By Cecy Tamez-Rodriguez
We’re thrilled to announce that the 2-Gen Coalition for Economic Advancement has released their 2024-2027 Strategic Plan.
Based on the belief that our community is vibrant and prosperous when families can meet their economic potential and pursue well-being, two-generation (2-Gen) approaches build this well-being by intentionally and simultaneously working with children and the adults in their lives together. 2-Gen centers the whole family to ensure those seeking family-sustaining income create a legacy of educational success and economic prosperity that passes from one generation to the next.*
In 2018, United Way for Greater Austin released the Family Opportunity Roadmap: Austin/Travis County 2-Generation Strategic Plan. This thorough and ambitious plan was developed in partnership with more than 200 members of our community and included 23 strategies to create an ecosystem of 2-Gen programs and services in Austin/Travis County. The 2-Gen Coalition and its governance committee was established to steward the work of this plan.
Many voices, one vision
Development of the new Strategic Plan began in April 2023 with the onboarding of the 2023-2024 2-Gen Coalition Steering Committee. The Steering Committee spent nine months developing this Strategic Plan in partnership with coalition members, community members, and United Way for Greater Austin. Together, we discovered core beliefs that will guide and inform our work:
- When parents and guardians of children achieve economic advancement through family-sustaining employment and postsecondary education, we unlock potential and well-being for whole families.
- When we center parents and guardians of children, we create solutions that positively impact individuals, while ensuring whole families and children benefit.
- When parents and guardians of children can address the needs of their children and family members, they are more likely to be successful in employment and postsecondary education.
We will support aligned community coalitions and partners as they work to advance other core elements of 2-Gen, including early childhood development, physical and mental health, and K-3 education.
What’s next
In the next three years, we plan to focus our coalition’s work on advancing postsecondary success and employment pathways for parents and guardians of children. We will periodically revisit this plan throughout and beyond the next three years to ensure we are centering community priorities, making progress on outcomes, and collaborating effectively across community coalitions.
