Other
This brief lists resources for engaging fathers in the healthy development of their children. Ten resources are listed and include resources on lessons learned from the Early Head Start Fatherhood Demonstration Projects, the National Fatherhood Clearinghouse, Head Start approaches to strengthening families, and the Fatherhood First program. Descriptions include links for additional information.
Other
This article discusses reasons for the lack of father involvement in child rearing, the benefits of father involvement for children's well-being, and the benefits of father engagement that are specific to child protective services and foster care. Strategies for engaging fathers are discussed in the areas of agency commitment, locating and recruiting fathers, the initial contact, and on-going contact. Characteristics of successful father engagement programs are also noted.
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Journal Article The study reported here evaluated the efficacy of Partners in Parenting (PIP), which, in collaboration with Colorado State University Extension, was implemented in seven counties across Colorado. A total of 54 parents took part in the study. A pretest/posttest design was used to assess short-term changes in parenting practices, parental attitudes, and parental stress following intervention. After PIP, parents demonstrated improvement in basic elements of parent-child relationships and parenting attitudes and skills. These promising results warrant further investigation into the benefits of…
This fact sheet lists inappropriate and appropriate responses to children who are behaving badly. Caregivers are urged to provide children with choices, validate the feelings of the child while stating the inappropriate nature of the behavior, communicate how the behavior is making the caregiver feel, and reaffirm their commitment to the child even when the child is making bad choices.
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Journal Article A growing body of research documents the importance of positive father involvement in children's development. However, research on fathers in Latino families is sparse, and research contextualizing the father-child relationship within a cultural framework is needed. The present study examined how fathers' cultural practices and values predicted their fifth-grade children's report of positive father involvement in a sample of 450 two-parent Mexican-origin families. Predictors included Spanish- and English-language use, Mexican and American cultural values, and positive machismo (i.e.,…
Webinar
This webinar presented ideas, strategies and resources to use in working with dads to enhance their parenting knowledge and skills. Topics included: sharing strategies programs might use to show fathers the importance of early father-infant bonding; looking at ways to help fathers increase their understanding of child development and age-appropriate behavior; considering approaches to engage fathers in discussion about appropriate child discipline; and, providing examples of activities that two of your fellow grantees have used to help fathers with parenting knowledge and skills. (Author…
Webinar
A big part of fatherhood work is helping fathers "tell their story" to themselves, their children and their partners. As John Badalament pointed out in our April webinar, it is important that fathers "be known" to their children. It is also important that your fatherhood program be known to the community, particularly to potential participants and funders. This webinar looked at ways to tell that story and included: capturing the right quantitative and qualitative data; how to interpret and describe that data for diverse audiences; examples of brochures and other written materials;…
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Journal Article The current study investigated how fathering behaviors (acceptance, rejection, monitoring, consistent discipline, and involvement) are related to preadolescent adjustment in Mexican American and European American stepfamilies and intact families. Cross-sectional data from 393 7th graders, their schoolteachers, and parents were used to examine links between different dimensions of fathering and adolescent outcomes. Following an ecological multivariate model, family SES, marital satisfaction, and mothers' parenting were included as controls. In all contexts, fathering had significant effects…
This brief offers practical tools to agency attorneys on their role in better engaging fathers in child welfare court cases. It includes guidance on: Identifying and locating fathers; Resolving paternity issues; Assessing whether the father can be a placement or other support to the child; Establishing agency policies that promote father engagement.
Brief
Low-skilled men, especially minorities, typically work at low levels and provide little support for their children. Conservatives blame this on government willingness to support families, which frees the fathers from responsibility, while liberals say that men are denied work by racial bias or the economy--either a lack of jobs or low wages, which depress the incentive to work. The evidence for all these theories is weak. Thus, changing program benefits or incentives is unlikely to solve the men's work problem. More promising is the idea of linking assistance with administrative requirements…
