Investing in Children and Parents: Two-Generation Strategies in the U.S. Christopher T. King Ray Marshall Center, The University of Texas at Austin Texans Care for Children 2014 Children’s Policy Conference Austin, TX February 26, 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Collaborators— Steven Dow & Community Action Program of Tulsa Co. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale & Terese Sommer, Northwestern Hiro Yoshikawa, NYU Jack Shonkoff, Harvard Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Columbia Aspen Institute’s Ascend Program & Ascend Fellows Funders— George Kaiser Family Foundation Foundation for Child Development Administration for Children & Families, USHHS W.K. Kellogg Foundation

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK * *Building on Chase-Lansdale et al. (April 2011). Child Parent Quality Early Education (PreK-3 rd Grade) Leading-edge Postsecondary Education & Training plus Adult Ed, ESL & Wrap-around Services Family Support Services Short-term Outcomes Early literacy & math preparation Improved attendance Career exposure Social/emotional readiness for K- 3 rd grade Understanding relationship between own and child’s education Motivation to pursue postsec. education, training & careers Defined E&T and career goals Higher rates of postsecondary education and career training enrollment and persistence Components

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK * *Building on Chase-Lansdale et al. (April 2011). Child Parent Quality Early Education (PreK-3 rd Grade) Leading-edge Postsecondary Education & Training plus Adult Ed, ESL & Wrap-around Services Family Support Services Mid-term Outcomes Academic success in elementary school Improved social adjustment in elementary school Higher rates of adult basic education (including ESL) PSE credit accumulation PSE persistence PSE completion Improved parent/child interaction Components

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK * *Building on Chase-Lansdale et al. (April 2011). Child Parent Quality Early Education (PreK-3 rd Grade) Leading-edge Postsecondary Education & Training plus Adult Ed, ESL & Wrap-around Services Family Support Services Long-term Outcomes Increased academic performance in middle and high school Increased rates of PSE enrollment, persistence and completion Increased emotional well being Greater life stability Career advancement Improved employment, earnings and family incomes Components

THEORY OF ACTION 2-gen strategies can be initiated either … 1)From workforce development/postsecondary education, building in quality early learning (PreK-3 rd grade) programs for the children of parents pursuing or seeking to pursue high-performance sectoral training and/or postsecondary credentials via career pathways approach; 2)From quality early learning (PreK-3 rd grade), building in training, education and other services (e.g., Adult Ed, ESL) for the parents of children enrolled in them; or 3)From both quality workforce/postsecondary and early childhood programs, building explicit connections between them where few or none existed before.

2-Generation Agenda Two-generation strategies intentionally and systematically connect adult/child investments for larger, longer lasting impacts on family economic success.

Major Challenges Policy and program inertia Differing provider cultures and ‘baggage’ Absence of high-level policy coordination Conflicting goals and performance expectations Differing structures and loci of decision-making Varying funding mechanisms Resource limitations Conflicting timelines and schedules

Major Opportunities Growing commitment to evidence-based policymaking and program design Pending federal legislative reauthorizations (e.g., WIA, Perkins) Flexible funding, redeployment or repurposing of existing funding sources Supportive policy structures in selected states Innovative local 2-gen initiatives to build on Growing public and philanthropic interest

Innovative Local Initiatives Annie E. Casey Foundation sites in Atlanta, Tulsa, Baltimore & W. Maryland feature a varying mix of 2-gen strategies. Jeremiah Project, a place-based postsecondary effort in Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN), Austin (TX) and Fargo (ND) for single mothers and their children. Tulsa’s CareerAdvance® Initiative, providing sectoral job training/career pathways (nursing, healthcare IT), career coaching, peer supports, conditional cash transfers and other supports for the parents of Head Start children. 2-Gen Austin, an emerging effort that is engaging a broad array of policymakers, funders and thought leaders.

Early Childhood Program Career Coaches Peer Support Incentives Support Services Sectoral Training/CPs Employers Elementary Schools Local Colleges ‘Bridge’: Adult Basic Education & ESL CareerAdvance ®

Participant Voices Too soon to capture measurable impacts. Seeing encouraging program persistence results. But, early outcomes just now emerging. Participants have shared their experiences and insights with Northwestern/U. Texas evaluation team in focus groups and interviews since Their voices tell us the program—and its components—are on the right track. Partner (e.g., Tulsa Tech, Tulsa Community College, Union Public Schools) and CAP/CareerAdvance ® interviews are encouraging as well. As is feedback from Tulsa-area healthcare employers.

Peer Support “ I know if I tried to leave this program, I would have some people on my phone. And that’s the good thing about us being, that’s the one good thing about us being a small group of people. If one of us tried to leave it, oh, we gonna be on that phone quick, ‘Wait a minute what are you doing?’ “

Career Coaches “ We constantly have the support not only from our classmates but also from our teachers and our coach. You know, and when I was in college before, it was just me against the world basically you know. So if I dropped out, nobody cared. It was just, I was only just disappointing myself. Now if anybody is missing too much class we’d call them and are like, you know ‘Where are you at? Come to class.’”

Role Modeling “I’m the first person to even go to school. So it feels good to me to just know that I’m gonna make a better, like pave a better path for my son. The chances of him going to school if I complete school are so much higher. And that’s you know, not only will I create a better life for him as a child, but it’ll give him some encouragement and motivation, and I can be a better role model for him to go to school when he’s older. So it makes me feel a lot better I think.”

Less Time with Children “I almost feel like I’m neglecting my son, like I know he’s taken care of … but as far as spending time with him, and he’s taking a hit, when it comes to like mommy and baby time. Because I don’t have that extra time to spend with him anymore now that I am in this program... But I always just have to tell myself that in the long run, it’s actually more beneficial.”

Hope for the Future “This program has changed my life; it’s changed my future, my family’s future definitely. I mean, this has opened up so many opportunities for me and my family.”

For More Information Christopher T. King, Director Ray Marshall Center LBJ School of Public Affairs The University of Texas at Austin