Program Development

Catholic Charities USA is committed to helping Catholic Charities agencies develop and enhance programs that serve the poor and vulnerable.

In order to reach our goal of reducing poverty by 50 percent by 2020, greater investment must be made in programs that transform lives at the community level. 

Here are a few examples of Catholic Charites USA's program development services:

Collaborating with National Partners

Catholic Charities USA collaborated with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the FBI on the issue of human trafficking.

Catholic Charities USA's National Task Force on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of American Children created toolkits for agencies, parishes, law enforcement and juvenile courts, health care providers, and families.

The toolkits explain the nature of the issue and provide resources that will be helpful to communities interested in educating stakeholders about trafficking of American children.

In addition, Catholic Charities USA has made grants available for Catholic Charities agencies to conduct pilot programs. These grants provide technical assistance in developing local coalitions and providing community education about the trafficking of children.

For more information about trafficking, please contact Jean Beil at (703) 236-6229 or jbeil@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Building Connections with Federal Agencies

Catholic Charities partnered with the Internal Revenue Service to provide training to staff members of over 20 Catholic Charities local agencies on the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) program.

Participants were able to plan the steps needed to move from providing emergency services to more asset building programs including Financial Literacy Training and Individual Development Accounts.

For more information about EITC or the Catholic Charities USA partnership with the IRS, contact Jane Stenson at (703) 236-6237 or jstenson@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Seeking Federal Funding

Catholic Charities sought funding through the NeighborWorks America National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program to implement an intensive response to the foreclosure crisis.

The program assists low-income homeowners who are struggling to save their homes by providing counseling and help contacting and negotiating with mortgage companies.

Catholic Charities USA has sub-granted the funds to fourteen local Catholic Charities agencies who have demonstrated experience to provide this service.

For more information about the Housing Counseling Network, please contact Kathleen Overr at (703) 236-6226 or koverr@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Providing Training and Consulting

As Catholic Charities USA becomes aware of model programs, it provides training to its network through workshops, webinars and telephone conferences.

Besides the Annual Gathering which serves as the principle venue for this type of program development, training is offered by our professional interest sections throughout the year.

Recent offerings include “Providing Mental Health Services to New Immigrant Communities” and “Open Adoption Basics.”

For more information about training and consulting services, please contact Troy Zeigler at (703) 236-6239 or tzeigler@catholiccharitiesusa.org.

Promoting Networking and Information Sharing

Each year starting in 2005, Catholic Charities USA recognizes 3 agencies that support healthy family relationships, improve a family’s overall financial situation, and enhance communities.

Each winning agency receives a $25,000 award and hosts a site visit and peer technical assistance program to describe and discuss their winning model.

Additional funding is available to enable staff from Catholic Charities agencies across the country to attend the site visits.

This program is made possible through a generous grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

For more information about family strengthening, please visit the Family Strengthening page or contact Jane Stenson at (703) 236-6237 or jstenson@catholiccharitiesusa.org.