Incorporating Family Voice in the Georgia 2Gen Academy

Abstract: Centering family voice is critical to ensuring that agencies and organizations are responsive to the needs of client populations. This topical discussion will focus on how to incorporate family voice into conversations with leaders and researchers, using the Georgia 2Gen Academy as an example. Designed and administered by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia on behalf of the Georgia Children’s Cabinet, the Georgia 2Gen Academy’s goal is to develop agency leaders who can execute an interagency strategy using a 2Gen approach to improve outcomes for Georgia’s children and families. Presenters will provide a background on 2Gen and its’ national momentum. A key component of the 2Gen approach is engaging and listening to the voices of families, and during the Georgia 2Gen Academy, families were invited to co-create solutions to the barriers and challenges they face by presenting on panels, participating in video testimonials, and actively engaging with participants on capstone projects. After discussing how family voice was embedded into the Georgia 2Gen Academy, a discussion will follow on how to facilitate active conversations between families and the services and programs that support them.

Narrative: This topical discussion will focus on how to incorporate family voice into conversations with leaders and researchers, using the Georgia 2Gen Academy as an example. The Georgia 2Gen Academy seeks to develop agency leaders who can execute an interagency strategy using a 2Gen approach to improve outcomes for Georgia’s children and families. This roundtable will focus on how family voice was embedded into the Georgia 2Gen Academy and expand to a broader discussion on how to facilitate active conversations between families and the services and programs that support them.
The Georgia Children’s Cabinet is an executive-order body, bringing together agency leaders focused on creating a comprehensive, systematic, and whole-family approach to the education and care of Georgia’s children and families. One of the Cabinet’s goals is expanding a 2Gen approach to policy and service delivery in the state. As partners and facilitators of the Georgia Children’s Cabinet, the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, part of the Public Service and Outreach Division at the University of Georgia, developed and launched the Georgia 2Gen Academy, where senior level leadership from state agencies represented in the Children’s Cabinet are learning to execute a 2Gen approach in their agencies.
2Gen is a model increasingly adopted by state agencies on a national scale. The framework encourages centering family voice as well as serving children and the adults who care for them simultaneously to support self-sufficiency and economic mobility. Championed by ASCEND at the Aspen Institute, Georgia began adopting its’ approach in 2015 in a few select agencies. As of 2019, the Children’s Cabinet added 2Gen as a strategic goal area.
As the designers and administrators of the Georgia 2Gen Academy, the presenters will provide a background on 2Gen and its’ growth on a national scale, and how family voice has been incorporated into every session through testimonials and panel representation. Families from across Georgia have shared their experience with state leaders, creating space for clients to shape the narratives that agency leaders use to make decisions. In addition, families have been invited to work with Academy participants on projects utilizing a human-centered design approach. The 2Gen Academy culminates in an interagency project developed by participants to immediately put their learning into action. Participants will have multiple touchpoints with groups of families to workshop their ideas, centering the experience of the target clients for their projects.
During the roundtable, 30 minutes will be devoted to providing background and initial evaluation results from the 2Gen Academy, including a detailed discussion about family voice. The remainder of the time will be spent in structured discussion with conference attendees, starting with the following questions: 1) How could a 2Gen, family-centered approach shift the focus of your research, service-learning, or community engagement projects? 2) What challenges have you experienced bringing community and government or service programs in conversation with each other? 3) What benefits could be generated by incorporating family voice in your research and projects?
Keywords for this research include: 2Gen, family voice, and family engagement.
The researchers on this project recognize the importance of treating family members with respect as they share their lived experience. Researchers took several steps to prepare and avoid triggering families during our interactions. First, families were provided panel questions in advance and had an opportunity to prepare for the panel with an Institute of Government staff member. Second, more sensitive stories were shared via filmed family interviews, allowing participants to share their stories in a more intimate setting, with an opportunity to reflect on what they had shared and choose to edit out any elements that they did not want publicly available. Videos are kept secure and not shared for public consumption. Finally, we worked closely with our Georgia 2Gen Academy participants to prepare them for family engagement. We spent the first two sessions of the Academy focused on family voice and setting expectations for how to truly listen to the feedback that families share.