This report from the Foundation for Child Development highlights the benefits of dual-generation programs in terms of children’s outcomes. Specifically, research shows the many disparities between children whose mothers had not graduated from high school and children whose mothers had obtained a bachelor’s degree. Children whose mothers had not graduated from high school experience higher rates of poverty, lower rates of mathematics and reading proficiencies, a lower likelihood of graduating high school on time, and poorer overall health. The report also spotlights dual-generation programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Los Angeles, California. Finally, the authors offer policy options for all levels of government to develop and implement successful dual-generation programs.

This report focuses on TANF recipients’ engagement and experiences in the HPOG Program, with the goal of helping understand how HPOG programs serve TANF recipients and developing hypotheses for further study. Specifically, this report uses preliminary data to describe observed differences — and possible reasons for the differences — in the participation, outcomes, and experiences of two types of HPOG participants: (1) Those receiving TANF benefits when they begin an HPOG program, and (2) Those not receiving TANF when they begin an HPOG program. The report then addresses why TANF recipient participation levels vary across HPOG programs and identifies strategies programs used to engage the TANF population and work cooperatively with local TANF agencies. (author abstract) 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Family Assistance (OFA), hosted the Gateway to Opportunity: Improving Parental Employment and Family Well-Being Outcomes national TANF convening on September 1 – September 3, 2015 at the Renaissance Washington D.C. Downtown Hotel. The convening brought together TANF program administrators and national experts to promote dialogue around topics such as job-driven and career pathways training, TANF-WIOA coordination, client assessment and case management strengthening, the role of executive skills in employment outcomes, and two-generation approaches to family economic security. Gateway to Opportunity: Improving Parental Employment and Family Well-Being Outcomes provided attendees with opportunities to engage with their peers and experts from the field, to discuss best practices and the latest research, to converse with federal commissioners and ACF staff, as well as to plan ways to improve TANF programming for low-income families in their communities.