Introducing a New Initiative From Thrive Center’s ECIN and Its Partners

Greater Washington Community Foundation announces $26 million investment in innovative D.C. health equity partnerships, including with Early Childhood Innovation Network (ECIN)

The Early Childhood Innovation Network  (ECIN), a Thrive Center project that has driven community-engaged research and program development in Washington, D.C. since 2016, is collaborating with two local organizations, DC Action  and CityFirst Bank , to launch an innovative two-generation cash transfer demonstration project designed to disrupt intergenerational poverty and to advance family economic stability as well as health and wellbeing.

Led by Thrive Center faculty Stephanie Mitchell  and Corey Williams . This initiative fits into a burgeoning national and international interest in cash transfer programs to improve the economic and health status of families, particularly ones with young children. The initiative will enroll one hundred low- to moderate-income households with young children that have recently faced housing insecurity, and will represent the racial and ethnic diversity of families in D.C., including undocumented ones. Through this project, these families will receive a range of financial support, including monthly cash transfers, retirement accounts, children’s trust accounts, and financial coaching. The program will also provide family navigation services and mental health support through work with community mental health workers. 

Our team from ECIN and Thrive will have several crucial roles in the project, including contributing to the evaluation effort by specifically focusing on how these interventions affect family stress, relationships, and the mental health of both children and caregivers. Our team will also recruit graduates of our own Family Leadership training program to serve as community mental health workers supporting families.