WASHINGTON, DC — New America has been awarded a $500,000 W.K. Kellogg Foundation grant to launch the Family-Centered Social Policy Initiative: Designing 21st Century Networks of Support for Households with Children. The Initiative is a collaborative effort, engaging several New America policy programs – Asset Building, Breadwinning and Caregiving, Education Policy, the Markets, Enterprise and Resiliency Initiative, and the Open Technology Institute.
According to a press release issued by New America, “the American family is under great stress. As the 21st century economy is remade through technological innovations and global competition, parents face new challenges as they seek to participate in the workforce and provide opportunities for their children to learn and grow. To complicate matters, economic, demographic, and technological changes have upended the traditional assumptions about who the family is and what it needs to thrive in the modern era.”
“We are grateful to the Kellogg Foundation for understanding and supporting efforts to look at social policy from an integrated multi-disciplinary perspective,” said Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of New America. “It is an important project in its own right and a major boost to New America’s efforts to work across programs.”
With funds from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Family-Centered Social Policy Initiative will re-imagine social policy for the 21st century, by assessing current conditions, exploring promising alternatives, and proposing forward looking reforms to inform public discourse, educate policymakers, and strengthen family wellbeing.