Fort Worth Poverty Program Expanded to National Sites

The Padua case management model is now scaling to northern Indiana and Chicago to improve workforce stability.

Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Employment

Isometric editorial illustration of stacked wooden blocks rising in a structured, interlocking progression, representing a framework for stability. — Catholic Charities Fort Worth is expanding its Padua case management model to Chicago and northern Indiana to standardize national poverty-reduction efforts. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Do you believe local poverty-reduction programs should be scaled up to serve other communities nationwide?

Catholic Charities Fort Worth began scaling its Padua poverty-reduction program nationwide within the last year, with new mission sites established in northern Indiana and Chicago. The expansion aims to standardize evidence-based practices for financial independence across the country.

Why it matters

By adopting a structured, goal-oriented case management model, the organization seeks to shift social service delivery from temporary aid toward long-term employment and housing stability. The move highlights an industry-wide push to replicate data-proven interventions for workforce development.

Since 2015, the Padua program has supported 1,089 clients, yielding a 46% increase in monthly earnings compared to pre-program benchmarks. The organization now targets the establishment of 10 sites across the nation over the next two years.

The players

Catholic Charities Fort Worth

A regional nonprofit organization that provides social services and poverty-reduction programming.

The details

The Padua model operates by pairing clients with intensive case management focused on specific milestones like financial independence and job retention. To qualify for expansion, partner sites must prove they have stable leadership, robust infrastructure, and the financial health to maintain the program's intensity. This methodology moves beyond traditional crisis management to address the root causes of poverty through targeted employment stability interventions.

Catholic Charities Fort Worth started the Padua program in 2015.
The first national mission site was established in northern Indiana in January 2026.
The northern Indiana site began taking clients in April 2026.
A mission site was established in Chicago in June 2026.
The Chicago site will start accepting clients in October 2026.

Market Landscape

This move marks a broader shift in the nonprofit sector toward standardizing interventions that prioritize measurable socioeconomic outcomes. The expansion aligns with the trend of evidence-based social services aiming to improve workforce stability through structured case management.

Local business owners should monitor the standardized performance metrics used by these programs, as they increasingly correlate with improved workforce reliability. Tracking regional employment stability initiatives can help identify long-term trends in labor availability.

The takeaway

Effective poverty-reduction models prioritize quantifiable improvements in employment and housing status over simple output counts. Operators can track the Padua program's growth as a signal of successful evidence-based practices that may impact local labor pool stability.