Social capital is the “secret sauce” of the 2Gen approach. It manifests itself as increased peer support and a sense of community; connections to family, friends, and neighbors; participation in community and faith-based organizations; school and workplace outreach; leadership and professional development programs; engagement with case managers or career coaches; and other social networks such as cohort models and learning communities. It produces information, emotional or financial support, and/or other resources. Research shows that individuals with higher levels of social capital are happier and healthier, find better jobs, and live longer, and that communities with higher levels of social capital have higher educational achievement, faster economic growth, and less crime.
Many human services strategies may leverage social capital, but there is little research on how those programs can more intentionally understand, track, and use social capital to support families as they build their well-being. During this webinar, we will hear from leadership and staff at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) which has been working on projects to identify and disseminate emerging practices for using and measuring social capital to strengthen human services programs. We will also discuss emerging practices for how practitioners using a 2Gen approach can help participants build and leverage their relationships to reach their goals. Additionally, the ASPE team will also share their handbook on improving human services participant outcomes through social capital. We hope you will join us!
To learn more about ASPE's work on social capital please visit the links below:
Social Capital landing page: https://aspe.hhs.gov/social-capital
Social Capital Handbook: https://aspe.hhs.gov/pdf-report/social-capital-handbook