Family Centered Employment Initiative

Advancing new pathways to employment for

parents and families with children

CONTACT US

NAWB and Innovate+Educate joined forces to advance two-generation (2GEN) approaches to workforce development with the support of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. The Family Centered Employment initiative is focused on advancing new pathways to employment for parents and families with children while providing linkages between early childhood development and employment, leading to economic advancement.

Using the 2GEN approach as the foundational strategy, the Family Centered Employment initiative is designed to:

 

  • Identify promising practices in implementing family-centered employment approaches in workforce development; 
  • Create awareness about family-centered employment approaches amongst workforce boards;
  • Promote stronger relationships and collaboration with community organizations, child care providers, and other agencies;
  • Assess system-level changes to promote a family-centered employment approach to advance families and meet workforce demands.

 

In year one of the pilot, the Family Centered Employment served a total of 150 families across workforce boards in three local areas: 

 

  • Arizona@Work // Maricopa County, AZ
  • WorkSource Montgomery // Montgomery County, MD
  • Workforce Solutions Borderplex // El Paso, TX


In years two and three, the project expanded to include 12 local workforce development boards in the Community of Practice.  Each workforce board identified ways to incorporate family-centered employment strategies that fit their local communities to create a more wholistic approach to serving parents and families.


During years four and five, additional support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation expanded family-centered employment approaches, training (through The Prosperity Agenda), and the Community of Practice to three planning development districts in Mississippi.

Family Centered Employment Toolkit

View the Toolkit intended for Workforce Development Boards Implementation of Family Centered Employment

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What is 2GEN?

2GEN approach focuses on creating opportunities for and addressing needs of both children and their parents together to improve family outcomes.

There are 5 Key Components of the 2GEN approach: 

1) Postsecondary Education and Employment Pathways; 

2) Early Childhood Education and Development;
 
3) Economic Assets; 

4) Health and Well-Being; and 

5) Social Capital.

Why Does Family Centered Employment Matter to Workforce Development Boards?

Workforce development boards are in a unique position to make an impact on family stability through providing workforce services for parents while connecting parents to support services such as child care providers. As businesses continue to look for and hire qualified talent, lack of consistent quality childcare can impact parents’ ability to accept employment or advancement. Parents looking to enter and remain in the workforce may require additional assistance with securing quality childcare. Lastly, quality childcare provides foundational skills for young children that is imperative to their growth and preparation to be a skilled generation entering the workforce in the future. Workforce development boards have an opportunity to address these challenges and improve employment outcomes by engaging in new partnerships, leveraging resources, and serving clients from a whole family approach. 

Family Centered Employment Community of Practice for Work Development Boards

NAWB and Innovate+Educate expanded the Family Centered Employment Initiative to incorporate more workforce development boards and launched the Family Centered Community of Practice (FCE CoP) to support workforce development boards interested in integrating family-centered approaches in their workforce development services and local communities.


NAWB held a request for applications and selected 12 workforce development boards to join the the 3 pilot sites in a Community of Practice. The FCE CoP was then expanded in 2021 to include 3 Mississippi planning development districts.  The locations of all of these sites are displayed on the map below. 


The FCE CoP continues to meet several times a year to share promising practices, challenges and ideas for solving those challenges.  If you are a workforce board implementing a family-center employment approach and are interested in knowing more about the FCE CoP, please "Contact Us" using the button at the top of this page or ask to join the "Family Center Employment" Community on NAWB Connect.  We would love to have you join the Community!

Family Centered Employment Resource Guide 

NAWB and Innovate+Educate have developed a resource guide for workforce development boards to identify resources and tools to assist with implementing family-centered employment strategies. 


To access the resource guide click here .

Contact 

For more information about the Family Centered Employment initiative, contact Kelly Middleton-Banks .

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