Steps to Success

Every year, a select group of CWEE participants who have gained employment are invited to participate in CWEE’s Steps to Success program designed to alleviate the negative impacts of the Cliff Effect.

Employed CWEE graduates participating in Steps to Success receive professional financial coaching, including budgeting and money management. Participants also receive an earnings supplement in months three, four, and five of full-time employment.

Steps to Success is designed to help individuals during their transition off of public assistance. The goal is to offset some of the dramatic decreases in income supports and increasing costs that often accompany rising wages as families lose eligibility for certain programs, such as food or child care assistance.

Steps to Success began in 2013 as a pilot project. Eighty-six percent of participants in Steps to Success since its inception have retained employment for more than six months, compared with 55% of overall participants.