Between 1995 and 2002, staff from the Child Welfare League of America worked with public housing authorities and tenant organizations to improve and add health and social services to public housing to better assist residents.

Project staff worked with housing authorities in eight cities: New York; Philadelphia; Detroit; Kansas City, Mo.; El Paso, Texas; San Antonio; Los Angeles and Seattle.

Project staff assisted housing authorities and tenants in conducting needs assessments and implementing plans based on those assessments to improve the provision of health and social services to residents.

Key Results

• Project staff helped to establish or revive medical clinics in public housing developments.
• The project team assisted in the creation of assisted-living housing for elderly public housing residents in Seattle.
• Project staff helped to establish mental health services for younger and elderly disabled housing residents in Kansas City.
• Staff ran into difficulties when political changes took place that included passage of welfare reform, which caused housing authorities to focus on helping residents get jobs, rather than on improving health and social services. (See Lessons Learned.)

Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) supported this project with two grants totaling $1,098,669 between November 1995 and September 2002. The Pew Charitable Trusts also provided about $1 million in funding for the project.