Features of Programs Designed to Help Families Achieve Economic Security and Promote Child Well-being.

Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual generation” programs, have not yet been rigorously evaluated (Chase-Lansdale and Brooks-Gunn 2014). We conducted a targeted review of publicly available documents and literature. This scan aimed to identify common features of programs operating as of early 2016 that offer integrated services to support both family economic security and child development and well-being (see About This Project). This brief presents the results of the scan (Author abstract modified)