Other, Brief
This paper analyzes legislative proposals that address marriage, and the potential impact on current fatherhood programs serving low-income families. The initiation of fatherhood programs following the passage of the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act in 1996 is reviewed and current legislative proposals are described, including: the Child Support Distribution Act of 2001 and the Fathers Count Act of 1999, which combine child support reform measures with fatherhood provisions; the Strengthening Working Families Act, which contains child support distribution…
Other
Community foundations can promote responsible fatherhood by publicizing the important role of fathers, developing community resources, educating fathers about parenthood, and helping men overcome work-related challenges. In addition, community organizations can advocate for public policy reform to support father-child relationships. This guide provides examples of community foundation initiatives in each of these areas and highlights additional strategies for involvement. Recommendations include: examine the impact of foundation funding policies on fathers, participate in local Father's Day…
Other
A recent Bureau of Justice Statistics survey of inmates in state and federal correctional facilities found that in 1999 an estimated 1,498,800 children in the United States had incarcerated parents. The survey also reported that over half of state and federal inmates were parents and most of these were fathers. While researchers do attempt to document the effect a mother's incarceration has on her child, given the dearth of research on incarcerated fathers, it seems more difficult to interpret and measure the effect of a father's incarceration. This disparity might be attributed to any number…
Other
On November 15 and 16, 2001, more than 50 researchers, policymakers, practitioners, corrections officials, and other specialists in the field of fathers and families gathered in Philadelphia, PA, to convene the National Center on Fathers and Families' (NCOFF) "Roundtable on Constructing and Coping with Incarceration and Family Re-Entry: Perspectives from the Field." The discussion at NCOFF's roundtable focused on four general topics: (1) "The Effects of Parent Incarceration on Child and Family Welfare"; (2) "Practical Dimensions of Father Incarceration and Re-Entry: Race, Legal Representation…
Other
Questions are now being raised about the impact of imprisonment on children and families and the extent to which prisoners? families might be resources and assets, rather than liabilities, in promoting safer, resourceful communities. Recognition that the majority of women and men in prison are parents of dependent children and concerns about intergenerational crime and children at risk have placed parenting issues at the center of these discussions. This paper provides an overview of family matters during incarceration as one means of informing public debate and actions in this emerging area…
Other
In recent years, increased attention has been focused on the roles of fathers and their importance to the health and well-being of families; those roles and the policies and programs that could strengthen them were explored at the June First Tuesdays discussion moderated by Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute. Freya Sonenstein of the Urban Institute discussed strategies for improving the productive and social health of young men and that could prevent or at least delay unwed fatherhood. Christina Hoff Sommers of the American Enterprise Institute discussed how young men fare in school, and…
Other
This brief uses the 1997 National Survey of America's Families (NSAF) to examine the characteristics of poor nonresident fathers who do not pay child support. We find that these fathers face similar labor market barriers to those faced by the poor mothers, but the fathers have far fewer opportunities to increase their chances of labor market success. We conclude with suggestions about ways to help redress the balance of opportunity.
