Child Welfare Information Gateway
Skip to main content
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
  • Administration for Children & Families
  • Children's Bureau
Child Welfare Information Gateway
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   

Home Topics Publications Library State Resources More Tools & Resources News & Events
REPORT ABUSE OR
NEGLECT
FIND HELP WITH A
PERSONAL SITUATION   
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Free Subscriptions
  • Resources in Spanish
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Chat
  • Resources in Spanish
  • Shopping Cart
  • Home
  • Topics
    • Family-Centered Practice
      • Philosophy and Key Elements of Family-Centered Practice
      • Family-Centered Practice Across the Service Continuum
      • Engaging Families
      • Family-Centered Casework Practice
      • Family Group Decision-Making
      • Engaging Communities to Support Families
      • Creating a Family-Centered Agency Culture
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Definitions of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Identification of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Risk Factors That Contribute to Child Abuse and Neglect
      • People Who Engage in Child Abuse or Neglect
      • Impact of Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Child Abuse & Neglect Fatalities
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
      • Overview: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
      • Public Awareness & Creating Supportive Communities
      • Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Programs
      • Developing & Sustaining Prevention Programs
      • Evidence-Based Practice for Child Abuse Prevention
      • Evaluating Prevention Programs
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Introduction to Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
      • Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect
      • Assessment in Child Protection
      • Differential Response in Child Protective Services
      • Child Protection Casework Practice
      • Responding to Child Maltreatment Near Fatalities and Fatalities
      • Trauma-Informed Practice in Child Welfare
      • Collaborative Responses to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
      • Supporting Families With Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
      • Introduction to Family Support and Preservation
      • In-Home Services Involved With Child Protection
      • Family Support Services
      • Resources for Managers of Family Support and Preservation Services
      • Family Preservation Services
    • Out-of-Home Care
      • National Foster Care Month
      • Overview: Out-of-Home Care
      • Foster Care
      • Group and Residential Care
      • Kinship Care
      • Casework Practice in Out-of-Home Care
      • Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living
      • Placement Decisions
      • Resources for Foster Families
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Overview: Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
      • Reunifying Families
      • Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families
      • Permanency With Relatives and Kin
      • Guardianship
      • Permanency for Specific Youth Populations
      • Legal and Court Issues in Permanency
      • Interjurisdictional Placements
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families in Permanency Planning
      • Working With Children, Youth, and Families After Permanency
      • Resources for Administrators and Managers About Permanency
      • Resources for Families About Permanency
    • Adoption
      • National Adoption Month
      • All-In Foster Adoption Challenge
      • Children's Bureau Adoption Call to Action
      • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
      • Introduction to Adoption
      • Ethical Issues in Adoption
      • For Adopted People
      • For Adoption Program Managers & Administrators
      • For Expectant Parents Considering Adoption and Birth Parents
      • How to Adopt
      • Laws Related to Adoption
      • Parenting After Adoption
      • Preplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Postplacement Adoption Casework Practice
      • Search & Reunion in Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
      • Administering & Managing Child Welfare Agencies & Programs
      • Child Welfare Practice Improvement
      • Disaster Preparedness & Response
      • Ethical Practice & Client Rights
      • Evaluating Program and Practice Effectiveness
      • Funding
      • Information Systems & Data
      • Supervising Child Welfare Services
      • System Reform
      • Training
      • Workforce
    • Systemwide
      • Assessment
      • Behavioral Health & Wellness
      • Courts
      • Cultural Responsiveness
      • Diverse Populations and Communities
      • Domestic Violence
      • Human Trafficking
      • Laws & Policies
      • Service Array
      • Statistics
      • Well-Being
      • Youth
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Topic
    • Browse by Title
    • índice de Títulos en Español (Spanish Title Index)
  • Library
    • Library Services
    • Library Search Help
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals Search
    • State-Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption and Guardianship Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Resources From the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Discretionary Grants
      • The Story of the Children's Bureau
      • Children's Bureau Video Series
    • Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast Series
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Webinars
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • News & Events
    • Free Subscriptions
    • Adoption Triad
    • Children's Bureau Express (CBX)
    • The Grantee Connection
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • Home
  • Topics
  • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
  • Promoting Child & Family Well-Being
  • Two-Generation Approaches to Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

Two-Generation Approaches to Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

The two-generation (2Gen) approach (also referred to as the whole-family approach) to child abuse and neglect prevention focuses on working with children and their parents (or other caregivers) simultaneously to build protective factors, resiliency, and parental capacity. This approach addresses the interconnectedness of the needs of parents and children and addresses them together. Additionally, the 2Gen approach seeks to interrupt the cycle of poverty and create educational and economic success that can pass from one generation to another. Use these resources to learn more about the 2Gen approach in child abuse and neglect prevention.

  • State and local examples

Building Stronger Families and Communities With a Two-Gen Approach
National Human Services Assembly
Shares two reports about 2Gen approaches to working with families as well as additional resources.

Defining a Two-Generation Logic Model
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (2022)
Shares a two-generation logic model that can help practitioners who provide two-generation services to develop their own logic model. The brief includes a blank template designed to help practitioners identify the core components of their own initiative.

An Evaluation of Family Economic Success – Early Childhood Education: Findings From a Two-Generation Approach (PDF - 1,557 KB)
James Bell Associates (2018)
Summarizes the results of an evaluation of 2Gen services provided to families from 2013 to 2016 to examine who was served, what types of needs were addressed, how 2Gen services were delivered, and more.

Head Start Connects: Individualizing and Connecting Families to Comprehensive Family Support Services
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
Explains how Head Start offers comprehensive services that support parents and their children by combining early education with health, nutrition, mental health, and other services to help families reach self-sufficiency.

How Does High-Quality Early Care and Education Improve Safety, Permanency, and Well-Being?
Casey Family Programs (2019)
Describes how early child education programs, including Head Start, use 2Gen approaches to address poverty and improve child well-being by providing services and supports for parents and children.

How Early Head Start Prevents Child Maltreatment
Child Trends (2018)
Presents the results of a study that shows children who participated in Head Start were less likely to become involved with the child welfare system.

How Professionals Can Implement a Two-Generation Approach
Briggs (2021)
Psychology Today
Describes how using a 2Gen approach when addressing adverse childhood experiences and trauma reduces adversity in the family and improves the ability of caregivers to break the intergenerational cycle of maltreatment.

Our Two-Generation Impact: Advancing Equitable Family Well-Being, Mental Health, and Education Outcomes (PDF - 4,710 KB)
Friends of the Children
Discusses the 2Gen approach, including how it can help connect families to concrete supports, such as housing, education, and employment pathways.

States Leading the Way: Practical Solutions That Lift Up Children and Families
White, Mosle, & Simms (2018)
Aspen Institute
Presents case studies from seven States that have instituted 2Gen frameworks in their community programs to engage families and help keep parents invested in their children’s lives. The examples include programs from Colorado, Utah, Georgia, Maryland, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Minnesota.

Two-Generation Strategies
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families
Presents information on 2Gen approaches and shares resources about strategies for implementing a 2Gen approach in child welfare, early childhood development, and other human services agencies.

What Is 2Gen?
Cornell Project 2Gen
Explains the 2Gen approach and its emphasis on holistic ways of working with families. This webpage describes how this approach supports parents and children together to produce greater benefits and considers how factors, such as the educational and employment systems or the social environment, can enhance family well-being.

(Back to Top)

Spotlight On

Two-Generation Approaches to Supporting Family Well-Being
Child Welfare Information Gateway
(2023)

The 2Gen Approach

Aspen Institute

ACF & Two-Generation Approaches

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families

Resources for Developing and Implementing Two-Generation Approaches

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation

Two-Generation Approaches

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Related Content

Protective Factors to Promote Well-Being and Prevent Child Abuse & Neglect

Framework for Prevention of Child Maltreatment

Children's Bureau - An office of the Administration for Children and Families

Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the

  • Children’s Bureau
  • Administration for Children and Families
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
↑ Back to top
  • HOME
  • TOPICS
    • Family-Centered Practice
    • Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Responding to Child Abuse & Neglect
    • Supporting & Preserving Families
    • Out-of-Home Care
    • Achieving & Maintaining Permanency
    • Adoption
    • Management & Supervision
    • Systemwide
  • National Initiatives
    • National Adoption Month
    • National Child Abuse Prevention Month
    • National Foster Care Month
  • Publications
    • Publications Series
    • Browse by Title
    • Browse by Topic
    • Índice de Títulos en Español
  • Library
    • Search the Library
  • State Resources
    • State Statutes
    • National Foster Care & Adoption Directory
    • State Guides & Manuals
    • State Related Organizations Lists
    • Adoption Assistance by State
  • More Tools & Resources
    • Related Organizations
    • Learning Center
    • Children's Bureau Resources
    • Information Gateway Podcast
    • Multimedia
    • Family Engagement Inventory
  • NEWS AND EVENTS
    • New on Information Gateway
    • New From the Children's Bureau
    • Event Calendar
  • ABOUT US
    • How to Report Child Abuse or Neglect
    • Find Help With a Personal Situation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Glossary
    • Search A to Z
  • Contact Us
    • 1-800-394-3366
    • info@childwelfare.gov
    • Subscribe to Free Updates
    • Chat With Us
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on YouTube
  • POLICIES & HELPFUL LINKS
    • Disclaimer and Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • FOIA requests
    • No FEAR Act data
    • Office of the Inspector General
    • Performance reports
    • Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
    • USA.gov
    • Download Acrobat Reader
  • ↑ Back to top