Building Family Economic Security

Maine has a strong foundation of support for student parents. Financial support programs like Parents as Scholars, the Higher Opportunity for Pathways to Employment (HOPE) program, the Competitive Skills Scholarship Program (CSSP), and alongside policies that connect income supports, education, and workforce development offer real opportunities for parents to access economic opportunity through training and school. Yet despite these advances, many parents—especially those with low incomes—still struggle to access education, childcare, transportation, and living-wage jobs needed to achieve long-term stability. Rising Futures Maine (RFM), funded by the John T. Gorman Foundation, builds on this foundation by investing in community-based organizations (CBOs) as local 2Gen leaders who can connect student parents to concrete education and career pathways.

In Franklin County, the Franklin County Children’s Task Force (Rising Futures Franklin) is co-designing pathways with Franklin County Adult Education, blending intensive cohort-based coaching, childcare, transportation, and barrier removal with demand-driven trainings that lead to industry-recognized credentials. In Kennebec County, Maine Children’s Home’s Journey Program is evolving into a 2Gen hub that integrates parenting education, case management, counseling, and postsecondary navigation—supported by new tools for goal tracking and data use—so that young parents can move from high school into college and careers with coordinated supports for their children. In Washington County, Family Futures Downeast and StartUp Downeast are piloting a father- and noncustodial parent–focused 2Gen model that links entrepreneurship, coaching, and child outcome tracking, addressing long-standing gaps in engaging fathers while maintaining a strong commitment to parent-led design.

The brief concludes with five interconnected recommendations for state policymakers, philanthropy, and practitioners to sustain and scale this work. These include: increased funding for community-based organizations implementing 2Gen strategies; sufficient, predictable financial support that allows parents to pursue associate and bachelor’s degrees with real labor market value; and more flexible, stackable postsecondary pathways aligned with parents’ goals and family-sustaining jobs. The brief also calls for stronger, more consistent student parent data collection and analysis, as well as reinforced basic-needs protections, especially in light of looming federal safety net cuts that could push thousands of Maine families into deeper insecurity. Together, Rising Futures Maine and the broader policy ecosystem demonstrate that when communities and systems align around parent voice, navigation, and sustained material support, student parents and their children are far more likely to thrive across generations.