Despite the multitude of obstacles that low-income parents face, many of them succeed in helping their children flourish.They raise children who possess the social-emotional competence needed to develop and keep friendships; establish good relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults; and experience a range of achievements that contribute to their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-efficacy. What can we learn about these resilient parents that can be shared with other parents who could benefit from such information, as well as with those who are committed to supporting parents’…
Brief
This brief explains the Two-Generation (Two-Gen) approach for working with families builds well-being by creating a solid and stable foundation through integrated, intensive, and high-quality services in four areas of focus: early childhood education, elementary education, economic stability, and family engagement. It discusses findings from a research study that explored how three States (Connecticut, Colorado, and Utah) are development and implementing a Two-Gen framework in practice and how support for an intentional Two-Gen approach can be translated into a coordinated implementation…
To explore the similarities and contrasts between poor and non-poor families, Child Trends analyzed data for more than 100,000 families from the 2003 National Survey of Children's Health. Our results suggest that, although poor families experience socioeconomic disadvantages, these families may be enriched by the strengths found in their family routines and relationships. Specifically, we found that poor families are at a disadvantage when it comes to receiving services and benefits and are more likely to express concerns about their neighborhoods. On the other hand, we found that poor…
This report provides a statistical portrait of progress in the reduction of poverty and economic hardship over the past five decades in the United States. The poverty measures presented in this volume show that the federal safety net has advanced the economic circumstances of low- income children and families since 1964. Three key metrics assess whether families were able to secure resources to meet their basic human needs and avoid severe material deprivation: the official poverty measure developed by Mollie Orshansky in 1963-1964 and designated as the federal government’s official…
U.S. women graduate from high school at higher rates than U.S. men, but the female-male educational advantage is larger, and has increased by more, among black students and students of low socioeconomic status (SES) than among white and high-SES students. The authors explore why boys fare worse than girls in low-SES households—both behaviorally and educationally—by exploiting matched birth certificates, health, disciplinary, academic, and high school graduation records for more than 1 million children born in Florida between 1992 and 2002. They account for unobserved family heterogeneity by…
New economic realities have focused attention on how to best design workforce development strategies to help low-wage and low-skill workers succeed. Lack of child care is one important barrier that can make it difficult for low-income parents to successfully participate in education and training programs. This report provides an overview of the child care and workforce development systems, and discusses the issues that lie at the intersection of these two worlds. It concludes with a description of next steps for policymakers and practitioners in each domain, and important questions that still…
One in six newborns were born poor over the past 40 years, and nearly half remained poor half their childhoods. These persistently poor children are nearly 90 percent more likely than never-poor children to enter their 20s without completing high school and are four times more likely to give birth outside of marriage during their teenage years. Children whose parents did not complete high school are less likely to complete high school themselves. This paper examines the magnitude of child poverty, family characteristics related to childhood poverty persistence, and childhood poverty's lasting…
This report discusses the challenges faced by low-income families and highlights the two-generation approach that aims to create opportunities for families by simultaneously equipping parents and kids with the tools they need to thrive while removing the obstacles in their way. The three components of the two-generation strategy are explained and include: provide parents with multiple pathways to get family-supporting jobs and achieve financial stability; ensure access to high-quality early childhood education and enriching elementary school experiences; and equip parents to better support…
