Brief
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…
Brief
Pilot testing is a common practice in human services programs, yet programs can often do more to maximize learning from the experience of trying something new. In particular, a more intentional focus on the underlying program design assumptions and the drivers of good implementation of a new strategy can clarify and strengthen the linkages between a program strategy and its anticipated outcomes. By systematically gathering feedback and analyzing data about the implementation of a new strategy or the contextual factors that might influence outcomes, programs can more precisely identify the…
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, describes activities the Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs used to foster economic stability for participating fathers and their families. The brief presents recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry projects, for practitioners implementing economic stability activities for the reentry population. (Author abstract)