About Padua
Our Story
Padua began with a simple but powerful question:
What if the way we’ve always addressed poverty isn’t the way it has to be?
What if...
clients set their own goals?
programs were built around people, not timelines?
we could prove, through research, that ending poverty was truly possible?
Those questions became Padua.
2014 - 2015
Rethinking Case Management
Created by Catholic Charities Fort Worth, Padua set out to challenge traditional models that were time-bound, transactional, and often disconnected from the real lives of people experiencing poverty.
Instead, Padua was designed around three core principles:
- Research-Backed Solutions
- Client-Led Journeys
- Poverty-Ending Outcomes
From the start, the goal was simple — create a model that truly works and can be shared with others.
2015 - 2023
Proving What Works
In 2015, Catholic Charities Fort Worth partnered with the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities to rigorously evaluate Padua through a Randomized Controlled Trial.
The results were clear:
- Increased employment and earnings
- Greater housing stability
- Improved health and well-being
Padua wasn’t just a new idea — it was a proven solution.
2023 - 2025
From One Community to a National Movement
After helping hundreds of individuals and families achieve personal and economic stability in North Texas, Padua reached a turning point.
If this approach could transform lives locally, it could do the same across the country.
Today, Padua is expanding through mission-driven organizations committed to bringing research-backed, client-led poverty-ending solutions to their communities.
TODAY
Looking Ahead
From rural towns to major cities, Padua has the potential to become the new norm in how we approach poverty — empowering people to build Bigger, Brighter Futures for themselves and their families.
And this is only the beginning.
The Padua Model
Six Key Components
There are six key components that form the basis for all Padua services. These components are the non-negotiables that make the difference and determine the integrity of the Padua Model.
1Padua Mindset
The Padua Mindset is the foundation of the Padua Client Journey, emphasizing a holistic approach to client success by integrating emotional and financial resiliency, and ensuring resource stability for improved client outcomes.
2Low Caseloads
Two-person teams with low caseloads (no more than 25 client families at a time) facilitate interventions through individualized service plans and non-transactional case management. Teams consist of a Case Manager and a Case Worker.
3Bi-weekly Skills and Techniques Trainings
Consistent staff training sessions enable the Case Management Team to strategize and implement effective interventions and stay up to date on the latest and greatest techniques for supporting clients.
4Staff Coaching
Regular coaching for client-facing staff encourages the development of the self-awareness necessary to provide judgement-free services to all clients.
5Strategic Flexible Financial Assistance
In addition to removing barriers, Padua uses financial assistance to support problem-solving, strategically overcoming obstacles to self-sufficiency and developing planning and coping skills.
6Client-Led
Padua believes clients are the experts in their own lives. We start with an initial conversation to discover more about each other, allowing us to personalize judgment-free methods to help clients achieve their Bigger, Brighter Future.
Meet the Padua National Team
At Padua National, powered by Catholic Charities of Fort Worth, our team of practitioners, researchers, and educators partner with organizations to expand research-backed, client-led, poverty-ending solutions nationwide. Just as Padua Case Management Teams walk alongside clients on their journey toward personal and economic stability, we walk alongside Mission Site partners — providing training, guidance, and ongoing partnership from early exploration through launch and long-term fidelity. Together, we help make poverty-ending solutions the new norm in communities across the country.
Brendan Perry
Director
Anna Parker
Curriculum Developer and Training Manager
Evidence Partners
.
FAQ's
Why replicate Padua?
Poverty is complex, but so are the solutions we provide. Padua:
- Employs low caseloads with highly skilled, two-person Case Management teams.
- Offers client-led, long-term support, free from rigid timelines or one-size-fits-all solutions.
-Equips people in poverty with the tools they need to plan for the future and cope with the unexpected. In doing so, our clients experience improved financial well-being, health, and wellness.
-Supports staff through clinical coaching and bi-weekly skills and techniques training.
The Padua National team is dedicated to supporting Mission Sites as they replicate the evidence-based program, offering customized training and onboarding, a user-friendly learning management system loaded with all Padua resources, insights from the Padua research & analytics team, marketing support to maximize community reach, and access to a growing network of peer organizations participating in a community of learning.
What makes Padua different?
1) Client-Led, Not Provider-Driven – Clients are the experts in their own lives. Clients set their goals, pace, and vision while skilled professionals provide coaching and support.
2) Progress-Driven, Not Time-Bound – No arbitrary deadlines. Success is measured by meaningful, long-term outcomes rather than completed tasks.
3) Transformative, Not Transactional – Padua strengthens emotional resilience, resource stability, social support, and financial health—creating lasting change, not short-term fixes.
4) Built on Evidence – Validated through a randomized controlled trial with the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities.
What does it mean to be client-led?
Padua believes clients are the experts in their own lives. Through judgement-free conversations with the Padua Case Management Team, clients define what a Bigger, Brighter Future means to them. Padua’s two-person teams meet clients where they are, providing emotional and financial support every step of the way and empowering individuals to end their poverty for good.
What kind of research supports the Padua model?
Padua was evaluated via a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), conducted by the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities. RCTs represent the gold standard in research because they generate causal conclusions about the program's impact. The University of Notre Dame's Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) RCT found that Padua improved employment, earnings, housing, and health outcomes for clients in the program compared to a control group receiving business as usual services. More information about the study can be found here.
How much does it cost to operate Padua?
The operational cost of Padua will vary by location. The Padua National team would be happy to walk with your agency through a template pro forma budget. You can connect with the Padua National team by filling out this form.