Actively addressing the local need for a qualified, trained and motivated workforce, The Cara Program partners with companies from all industries and of all sizes, including firms such as The Habitat Company, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, ABM In mid-2008, The Cara Program was honored to assume the management of the Quad Communities Center for Working Families (CWF).  The Cara Program enthusiastically adopted this initiative on a pilot basis, in order to understand the nuances of the Center for Working Families model and affect the efficiency of the Center based on our own learnings through our Career Pathways Resource Center on the University of Chicago campus.  Now the Quad Communities CWF brings The Cara Program ever closer to the communities we serve, functioning as a site for direct service to the Quad Communities (providing employment counseling, education and training referrals, access to income supports, and financial counseling that includes tax assistance), while also acting as a quality referral source for The Cara Program's signature life- and job-skills training program.

We are very excited to share that the Quad Communities CWF has been a hub of activity already this year! Partnering with the Center for Economic Progress, we provided free tax preparation counseling and services to area residents. As a result, the Quad Communities CWF, staff and volunteers completed a total of 1,251 tax returns with area residents, totaling $1,909,924 in cumulative returns that can now be reinvested in the community!