Other, Video
Master teacher and clinical psychologist Dr. Adolph Brown discussed how low-income fathers are a greatly misunderstood population and how these fathers are overlooked in discussions of poverty and economic vulnerability—often being viewed as the cause of social problems rather than as having been abandoned by society.
In this highly engaging plenary, Dr. Brown presented a more comprehensive picture of the significant obstacles and trauma low-income fathers experience. Participants learned about how to “lead with compassion” by offering services and interventions to fathers that…
Other
The National Alliance to End Homelessness does not provide direct services such as housing or case management. If you are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, please contact your local 2-1-1 hotline or continue reading for more information on how to get help in your community.
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
Low-skilled men, especially minorities, typically work at low levels and provide little support for their children. Conservatives blame this on government willingness to support families, which frees the fathers from responsibility, while liberals say that men are denied work by racial bias or the economy--either a lack of jobs or low wages, which depress the incentive to work. The evidence for all these theories is weak. Thus, changing program benefits or incentives is unlikely to solve the men's work problem. More promising is the idea of linking assistance with administrative requirements…
Brief
The social safety net is widely recognized as having been quite successful in providing major financial support to low-income families during the Great Recession, one of the most severe economic downturns in modern U.S. history. Safety net expenditures grew in aggregate and were widely distributed to all types of needy families. Before the recession, however, while aggregate transfers to the low-income population also exhibited steady growth, the growth was not equally shared across different types of families. Transfers grew much more for the elderly and disabled relative to the nonelderly…
Brief
Since the 1970s, Americans’ household incomes have become more volatile, fluctuating year-to-year and week-to-week. Increased income volatility is particularly prominent among low-income families, many of whom are served by the U.S. system of means-tested income support programs. These programs provide income, goods, and services to families who prove that their income (and sometimes assets) are low enough to qualify for a particular program and meet other program requirements. At initial application, during benefit receipt, and at recertification periods, each income support program has…
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…
Brief
Most programs focus on helping non-workers get jobs, rather than offering assistance to help low-income workers remain employed and advance up the career ladder. Advancement strategies are more challenging to implement, and the labor market payoff to increased training is not always assured. Experimentation with innovative advancement approaches has shown some to be promising and worth building on and others not to work. (Author abstract)
Brief
WorkAdvance is a sectoral workforce development program designed to meet the needs of workers and employers alike. For unemployed and low-wage working adults, the program provides skills training in targeted sectors that have good-quality job openings with room for advancement within established career pathways. For employers in those sectors, WorkAdvance identifies and trains workers who meet technical skill and work readiness expectations and can grow into second and third jobs. In a randomized controlled trial, the program resulted in large increases in participation in every category of…
Webinar
This Webinar discusses the Earned Income Tax Credit and how programs can utilize the program as a way to benefit fathers and families and achieving economic stability and self-sufficiency. (Author abstract)
