Through 2Gen approaches, colleges can increase access and improve outcomes for student parents and tomorrow’s learners.
Adult learners age 25 and up make up at least one-third of the postsecondary education student population. Our research indicates serving adult learners, and especially parenting learners, better could be a key to future enrollment growth as the number of high school graduates declines and the number of quality jobs requiring more than a high school diploma continues to grow (PDF).
Many adults enroll in postsecondary education and training to build a better life for their families, with more income and greater stability. Colleges need to redesign systems, policies, and practices to enable adults to balance work, learning, and caregiving.
Programs that include two-generation, or 2Gen, approaches consider the whole family and are built around the goals, strengths, and needs of children and their caregivers.
Jobs for the Future (JFF) is working with states, colleges, and community-based organizations to promote 2Gen approaches to family economic mobility by aligning workforce systems, health and human services, K-12, and postsecondary education providers. When we work to create education and workforce opportunities for multiple generations, we strengthen families and build more resilient communities.
JFF’s work in this space includes:
Promoting a culture of caring and respect for the 1 in 5 college students juggling learning and caregiving responsibilities.
Facilitating cross-sector collaboration between education, workforce, and health and human services to align policies and resources in support of family economic mobility.
Helping postsecondary institutions and systems to develop the data infrastructure to identify and support student parents.
Building connections between family-serving organizations and education and training providers to help parents access quality jobs
From 2019-2023, JFF served as the Learning and Management Partner for the Kresge Foundation’s BOOST initiative. BOOST connected families with low incomes to critical human services supports and educational and career pathways to advance multigenerational family economic success. In six cities, community colleges and human services nonprofits partnered to support the economic advancement of families as part of the BOOST initiative. Partners were guided by six core tenets for advancing family social and economic success: partnership, learning, lifetime and springboard jobs, sustainability, racial equity, and the 2Gen approach, or whole-family approach, as defined by Ascend at the Aspen Institute.
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With support from the John T. Gorman Foundation, JFF is supporting three regional sites across Maine to expand and strengthen supports for student parents and their families using a two-generation approach. JFF will engage social service providers, education institutions, and state and local public service organizations with the goals of 1) designing programs and policies that serve parents and children simultaneously; 2) creating channels for ongoing communication among internal and external partners that offer direct services for student parents; and 3) increasing awareness of best practices happening across the state and nation.
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In 2023, through funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, JFF launched an eight-month community of practice with the Student Success Center Network and representatives from 19 community college across four states (Arkansas, Ohio, New York, and Wisconsin). Its goal was to raise awareness of the challenges faced by student parents and share innovative strategies for making colleges more welcoming and supportive. The community of practice focused on opportunities to adopt the 2Gen framework, which centers family well-being and enhances student parent success.
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In 2024, with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, JFF began working with Student Success Centers in Arkansas, North Carolina, and Wisconsin to develop state-specific agendas for improving family economic advancement. JFF collaborated with state planning teams to co-design a series of virtual and in-person convenings. These convenings included relevant stakeholders from postsecondary, workforce systems, health and human services, early childhood, and CBOs, as well as student parents, and culminated in development of strategy maps outlining high priority solution paths for advancing economic mobility for families in each state.
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In 2025, JFF began working with North Carolina and Wisconsin to begin implementation of the state strategy map. Through coaching, technical assistance, and cross-state learning opportunities, states are beginning to put their plans into action. In North Carolina, for example, the Student Success Center is addressing the gap between the services that colleges offer to student parents and supports that parents themselves see as critical to their success. In Wisconsin, the Center is focusing on increased access to high-quality, affordable, culturally relevant childcare; improving data collection at the state and college level; and making campuses more welcoming and accessible to parents and families.
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JFF offers personalized support that goes beyond guidance. We work alongside you to understand your unique state context, develop realistic goals, and execute strategies for innovation and scaling of two-generation approaches.
Shift narratives about student parents
Bring partners to the table
Set a vision for the work ahead
Build smart, secure data systems
Scale effective tools
Drive policy that enables innovation
By testing bold ideas and scaling proven practices, like two-generation approaches, we’re reimagining pathways that lead to quality jobs and lasting economic advancement. Sign up to stay connected with JFF’s postsecondary work and stay updated on future projects and initiatives.
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