Family Economic Mobility

ACF supports state and locally-driven efforts, reforms, and innovations to address intergenerational poverty through the integration of welfare, workforce, and early childhood education programs. States and local human services agencies are striving to produce efficiencies with existing resources and meet the needs of low-income families by providing them with the tools to become self-sufficient.

ACF supports efforts to address the needs of low-income, vulnerable children and their parents together to help break the cycle of poverty. These holistic and integrated approaches help families achieve economic stability, upward mobility, and healthy child development. ACF elevates state and local solutions that have helped transition low-income families from federal assistance and give them the tools and opportunities they need to succeed.

Promising state and local strategies:

• Ensure families have access to the economic and social supports needed to provide the parents with pathways to jobs and ensure that their children meet their full potential.
• Support linkages between high quality educational services for children and workforce development services for their parents.
• Support programmatic efforts to help parents gain the skills, knowledge, and tools to support their child’s development.
• Help families build social capital that can support upward economic mobility.
• Focus on improving outcomes and results for the parent and their children, including increasing employment, school readiness, and reducing intergenerational poverty .

Federal to State and Local Partnerships

We support and promote innovative public-private partnerships so that government agencies can work together effectively with national, regional, state, local, and philanthropic partners to discuss local challenges, needs, and share solutions to increase family economic mobility, school readiness and reduce poverty.

ACF works closely with:

• Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Department of Labor
• Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• other federal agencies

Webinars

ORO is partnering with the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) to host a series of webinars to highlight innovative state and local approaches to increase family economic mobility and social well-being. These webinars will highlight what states and counties are already doing to intentionally bring services together and improve outcomes for parents and their children together.

Advancing Family Economic & Social Well-Being Webinar Series

The Advancing Family Economic and Social Well-Being webinar series is an opportunity for state human services agencies, workforce agencies, and local organizations to learn about leading-edge states and counties who have implemented successful innovations and model practices, research and systems changes that are achieving positive outcomes for both parents and their children.

Webinar 1: 2Gen Early Innovator: The Colorado Experience

Thursday, October 20, 2016
This webinar highlighted the work that has been accomplished in Colorado, a state that has seen early successes with innovative, strong 2Gen efforts. Anne Mosle, Vice President, Aspen Institute provided an overview of two-generation approaches underway across the country to set the context. Reggie Bicha, Executive Director of Colorado’s Department of Human Services, shared experiences, insights and lessons-learned for macro-level policy and programmatic change.

• Watch a recording of this webinar.

Webinar 2: Building Blocks for Early Childhood: Integrating 2Gen through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Early Care and Education

Thursday, December 8, 2016
This webinar will highlighted one state and one local jurisdiction that are leveraging TANF and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)/Head Start/Community Services Block Grant funding for parent and early childhood supports. Presenters will share how the state used new CCDF regulations to increase quality of child care for TANF recipients. The Community Action Agency will discuss how they managed wide-scale change initiative redesign service delivery system to better meet the needs of families and children, using Head Start and other ACF funds as levers for change.

• Watch a recording of this webinar.

Webinar 3: Helping the Helpers: Tennessee’s 2gen Experience with Comprehensive Workforce Development and Pilot Site Implementation

Thursday, January 12, 2017
This webinar will highlight Tennessee’s 2Gen journey, including the Families First Program, a workforce development program, 2Gen pilot sites, and partnerships with a model developer, Nurse-Family Partnership. This webinar will also examine practical examples of how a state can embed two-generation approaches and culture change into their professional development systems.

Watch a recording of this webinar.

Webinar 4: Promoting Economic Self-Sufficiency through TANF and WIOA 2Gen Partnerships

Thursday, February 16, 2017 from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM EST
This webinar is co-hosted by ACF and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), as part of their WOIA Wednesdays series. The webinar will highlight specific strategies that two states are using to leverage TANF and WIOA funding to support 2Gen efforts. States will discuss how WIOA state planning and 2Gen efforts have resulted in improved policies, collaboration, and outcomes for TANF families.

Watch a recording of this webinar.

Webinar 5 and Webinar 6 are being hosted by the American Public Human Services Association.

Webinar 5: Opening Doors for Homeless Families by Leveraging Health and Human Services

Thursday, March 16, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM EST
This webinar will highlight Washington DC’s Human Services Rapid Rehousing model to improve housing, employment, and child development outcomes for TANF families. The Utah Department of Human Services will present their statewide interagency efforts to strengthen and support family and child well-being across a range of health, behavioral health and human services. The National Governors Association will highlight its Parents and Children Thriving Together (PACTT) State Policy Network.

Webinar 6: Putting it All Together: County-led 2Gen Pathways Toward Prosperity and Well-being

Thursday, April 13, 2017 from 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM EST
This webinar will highlight work led by Montgomery County, MD and Jefferson County, CO human service agencies to advance 2Gen strategies across a wide range of social and human services programs through a "Pathway Toward Prosperity and Well-being." Speakers will highlight innovations at integrating human services using an evidence-based system of practice, holistic family assessment, and economic development tools within a social determinants of health framework. The counties will also discuss their partnerships and collaborations with the state agencies.