Generational Opportunities to Achieve Long-Term Success: A 2Gen Program Supporting Families Experiencing Homelessness

Background: Approximately one in seven children in the United States live in families that are experiencing poverty (Semega et al., 2020), which often correlates with poorer physical and physical health, social and behavioral challenges, and lower education outcomes (Quint et al., 2018). Two-generation (2Gen) programs are uniquely designed to address the needs of both children and parents in a coordinated way to improve home environments and make them more supportive of child development and overall family well-being (Chase-Lansdale & Brooks-Gunn, 2014). The Generational Opportunities to Achieve Long-Term Success (GOALS) program provides comprehensive, residentially based services to Arapahoe County, Colorado families experiencing homelessness using a 2Gen framework. GOALS sets out to effectively help families living in poverty gain stable housing, economic security, and family well-being. The GOALS program model incorporates the 2Gen hallmarks of connecting services for both parents and children to achieve outcomes in five domains, which include physical and mental health, early childhood education, postsecondary and employment pathways, economic assets, and social capital. Through intensive, wrap-around residential services, GOALS utilizes motivational interviewing techniques to conduct comprehensive case management work with families to identify needs and resources, access services from partner agencies, secure permanent housing, and create a plan for economic stability and family well-being. GOALS seeks to break the cycle of poverty among families experiencing homelessness.

Methods: We used a randomized controlled trial design to assign families to the GOALS intervention group and a control group of families who received business as usual services. Referral partners completed an eligibility screening tool to refer families to the study. Families were randomly assigned to their group and completed a baseline survey. The screening tool and baseline survey provides a description of family characteristics, system involvement, access to benefits, employment and education history for children and adults, and history of housing instability and current living situation. A GOALS 2Gen Index was designed to measure clients’ attitudes on domains of economic stability (family well-being, livable wage, and child outcomes) for treatment group families at entry and exit. Data was collected through an online database to intervention services and referrals. A follow-up telephone survey with control and treatment families was conducted 12-months and 24-month post program enrollment to generate information on key outcomes. Administrative data was extracted from public benefit and employment systems to report on outcomes between the treatment and control groups over 24 months. Data collection and analysis will be completed in July 2024, a description of intervention services compared to the treatment group along with outcomes by group will be presented. Statistical methods will include t-tests and chi-squares, along with descriptive statistics describing the sample.

Results: Results will be presented for the treatment and comparison group in the domains of economic stability, safe and stable housing, employment, health and well-being, education, and child development.

Implications: Preliminary results indicate that an intervention in a two-generation framework is more effective than standalone services in improving the lives of both adults and children in homeless families, and families who are at high-risk of homelessness.