A three-year experiment to help working families break out of poverty in East Tennessee is starting to look less like a test and more like a roadmap. The East Tennessee Collaborative, a pilot program based in the Knoxville area, is reporting measurable gains in its third year, with leaders saying more than 800 households have already seen real progress. The model combines intensive coaching, targeted financial help, and employer partnerships so parents can boost earnings while keeping housing and childcare stable. Local partners say the results are strong enough that the conversation has shifted to how to keep the work going once the pilot window closes.
Year three results in brief
According to a Year Three report, the initiative has served 872 families across ten counties and estimates roughly $101 million in long-term cost savings to the state as participating households rely less on public benefits, as reported by MoxCar. The summary notes that participating adults have earned certificates and degrees tied to higher-paying jobs and that a majority of those who were unemployed at enrollment are now working. Program leaders say that the mix of training and short-term supports is translating into concrete, trackable movement toward self-sufficiency.
How the program works
The Collaborative pairs each family with a Mobility Mentor who offers one-on-one coaching, helps set goals, and connects participants to services. In 2024 alone, the program distributed more than $2.9 million in direct assistance for housing, transportation, childcare, and food. United Way of Greater Knoxville reports that mentors have logged tens of thousands of hours helping families navigate work schedules, benefits cliffs, and education pathways. Organizers say the combination of personalized coaching and targeted financial support is what keeps families on a steadier path toward higher and more stable earnings.
Funded as a TANF pilot
The East Tennessee Collaborative was chosen as one of Tennessee’s TANF Opportunity Pilot Initiative grantees and is part of a group of three-year projects that each received $25 million in federal funding, the Tennessee Department of Human Services announced in 2022. That state backing came with a built-in evaluation plan and a requirement that partners show measurable reductions in reliance on public assistance. Local leaders say the pilot structure was designed to answer a big question: what happens when families get sustained, coordinated support from multiple sectors over several years instead of quick, one-off help.
On the ground
Mobility Mentor lead Pam Headrick told WBIR that the program will keep offering services and that "the statistics show people tapping into their potential." WBIR also highlighted one participant who, after about a year in the program, moved into a senior accounting role, an example organizers often point to when they describe how coaching plus short-term aid can shift a family’s financial trajectory. Those individual stories sit alongside the outcome data as part of the case that the model is working on the ground, not just on paper.
Why the results matter
Program data show that the share of participating families living below the federal poverty line has dropped, and officials say nearly 2,000 children have benefited from more stable household finances, according to the Year Three summary reported by MoxCar. The projected $101 million in savings to the state, largely from reduced dependence on public benefits, is the headline number advocates cite when arguing the model is cost-effective. They also highlight employer engagement, including flexible scheduling and childcare partnerships, as a key reason participants are not just getting jobs but managing to keep them and advance.
What’s next
United Way says it will continue tracking outcomes and working with partners to keep the approach going beyond the initial pilot window, and the Collaborative has already secured a bill extension with the state through 2026. United Way of Greater Knoxville adds that the next phase will focus on fine-tuning employer partnerships and protecting the intensive coaching that organizers credit with driving results. The big test ahead is whether the model can grow to serve more families without losing the one-on-one support that many participants say made the difference.
