Sustaining Two-Generation strategies: A Case study of Tulsa’s CareerAdvance® Program

This report examines the CareerAdvance® program in Tulsa (OK) as a case study on the sustainability of a two‐generation anti‐poverty strategy that seeks to increase family economic mobility by investing intensively in sector‐based, career pathway education and training for parents, while their children are simultaneously enrolled in quality early childhood education. It is the length and intensity of the CareerAdvance® program that creates the most serious challenges for sustainability.

The sustainability of the CareerAdvance® program is analyzed using the Microsoft Scaling Framework, which provides a lens to consider the program’s design, adaptability, use of technology, and context. This analysis indicates that some components of the CareerAdvance® program, e.g., wrap‐around services and peer supports, lend themselves to positive and sustainable outcomes for participants, and some components, e.g., a strong workforce intermediary and identifying more reliable funding streams, require further investment. Based on this analysis, the report offers a series of recommendations for policymakers and program staff implementing two‐generation programs, and considers the challenges associated with bringing them to scale.