CDFI support enables NewPath to expand, celebrate new chapter in changing futures of youth

Block by Block is a solutions journalism series that is supported by IFF, CEDAM and Invest Detroit, and is focused on community development leaders and initiatives in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

Since 1829, NewPath Child & Family Solutions has changed the lives of children and their families. What started as an orphanage nearly 200 years ago has evolved into a comprehensive behavioral health and educational treatment agency. Their latest chapter of growth has been made possible in part from community development financial institution (CDFI) support from partners, including IFF. With two loans totaling over $1.075 million to NewPath, the organization will be able to serve 80 to 100 new students in 10 new classrooms with inpatient services, mental health care, and special education services. 

The 86,000-square-foot facility at 4721 Reading Road is more centrally located to highways and interstates, increasing accessibility for staff and clients alike. The nonprofit is now better equipped to ignite hope and change futures by providing results from expert, specialized, and comprehensive trauma-informed care. 

IFF, the Midwest’s largest community development financial institution (CDFI) works to uplift communities across Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and other Midwestern states. By providing community-centered lending, development and real estate consulting to urban, suburban and rural communities, IFF makes dreams come true for many nonprofits. The CDFI has provided more than $1.6 billion in flexible, affordable financing to various nonprofits, including housing, education, health care, and the arts and culture sector.

Although headquartered in Chicago, IFF’s expanded footprint includes coverage in Ohio — working with Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati communities too. 

Scott Hackenberg, Managing Director of Lending for the Eastern Region at IFF is based in Cleveland, and works with many nonprofits across Ohio. He works with organizations looking to expand their facility or renovate existing facilities, and provides capital to support their growth. In his role, he works on developing relationships with nonprofits to find right-size financing to enable sustainable growth. 

NewPath Child & Family Solutions is one of the Cincinnati nonprofits that has benefitted from the driven commitment of CDFIs, including IFF.

“This acquisition just last year on the loan we provided was for them to acquire a really large building, it’s almost 100,000 square foot property formerly owned and utilized by the Archdiocese in Cincinnati,” Hackenberg says. “NewPath was able to convert it to their new headquarters and education center. It expanded their classrooms, the outpatient services they’re providing, as well as their administration. For them, it really solved a facilities challenge, enabled them to expand, to consolidate and grow the service provided to this population.”

The project was also in collaboration with the Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF). Hackenberg says “it’s great to collaborate with them because even though we work in the city and know it well — to have a co-lender with CDF is just fantastic because of their commitment and visibility to the Cincinnati community. It has really helped us get that much more comfortable with this loan.”

Kelly Clements, chief lending officer at Cincinnati Development Fund (CDF) says CDF’s work is similar to IFF’s scope — in providing financing for high-impact, high-risk real estate projects in under-resourced neighborhoods. The organization is just more focused on the Greater Cincinnati area.

“We serve both for-profit and nonprofit borrowers,” she says. “Our nonprofit borrowers include human services agencies, affordable and supportive housing providers, schools, health clinics, and community arts and cultural centers.”

Together, CDF and IFF have worked on numerous projects to support nonprofit organizations, with their collaboration dating back to 2015. The partnership continues today.

“This year, CDF provided a $500,000 loan to IFF to support $1.075 million in financing to NewPath Child & Family Solutions,” Clements says. “When IFF came to us with this opportunity, we were eager to jump in and help because it perfectly aligns with our goal of financing mission-critical facilities.”

The loans support the organization’s critical wrap-around services to youth with behavioral and mental health issues.

“This financing will specifically support the organization’s acquisition and upgrading of an existing 86,000-square-foot building that will enable the organization to expand its medical management and outpatient therapy services, and relocate and consolidate its educational services at the new site, ultimately allowing for the creation of more residential beds at a separate facility on the southeast side of Cincinnati,” Clements says.

Tricia Mullins is the chief operations and impact officer for NewPath Child and Family Solutions. She says the organization has a long history of serving the community, and adapting to its needs. 

“When orphanages transitioned out of the United States into more of the in-home care, our agency evolved to meet the needs of youth and families,” she says. “Today as we stand as NewPath Child and Family Solutions, we have a line of service provisions that help children who are recovering from trauma of some capacity.”

Today, the comprehensive behavioral mental health facility serves nearly 3,200 youth across Southwest Ohio. They offer outpatient services including therapy in homes, school and community settings.

“We have a ton of different service provisions,” Mullins says. “We run a day treatment program, which is a school in Cincinnati for kids who have exhausted all options from a traditional school setting. They come to school with us, and we layer their day with therapy and education, managing their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Our school currently has about 80 students enrolled, serving kids from first grade through senior year.”

NewPath also has a residential facility, with 33 beds for inpatient residential intervention. Typically, clients stay for about 101 days, and this program is currently in the progress of expanding to include more beds.

“On average, before kids get admitted into our residential program, they have had, on average, about seven field home placements — meaning they’ve been removed from their own home, attempted to be placed into foster care settings or group homes. The idea is that we’re able to help them stabilize so they can have a successful placement. Sometimes with a combination of family therapy, we’re able to place them back with their families. NewPath is a chapter, not the end. The goal is always to help kids step down to a better continuum of care.”

Being able to acquire their current central campus building allowed NewPath to combine services, which was a strategic goal of theirs for many years. It allowed them to operate as a school in a building that made sense versus a makeshift one. 

“It allowed us to centralize our services,” Mullins says. “We had a campus on the far West side of Ohio, and we still have one on the East side of Ohio. The commute for clients or students to get to us could have been upwards of 45 minutes to an hour a day, before school started,” Mullins says. “When you think about children that are already experiencing behavior challenges due to traumatic events — just starting your day with that commute can add tension. It becomes really hard to jump into school and be focused. Now that we’re centralized, we have kids that walk to school. It aided with attendance, accessibility, and we’re on a bus route which gave some of our patient and medication clients an easier way to get to care.”

Mullins enjoys seeing how NewPath’s therapy and services can change the trajectory of the lives of youth.

“It is the most fulfilling work I think I’ve ever done,” she says. “Working with youth itself is always a special thing, but being able to witness kids truly get better and heal — knowing where they’ve come from, I find great joy. I’m very intentional about spending time with kids every week. Even though my role isn’t necessarily working directly with youth, I carve out time in my schedule every week to spend time with the clients we’re serving.”

IFF is working on providing a second loan to NewPath, which will assist in expanding their residential services for children predominantly in the foster care system.

“In their residential program alone, NewPath receives over 1,000 referrals every year to house and provide services, but they’ve had to previously turn most of them away,” Hackenberg says. “This shows how urgent the demand is for the services they’re providing.”

 After exploring traditional banks and loans, Mullins says working with a CDFI like IFF made for a good financial option.

“The terms offered through this pathway were ideal as it is our intention to have an early pay-off through the support of philanthropy,” she says. 

Many nonprofits reach a point where expansion is necessary, but acquiring more square footage or facilities is not feasible because acquiring funds isn’t always easy. 

“Oftentimes, what we’re doing at IFF is bridging that gap in terms of the liquidity and capital they have in hand to execute on a strategy like this,” Hackenberg says. 

Because this is a loan and not a grant, IFF works with organizations to make sure the money they’re providing isn’t too stressful for the nonprofit. This flexibility in working together is a benefit of a CDFI, and not always guaranteed with traditional banks. Hackenberg says working with NewPath has been great.

“At NewPath, they are true dedicated professionals at what they do, and it’s been a real seamless collaborative process,” he says. 

He’s excited to see this partnership continue to grow. 

“Talking to people in the Cincinnati community, everyone knows what NewPath does and the importance of what they’re doing. People know the impact they’re making in the community with the 1200 children and families that are being impacted every year. We’re really proud to be working with them as a collaborative partner, being able to support this growth.”