Two-Generation Approach
At JPP, we support families by working with parents and children together. We’ve learned that when parents are stable and supported, their children do better. At the same time, when children are thriving, parents are better able to succeed in school and at work.
That’s why JPP takes a two-generation approach, addressing the needs of the whole family at the same time. By strengthening both parents and children, families are better able to move from poverty to opportunity and build a lasting legacy of well-being. Strong families create thriving communities.
About the Two-Generation Approach
Many programs focus solely on the child or the parent(s), but two-generation (2Gen or Two-Gen) approaches do not focus exclusively on either a child’s development or isolate an adult’s needs because their well-being is interconnected and interdependent. Two-generation approaches aim to integrate services and supports to move the whole family forward, benefiting both the child and the adult(s) in their lives.
We work with families as experts and meaningfully engage parents and caregivers in designing policies and programs that affect them in order to develop holistic, integrated, and equity-focused solutions. This family-centered lens helps to immediately identify whole families’ needs and goals to inform integrations and alignments to programs that serve them, which maximizes long-term impact for families and communities.
This social graphic visually demonstrates moving from a child- or adult-focused approach to a two-generation approach, highlighting programmatic shifts that make typically siloed programs more two-generation.
Advancing Children and Families Together: The Two-Generation (2Gen) Framework Overview
The video aims to answer the what, why, who, and how of 2Gen approaches and showcase examples of those leading the national movement to build family well-being.
Source: Ascend Institute
Parents’ insights, strengths, and lived experiences are the greatest tools for advancing equity and strengthening family well-being, which is why listening to Parent Voice is a hallmark of the two-generation approach, which builds family well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives together.
Parents are most intimately affected by long-standing policies and practices that are in place, and therefore offer invaluable leadership to meaningfully pursue ideas and innovations to improve upon them.
Key Components of Well-Being
Well-being is a multifaceted process and lifelong pursuit. An individual’s or family’s well-being isn’t a solo endeavor, and financial, social, mental, and spiritual health depends on a person and family’s context, the resources and opportunities available to them, and the support of others.
Two-generation approaches have a robust vision to improve conditions for families by coordinating equitable access to the systems and structures that are necessary to thrive economically and socially.
Ultimately, two-generation approaches recognize six key components to improve families’ financial stability, social capital, health care, and quality education.
JPP was featured in State of the Field: Two-Generation Approaches to Family Well-Being (pages 14, 29). This seminal report by the Ascend Institute highlights the JPP initiative as an example of two-generation innovation and impact.
