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Programs
December 16, 2024

Harlem Family Works

Program overview

  • Supporting families impacted by the criminal legal system: Harlem FamilyWorks (HFW) is a family and youth development initiative that supports formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. Through their eight-week workshop series, Harlem FamilyWorks supports families in developing healthy relationships and a greater sense of self-efficacy.

  • Hiring staff with relevant lived experience: Harlem FamilyWorks is funded by local government and implemented by a local nonprofit. To conduct their workshops, Harlem FamilyWorks hires staff with lived experience similar to that of their participants. This could include living in the same neighborhood as participants and/or having been involved in the criminal legal system.

  • Providing workshops and enrichment opportunities: Harlem FamilyWorks provides families with weekly, one-hour workshops for eight weeks. These workshops cover topics including social resilience, financial wellness, and healthy relationships. Families also have the option to engage in enrichment activities, such as writing and advocacy workshops, community service projects, and family recreational trips.

  • Recruiting participants: Harlem FamilyWorks recruits participants using word of mouth and referrals from other community-based programs. The program seeks to enroll multiple members of the same family, particularly parents and their children, to ensure the whole family can benefit from the program.

  • Leveraging community partnerships: HFW builds relationships with schools, financial institutions, health and wellness initiatives, arts programs, churches, and other community-based organizations. These relationships help the program recruit participants, refer participants to services it does not offer in-house, and deliver workshops. Community partners co-lead workshops and provide education and services based on their unique expertise.

One study with a less-rigorous design suggests that Harlem FamilyWorks is a promising strategy for supporting positive family relationships and the successful re-entry of formerly incarcerated individuals.

  • A 2022 program evaluation found that families who participated in Harlem Family Works strengthened their family relationships and learned about job readiness and financial preparedness.

  • Hire a specialized outreach specialist: An evaluation found that HFW’s recruitment efforts were more time-intensive than initially expected. To overcome this issue, HFW hired an outreach specialist. This person is focused on building partnership opportunities and strengthening the program’s reputation in the community. These partners, in turn, become sources of referrals for HFW.

  • Set partners up for success: The same evaluation found that organizational partners did not consistently know what language to use to describe HFW, and did not understand how HFW could complement the services that their own organization offered. To improve partners’ ability to make referrals to HFW, implementing organizations should share talking points with partner organizations and establish a clear and consistent referral process.

  • Help families access workshops: The evaluation also found that some families struggled to access HFW workshops due to transportation and childcare challenges. Implementing organizations should consider subsidizing transportation and child care costs (or providing these services) to strengthen family attendance, and should ensure that their workshops take place at times that accommodate participants’ schedules.

  • Offer families employment and career services: Many Harlem FamilyWorks clients have been involved in the criminal legal system, and may face significant barriers to employment after re-entry. As such, replicating organizations should consider offering supplemental employment services, potentially through a partnership with an employment services provider.

  • Evaluate program impact: Replicating organizations should evaluate the effectiveness of their workshop series to ensure that it is meeting the needs of participants. This evaluation should include reviewing program materials; observing workshops; interviewing staff, community partners, and participants; and analyzing any programmatic data collected by staff. This type of evaluation can help program sponsors identify opportunities for improvement and demonstrate the effectiveness of the program model to funders and other stakeholders.