Two-generation programs: design, cost, and short-term effectiveness

Two-generation programs are relatively new attempts to deal with the nation's social ills. In two-generation programs, services such as early childhood educational programs are offered to children to help them get the best possible start in life, while, at the same time, parents are offered training to help enhance their parenting skills, and education, literacy, or job training to help them become economically self-sufficient. These multistrategy programs are relatively new additions to the broad array of programs designed to serve children and families, but many have already been the subjects of fairly sophisticated evaluations. This article describes two-generation programs and how they differ from earlier single-focus approaches to serve children and families. In-depth descriptions of six premier two-generation programs are used to illustrate the variability in content and costs of these programs. The short-term results of these six programs are reviewed and indicate mixed and modest results in promoting the development of children and improving the parenting skills and economic self-sufficiency of parents. The results suggest several lessons, and the article concludes with recommendations for program improvement and future research.