NFPN's Position Paper on Fatherhood in the Child Welfare System was commissioned by the National Child Welfare Resource Center for Family-Centered Practice. The paper explores the research on fatherhood in the child welfare system, the impact of ASFA on fatherhood, best practices, and recommendations as to how the child welfare system can join the fatherhood movement. The paper concludes that there are currently no models, training curricula, training protocols, or technical assistance for engaging and involving fathers in their children's lives in the child welfare system. (Author abstract)
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Training Materials Current child welfare programs are targeted toward the mother and child and do not place priority on services to support father-child relationships. This curriculum was developed by the National Family Preservation Network to instruct child welfare policymakers and practitioners in the importance of fathers in the lives of their children. The goals of the training program are to promote father-friendly policies that strengthen families and provide additional resources for child placement, when necessary. Administrators will learn to evaluate agency policies and modify those that prevent…
This book offers chapters by different authors discussing their experiences with group therapy and interventions encouraging fathers to play a greater role in their children's lives and practice other positive family behaviors. Small groups have the greatest potential to affect such changes for a number of reasons, the editors write, possibly because most social behavior occurs in small groups. Such groups are more effective in enhancing learning and create positive interdependence among members, especially in faith-based interventions. The editors also recognize the importance of the…
In recent years a number of programs have been initiated to provide incarcerated fathers with education and training in parenting skills. This chapter reviews research, theory and the evolving practice of such programs, including experiences of 125 inmates who have participated in parenting classes while in prison. The psychosocial and social needs of incarcerated fathers; recruitment and barriers; program goals; evaluation strategies; and a summary of core information to guide program development are presented. Common characteristics of imprisoned fathers and various prison parenting…
This examination of Judeo-Christian faith-based initiatives promoting responsible fatherhood explores the basic values and assumptions of such interventions and the characteristics of several successful programs. A number of barriers and challenges exist to faith-based fatherhood programs focused on improving the father-child-family relationship. The basic assumption of such programs is that to be a good father a man must become a man of God, the authors explain, and scriptures provide many examples and moral lessons about the behavior and character of a good father. Evangelical Protestant…
This examination of fathers rights presents a series of legal tools for father advocates that can serve as an alternative to court litigation. Often fathers who are very involved with their children's lives find themselves relegated to the status of visitor after a contentious divorce, and feel the only way to gain greater access to the children is through the courts. The authors of this chapter suggest alternative strategies, but stress that the most important duty of newly divorced fathers to understand the rules of family law. Wage assignments and child support add-ons, such as health…
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Journal Article Using data from case records and from questionnaires completed by caseworkers, the author describes: contact between 132 fathers of children in kinship foster care and their caseworkers over a period of 12 months; and the fathers' involvement in permanency planning for their children. The data indicate that most fathers had no contact with the caseworkers during the period under study, and had never participated in permanency planning. Analysis revealed that paternal involvement varied significantly by the child's family composition. Fathers of two or more children from a one-father family…
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Journal Article This study examined the effect of father-child interactions on the behavior and health of young children in a sample of 182 families reported to child protective services. Data were collected from interviews with the child and his or her caregiver and from reviews of child protective service records and teacher reports. Variables included child and family characteristics; parental and family functioning; extrafamilial relationships; community environment; religious affiliation; child outcomes; and service utilization. Whereas the presence or absence of a father or father figure seemed to make…
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Journal Article Most research on the effect of father figures in the home on the incidence of child maltreatment has been cross-sectional and has focused on sexual abuse. This prospective study's purpose is to determine if the presence of a father surrogate in the home affects the risk of a subsequent child maltreatment report. In a longitudinal sample of at-risk children, North Carolina's Central Registry for Child Abuse and Neglect was used to determine the maltreatment history of children from birth to age 8 years. Children who had a father surrogate living in the home were twice as likely to be reported…
The increase in the proportion of children living in female-headed families implies that men's likelihood of living with their children has declined. However, this may understate men's coresidence with children as many female family heads live with other men, either with their fathers or in cohabitating relationships. Many of the absent fathers of children in female headed families live with children other than their own, such as their younger siblings or stepchildren. This paper examines patterns of coresidence with children under age 15 during the period 1880 to 1990 in the United States,…
