Families with young children are financially stable
30% of local families with children live in households with low income
A 2-Gen (or 2-Generation) approach to social services serves parents and children simultaneously and leads to better financial outcomes for both generations.
The 2-Gen Coalition is a network of child and family advocates committed to strengthening and expanding 2-Gen services and resources for Austin-area families. Driven by a community-wide roadmap, the first community-wide strategic plan for 2-Gen in the nation, the 2-Gen Coalition works to create an ecosystem of programs and services that support intergenerational economic opportunity for families with low income.
The 2-Gen Coalition is convened by United Way for Greater Austin as part of our collective impact work to fight poverty.
We formed Link Up Austin, a group of young parents that co-designs our strategies and programs. Together, we’re making the programs and services of local nonprofits more effective.
If you work for an organization looking for ways to implement a 2-Gen approach, check out our 2-Gen Toolkit.
$810,000
invested in local 2-Gen approaches, through our Community Investment Grants
$150,000
supports local families with young children
$140,000
supports parenting students
$21,000
supports local 2-Gen initiatives
United Way runs these proven programs to ensure all families with children are financially stable.
We know parenting students leave school for preventable reasons – lack of child care, inability to rebound from costly emergencies, and family financial responsibilities. They begin education pathways to living wage employment, but under pressure to support their families, exit as soon as they can make slightly more money – often after only the first course. That’s why we are partnering with Austin Community College to provide parenting students, ages 18-29, with financial incentives to accelerate their post-secondary education.
Students who are enrolled full-time earn up to $6,000 per year, and also have access to child care scholarships, emergency cash assistance, a peer community, advising, tutoring, and other vital, wrap-around services.
The Parenting Students Project is spearheaded by Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Expanding Opportunities for Young Families initiative, and is supported by Advance Together, and American Rescue Plan Act funds from the City of Austin.
The federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is the largest direct cash assistance poverty fighting program in the country, yet many families in Central Texas who are eligible for the credit are not receiving it. Together with Foundation Communities, the LBJ School’s Child and Family Research Partnership, and many other partners, we are working to ensure even more families with young children in Austin’s Eastern Crescent receive the EITC and increase protections against Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), which are strongly linked to poverty.
families served in 2-Gen approaches
of clients with children under 12 obtained employment
of clients earn higher incomes after programming
Austin nursing student and mother of two Deja was working hard to complete her degree, but still struggled to make ends meet while staying focused on her rigorous program. That all changed when she began participating in United Way for Greater Austin...
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Meet Katie Gonzalez, a parent of six young kids. As one of 34 parents in our Expanding Opportunities for Young Families pilot program, Katie recently earned a phlebotomy certificate from Austin Community College, advancing her career opportunities wh...
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Parents are powerful. At United Way for Greater Austin, we value the lived experience and extensive expertise of parents & caregivers. What does that mean for our work? It means that we not only strive to make room at the table for parent voices,...
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