Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security

2015 - 2018

ACF launched the Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security project in September 2015. The goal of the project was to improve understanding of approaches that intentionally combine intensive, high quality, adult-focused services with intensive, high-quality, child-focused programs.

Conducted by Mathematica and the Northwestern University Institute for Policy Research, this project  investigated the design and evaluability of approaches to alleviating poverty that address the needs of caregivers with low incomes and their children. The project examined approaches that deliberately combined services intended to support child development and improve family economic security. It addressed three primary research questions:

  1. What is the range of approaches that aim to meet the needs of families with low incomes through intentionally combined sets of activities?
  2. What does it mean for approaches to be high quality, intensive, and intentional in their service delivery?
  3. What is the state of research on approaches that provide economic self-sufficiency services to adults while serving children up through age 12, and what are options for future research on such approaches?

ACF has a particular interest in these integrated approaches, sometimes called two-generation approaches. Many ACF programs that support vulnerable children and adults either mandate or allow flexibility for providing services for additional family members. For example, since its inception in 1965, Head Start has served both children and parents. The program provides children with enriched learning environments and helps families access the services that will enable them to support their children’s development (e.g., parenting education, social services, health and mental health services). Other ACF programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and programs under the Office of Community Services provide services to all family members. With growing attention on the newest iterations of integrated programs, this project sought to begin building the evidence to help these and other programs implement strong approaches to that support parents, children, and families.

The Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security study included three primary activities:

  • a targeted literature review,
  • expert consultations, and
  • fieldwork to identify and describe program models

The goals of the fieldwork were to:

  • identify program goals and objectives;
  • assess how well defined and evaluable the models were;
  • engage practitioners, experts, and interested parties in a discussion regarding the potential evaluation of any of the models; and
  • develop options for evaluations that may be feasible, relevant, and useful to ACF and the field.

Four two-generation initiatives participated in fieldwork:

  • Briya Public Charter School and Mary’s Center (Washington, DC)
  • Capital Area Community Action Agency (Tallahassee, Florida)
  • College Access and Success (New York, New York)
  • Next Generation Kids (Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah)

The Integrated Approaches project team produced a final report to synthesize project findings and separate briefs on (1) features of contemporary two-generation initiatives; (2) conceptual frameworks for two-generation approaches; and (3) options for future research and evaluation activities for two-generation approaches. These publications can be found below. 

ACF sponsored a follow-up study, Next Steps for Rigorous Research on Two-Generation Approaches (NS2G) to expand upon the findings and recommendations of this project by conducting formative evaluation, building two-generation initiatives’ evaluation capacity, and developing a measure of two-generation partnerships.

Both projects are part of OPRE’s coordinated services research and evaluation portfolio. This portfolio is focused on coordination of services to support children and families, recognizing that many children and families face complex, interdependent challenges and that services to address their needs may come from a range of providers. Projects within this research portfolio address the intentional coordination of two or more services, which may be provided under the umbrella of a single organization or by multiple organizations.

Point(s) of contact: Kathleen Dwyer.

Related Resources

The Exploration of Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security project investigated the design and evaluability of approaches to alleviating poverty that address the needs of low-income parents and children. The project examined...

The Exploration of Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security project investigated the design and evaluability of approaches to alleviating poverty that address the needs of low-income parents and children. The project examined programs...

This brief identifies common features of programs that offer integrated services to support both the economic security of families and the development and wellbeing of children.

Focusing on programs operating as of early 2016, the brief discusses:...

The Exploration of Integrated Approaches to Supporting Child Development and Improving Family Economic Security project investigated the design and evaluability of approaches to alleviating poverty that address the needs of low-income parents and children. The project examined programs...