This project will focus on documenting 2-Gen antipoverty initiatives in the Southwestern United States and designing a 2-Gen strategy and accompanying outcomes and impact measurement approach for 2-Gen efforts in Central Texas. Such strategies are emerging in Austin, San Antonio, Tulsa and other communities in the Southwest, many of them involving English-Language Learners. States (e.g., Colorado, Connecticut, Utah) are also taking steps toward more systemic, family-centric programming. The Ray Marshall Center has been a catalyst for and a contributor to a number of these efforts (e.g., Austin, Tulsa). Dr. King, an inaugural Ascend 2-Gen Fellow at the Aspen Institute, has been involved in designing and evaluating several of these initiatives (e.g., Tulsa’s CareerAdvance® program). He also co-led development of Ascend’s Making Tomorrow Better Together report on 2-Gen outcomes measurement and serves on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Two-Generation Evidence-Building Advisory Group. The PRP’s primary client is United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX).
Required textbooks will include the following, among others:
Christopher T. King, P. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale & Mario Small, Eds., Two Generations. One Future. An Anthology from the Ascend Fellowship (Ascend Program at the Aspen Institute, 2015). http://ascend.aspeninstitute.org/pages/ascend-fellowship-anthology.
A. Mosle & N. Patel (2012). Two Generations, One Future: Moving Parents and Children Beyond Poverty Together, Washington, D.C.: Ascend at the Aspen Institute. http://ascend.aspeninstitute.org/resources/two-generations-one-future.
Helping Parents, Helping Children: Two-Generation Mechanisms, Future of Children Journal, Spring 2014 Issue. http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/journals/jour….
The project will involve a deep dive into the research, policy and program foundations for 2-Gen strategies, limited fieldwork to some of these sites to better understand and document their 2-Gen strategies, and needs/asset and labor market analysis in Austin. This work will inform preparation of the following deliverables for UWATX:
A needs/asset analysis of 2-Gen programs in Central Texas to guide UWATX and other institutional stakeholders in 2-Gen investment and policy strategies.
An analysis of labor market needs across key sectors and skill levels in Austin with recommendations on how 2-Gen programming can best be leveraged.
A 2-Gen outcomes/impact measurement approach for Central Texas.