and has promptly addressed any findings or concerns. Casa Central's dedication and commitment gives public and private partners alike the confidence to renew grants and continue to place their trust in our programs.

In Fiscal Year 2014, Casa Central programs fully achieved an average of 81% on their established indicators and 99% of participants reported being satisfied with the services that they received; and 90% of programs demonstrated quality services by achieving 85% or higher compliance during the case record review process. Program outcomes for FY 2014 include:

•Over 90% of children in early learning programs met or exceeded expectations in social-emotional development, language and literacy skills, and mathematics knowledge.
•100% of children in our two after school programs successfully advanced to their next grade level.
•Children and their parents participated in over 2,500 food experiences to introduce healthy snacks and eating habits.
•100% of surveyed Domestic Violence Intervention participants reported increased knowledge about methods to help maintain their own safety and the safety of their children.
•Among families participating in the Intact Family Services program 96.5% were able to remain intact, avoiding disruptions and substitute care.
•77% of La Posada families were able to move into permanent housing within 180 days.
•90% of caregivers with loved ones in the Home Care Services (HCS) program reported that they were able to remain engaged at work and in their community because of the care provided by HCS.
•Of the 201 participants served by the Adult Wellness Center, 99% avoided premature placement in a nursing home or other form of institutional care.
•22 seniors found employment through our Over 55 Employment Training Program, allowing them to maintain their independence.