A presentation from Gail Hayes of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The presentation outlines and advocates for comprehensive approaches to service provision by addressing the unique needs of parents and school-aged children.

1. taking a
two-generation
Approach
1
GAIL HAYES
SENIOR CONSULTANT, AECF
OCTOBER 6, 2014

2. The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Our Mission
Improving the future of millions of disadvantaged
children and their families.
Our Focus
Strengthening families, building supportive communities
and ensuring access to opportunity.
Our Approach
Finding solutions to overcome barriers to success, help
communities demonstrate what works and influence
decision makers to invest in successful strategies.
Integral to Our Work
Creating equitable opportunities for all children of all
races and ethnicities.
2

3. Overview
3
I. A Family Struggling to Move Out of Poverty
II. A Two-Generation Approach
III. Hard-Earned Lessons from Practitioners
IV. What’s Next
V. A Family Succeeding in Moving out of Poverty

4. One Family Struggling to Move Up and Out of Poverty
4
Mother in
Minimum-
Wage Job
Meet the
Green
Family
Family
Challenge 1:
Disabled
Father
Family
Challenge 2:
Physical
and Mental
Health
Family Issues
Challenge 3:
Lack of
Affordable
Housing
Must
Navigate 10
Public and
Private
Agencies for
Assistance
Family
Challenge 4:
Lack of
Transportation
Options

5. OUR TWO-GENERATION
APPROACH

6. Our Challenge
6
> 17 million
children under age 8
living in poverty
of children live in
families where no
parent has full-time,
year-round
employment
30%
of children
ages birth-8
live in low-income
households
50%

7. Poverty can take a
serious toll on child
and parent health and
well-being.
Why All This Matters
7
A child’s first eight
years lay a critical
foundation for
academic and life
success. The timing
of poverty is very
important, especially
during preschool and
early school years.
A combination of job
training, financial
coaching and access
to income-support
programs can help
low-income families
get on a path to
stability — allowing
them to better support
their kids.

8. Programs and Agencies in Isolation
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Workforce Early
Childhood
• Separate and inflexible funding streams
• Organizations that serve children or adults
but rarely both
• Hard to get distinctive and separate child
and adult programs to work together
Education

9. Our Two-Generation Approach
Goal: To strengthen families through a two-generation
approach that gives low-income parents and their
children the opportunity to succeed together.
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1) We want to connect parents with the tools they need
to get a stable job and increase economic
opportunities for themselves and their families.
2) We know that children thrive when their parents can
set a good example and be involved in their lives.
3) While parents gain new professional and parenting
skills, children receive high-quality early care and
education in elementary school.

10. The Approach: Strengthening the Whole Family
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Financial Stability
• Education and job
training
• Essential skill building
• Access to income and
work support benefits
• Financial coaching;
access to affordable
financial products
Parent Involvement
• Treating parents as
assets and experts
on their kids
• Essential skill building
• Culturally competent
staff
• Addressing family stress
• Enhancing social
networks
Quality Early Care and
Elementary Education
• Access to high-quality
early education
programs
• Successful transition to
elementary school
• Quality elementary
school experiences
• Effective teaching

11. More Opportunity for Family
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12. HARD-EARNED LESSONS FROM THE FIELD

13. Two-Generation Work Underway
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CASEY INITIATIVES
Atlanta Civic Site
Family-Centered
Community Change
Family Economic Success-
Early Childhood
CASEY PARTNERSHIPS
MOMS Partnership
Crittenton Women’s Union
HOPE SF/Center for
Youth Wellness
Jeremiah Program
IN DEVELOPMENT
Siemer Institute
(housing/education
mobility)
Baltimore Civic Site
(young families and
children)

14. Advice From Expert Practitioners
14
Beth Babcock
Crittenton Women’s
Union (Boston)
Donna Pavetti
Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities
(D.C.)
Tassy Warren
Harvard’s Center on
the Developing Child
(Boston)
Lynn Applebaum
Educational Alliance
(New York)
Gloria Perez
Jeremiah Program
(Minneapolis)
Megan Smith
MOMS Partnership
(New Haven)

15. Advice From the Field: Three Important C’s
COMPETENCE:
Parents’ sense of competence to set goals
and make decisions
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CONFIDENCE:
Parents’ sense of confidence in their role
as parent and worker
CONNECTIONS:
Parents’ sense of connectedness to family,
other parents and the community

16. Essential Parenting Skills: Tip #1
Two Imperatives for Parents:
1) Develop good decision-making and
problem-solving skills. Focus on
setting goals to help their family.
2) Optimize their time and resources:
Maximize their money, space and
social networks.
16
Beth Babcock
President and CEO

17. Research for Essential Skill Building
• Protecting children from the impacts of toxic stress requires
selective skill building — not simply the provision of
information and support — for the adults who care for them.
• Interventions that improve the family environment by
strengthening the executive function and self-regulation
skills will also enhance their employability,
providing an opportunity to improve child outcomes by
strengthening the economic and social stability of the family.
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18. 18
Executive Function Frameworks
Examples From Experts in the Field
Silvia Bunge, Neuroscientist,
University of California at Berkley
PLANNING
MONITORING
SELF-CONTROL
Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

19. Key Elements of an
Executive-Function-Informed Approach
Executive-Function-Informed Approach:
1) Goal-setting
2) Coaching
3) Practice
4) Reflection on progress
19
Donna Pavetti
Vice President for Family
Income Support Policy

20. Essential Parenting Skills: Tip #2
Start the Work from the Inside Out
Parents will do for their children what
they will not for themselves.
This opens up the opportunity for parents
to start on their new course of direction.
Parents often lack the self-confidence and
need the boost of energy and motivation.
20
Gloria Perez
President and CEO

21. Tools and Skills
Empowerment
fundamentals
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Personal Empowerment Training
Jeremiah Program
Emotional regulation
Communication
Healthy relationships
Positive identity Decision-making
skills

22. Essential Parenting Skills: Tip # 3
The importance of strengthening
parent connections: parent and child,
parent to other parents, and parent to
larger community.
• New Haven mothers reported feeling
alone in raising their children and
lacking significant sources of support
in their lives: “Lots of challenges [as a
mom] because I am doing it on my
own most of the time.”
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Megan Smith
Principle Investigator

23. Tools and Skills
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M-POWER
Workshops
• Mothers come together
to share, learn and
discuss topics important
to them.
Stress Management
Classes
• An eight-week course
that meets once per
week and teaches
mothers techniques
for managing and
coping with chronic
and severe stress.
Community Mental
Health Ambassadors
• Mothers trained in
mental health
intervention, key
principles to promote
health and development
and achievement
across generations.

24. Expertise is in This Audience
…Neighborhood
House in Seattle
(Nathan Buck)
… in Atlanta
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Examples
… in the Bay Area
… in your hometown?

25. What’s Next
National and
Local Funders
Federal and
State
Policymakers
Innovation and
Practice
Networks
Researchers and
Academics
Casey Initiatives
and
Neighborhood-
Based Partners
Intermediaries
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26. In Closing: A Family With Every Opportunity to Succeed