Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Adopt-A-Family aims to address several problems and unmet needs in Palm Beach County: family homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, and the barriers and academic deficits faced by children from homeless and at-risk households.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Housing Stabilization Program
The Housing Stabilization Program (HSP) is an innovative homeless prevention program that targets families in crisis who are on the verge of homelessness and provides rent, utility, and mortgage assistance paired with case management to stabilize the household and enable them to remain stably housed.
Project Grow
Project Grow is an afterschool and out-of-school program for elementary school students from homeless and low-income households. The program provides a holistic curriculum to help students catch up to their peers academically.
Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2
Adopt-A-Family operates 24 affordable rentals for hardworking income-constrained families in Lake Worth, Florida.
Service Enriched Housing
Service Enriched Housing is an innovative 31-unit housing program for low-income households dedicated to the pursuit of increased financial stability and homeownership.
Sen. Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center
The Sen. Philip D. Lewis Homeless Resource Center (HRC) is the central point of access for all homeless services in Palm Beach County. Under Adopt-A-Family management since 2016, the Family Division of the HRC is the base for the agency's diversion and rapid re-housing efforts. Through assessment, housing placement, and comprehensive case management, Adopt-A-Family's HRC team provides critical resources to our community's highest-needs families.
Project SAFE
Project SAFE, Adopt-A-Family's longest running Permanent Supportive Housing program, provides a safe, consistent, and nurturing environment for 32 families experiencing homelessness. Each resident of Project SAFE receives support from an on-site case manager. This includes providing families with access to financial literacy training, educational opportunities, mental health referrals, life-skills training, and affordable child care.
Program REACH
REACH is one of the only emergency shelter for families with minor children experiencing homelessness in Palm Beach County. The program focuses on the immediate stabilization of families while working to fulfill a goal of obtaining permanent or transitional housing for the families it shelters. REACH also provides food, clothing, and case management services for 19 families at any given time. In the most recent year, the program provided emergency shelter solution to 64 families in crisis while guiding 84% of families toward achieving self-sufficiency.
Wiley Reynolds Gardens Apartments
Wiley Reynolds Gardens Apartments provides 9 units of housing paired with case management for employed households experiencing homelessness.
Mental Health/Wellness
The Mental Health/Wellness Program began in August of 2016, with the primary goal of eliminating barriers to mental health services for the Adopt-A-Family's high-needs clients, ultimately improving their mental health and family functioning. A significant portion of the organization’s families have not previously engaged with therapists. Their barriers are numerous: lack of transportation, insufficient insurance, cost, stigma, and limited provider hours. Adopt-A-Family's onsite therapist is available for crisis intervention and de-escalation, and provides guidance to case managers of the families.
Julian Place
Opened in June 2020, Julian Place comprises 14 two-, three-, and four-bedroom townhomes for families on the verge of homelessness. This program, a unique partnership with a nearby Title 1 school, is designed to improve children’s educational outcomes through housing stability. Julian Place aims to disrupt poverty and homelessness for at-risk families of children who attend our nearby sister school. As part of this initiative, Adopt-A-Family will track children's academic progress through high school.
Where we work
Accreditations
Nonprofits First Accreditation of Excellence in Nonprofit Management 2020
Awards
Four-Star Rating 2010
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2011
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2012
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2013
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2014
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2015
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2016
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2017
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2018
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2019
Charity Navigator
Four-Star Rating 2020
Charity Navigator
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of families that the Housing Stabilization Program prevents from becoming homeless each year.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families
Related Program
Housing Stabilization Program
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The increased capacity of HSP reflects the investment of our funders to help the program serve more at-risk families in Palm Beach County. However, the need in our community remains great.
Percentage of program participants that remained in or exited to permanent housing at the end of the operating year.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families, Homeless people, People with disabilities
Related Program
Project SAFE
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The ultimate goal of agency housing programs is to provide housing stability to the families served.
Percentage of elementary school students attending agency's afterschool program who were promoted to the next grade.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
At-risk youth, Homeless people
Related Program
Project Grow
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This metric measures promotion rates of the students attending Project Grow, the agency's afterschool program for homeless/low-income children.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Adopt-A-Family aims to address issues pertaining to family homelessness through housing, self-sufficiency, and educational programs. As the lead agency for families who are literally homeless in Palm Beach County, we provide permanent supportive housing in addition to referral and linkage services to best serve these families in crisis.
In addition to serving homeless families, we operate self-sufficiency programs that holistically address barriers faced by low-income, working families. This includes a high-impact homeless prevention program, a homeownership incubator program, a 14 unit affordable housing program that focuses on children's educational outcomes related to housing stability, and an affordable housing program with 24 units in the community.
Collectively, our self-sufficiency programs serve more than 300 low-income families in Palm Beach County in a given year.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The first step in addressing familial needs is to ensure that their basic needs are met. Adopt-A-Family provides housing solutions to families so they are able to begin focusing on issues that are negatively impacting their ability to remain self-sufficient. Our experience has shown the importance of addressing basic needs prior to working on educational and or occupational goals. As a result, all of the agency's programs place initial emphasis on ensuring that families are stably housed. Once housing is secured, case management and supportive services are provided focusing on job readiness, educational advancement, financial literacy, as well as ensuring that mental health issues are addressed.
Adopt-A-Family provides a continuum of housing services to meet the diverse needs of our clients. Some of the agency's housing units are restricted to families who are literally homeless (sleeping in a car, park, or emergency shelter), while other units target low-income working households interested in becoming homeowners. The agency also operates an extensive homeless prevention program which provides financial assistance to families at risk of becoming homeless. This program also includes meaningful supportive services in an effort to address all the barriers potentially impacting a familial stability.
In addition to the agency's activities surrounding housing, Adopt-A-Family operates a licensed afterschool and out-of-school program for children attending elementary school. The program is located within walking distance of many of the agency's housing programs and offers priority placement to homeless and formerly homeless children. This program, Project Grow, is one of the highest performing programs in Palm Beach County, and has been developed to meet the unique needs of low-income and formerly homeless children. Children receive socio-emotional services as well as intensive academic assistance. In 2014, Project Grow implemented an innovative STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) initiative that exposes disadvantaged children to career fields of the future.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Adopt-A-Family has 37 years of experience providing services to vulnerable families in Palm Beach County. During this time, the agency has garnered local and national recognition for its innovative programming, outcomes, and provision of supportive services. In its inaugural year, 1983, the agency served 15 families. Last year, the agency was able to assist 1,516 families in need of assistance.
Our capabilities are linked proportionally to the agency's proven ability to scale and deliver impressive programmatic outcomes, year after year. Prominent examples relate directly to the increased capacity of our Housing Stabilization Program, which has nearly tripled its capacity over the past three years. The program continues to garner local, state, and national funding support in its efforts to prevent homelessness for income-constrained families throughout Palm Beach County.
In 1992, the agency was awarded the first HUD Supportive Housing Demonstration grant in Palm Beach County. Since that time, the agency has significantly increased its affordable housing portfolio.
Currently, Adopt-A-Family is the largest provider of housing for homeless families in Palm Beach County and owns or operates 120 units of housing targeted for homeless and low-income families.
Adopt-A-Family has been recognized for its efforts in developing housing, providing supportive services, and for its fiscal responsibility. The agency was awarded the prestigious Bank of America Neighborhood Builder's Award in 2008.
In 2009, Adopt-A-Family received statewide praise for its nine-unit affordable housing program, Wiley Reynolds Apartments. The Florida Redevelopment Association awarded the project with its exclusive “Best Affordable Housing Development" designation.
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded the agency with two “Promising Practices" for the provision of supportive services to homeless families accessing housing services.
In 2020, Adopt-A-Family was awarded its 14th consecutive four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Less than 1% of the agencies measured by Charity Navigator accomplish this goal.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In our 37 years, we have;
• Provided much needed services to more than 53,000 families who were homeless or at-risk of homelessness.
• Developed and maintained one of the most successful and competitive after-school programs in Palm Beach County.
• Built a well-respected reputation for being an agency that gets things done and is willing to partner with other agencies to serve families who are homeless in our community.
• Built a reputation for being an agency that efficiently and effectively uses donations to change lives.
Unfortunately, we have not eradicated homelessness in our community, but it is a goal that we stay motivated to reach with each family we help.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Paper surveys, Case management notes, Community meetings/Town halls,
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board,
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome,
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Adopt-A-Family of the Palm Beaches, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 2/11/2022
Ms. Kirstin Turner
John Castronuovo
UBS
Penny Heller
Community Advocate
Garth Rosenkrance
Rehmann
Heather Ferguson
PNC Bank
Lynda Murphy
The Langford Group, LLC
Cristina Nunez de Landaluce
Healthcare District of Palm Beach County
Sean Bresnan
Wealth Partners Capital Group
John Marasco
Ernst & Young LLP
Kirstin Turner
RBC Wealth Management
Jeffrey Preston
North American Development Group (NADG)
John Elder
Ernst & Young
Thomas Frankel
Frankel Enterprises
Chris Oberlink
Community Advocate
Jeff Preston
North American Development Group
Elizabeth Morales
School District of Palm Beach County
Jonathan Bain
NextEra Energy
Tequisha Myles
Legal Aid
Nancy Kyle
Community Advocate
Derek Porter
Earthrise Energy
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data