On May 16, 2002, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4737, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2002, which, among other things, amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to encourage states to make more efforts to promote marriage and, to a lesser extent, responsible fatherhood. The bill also earmarks substantial funds -- $1.6 billion -- focused almost exclusively for the promotion and support of marriage. In this paper, we describe and analyze the various family formation provisions in H.R. 4737 and offer recommendations for how the…
red dot icon
Journal Article In his new book, The Marriage Problem: How Our Culture Has Weakened Families, James Q. Wilson argues that "in much of the Western and Caribbean worlds, marriage is in trouble." Wilson reports that the results have been devastating, especially for children. He calls for cultural and institutional changes that would strengthen marriage. Meanwhile, in a recent edition of The American Prospect, Janet C. Gornick argued that feminists are not opposed to marriage, and that feminists and conservatives should be able to find some common ground. For example, both would like to strengthen fathers' ties…
Low-income families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio were interviewed twice during a 16-month period about children's living arrangements. At the time of the first interview, 57 percent of children were living with their mother, who was neither married nor cohabitating. Twenty percent of children lived with two married, biological parents; five percent lived with two cohabitating biological parents; five percent lived with a mother who was married to a nonbiological father; nine percent lived with neither parent; and two percent lived with a mother who was cohabitating with a man who was…
A review of data from the United States Census and other sources reveals that the trend in father absence is stabilizing. Currently, approximately one-third of all children in the United States do not live with their biological father and 27 percent of children live in single-parent homes. Thirty-three percent of births in the year 2000 were to unwed parents. Almost half of the children who do not live with their father have not seen their father in at least one year. Fatherlessness is related to child poverty, drug use, educational problems, and health and behavioral problems. Children…
This chapter proposes that child social development is influenced by the interaction between the family social system and the peer social system. Fathers have an impact on their children's peer relationships in one of three ways: the characteristics of the father-child relationship; the type of supervision and advice that the father gives to the child; and the father's support of social opportunities for the child to meet and play with peers. Children's peer relationships also can be directly and indirectly affected by their father's marital relationships. Studies have found evidence that…
This booklet describes strategies adults can use to co-parent effectively whether living together or apart. Information is provided on the benefits of co-parenting, developing a parenting plan, building a strong parenting team, communicating effectively, working out disagreements, providing appropriate discipline to children, and working as a team with your co-parent. Specific tips are then given for co-parenting when parents are living apart.
navy dot icon
Training Materials Designed for trainers, this manual presents the Developing Independence and Responsibility youth training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES) and research findings on the effectiveness of the Creating Lasting Connections project, the manual outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and…
navy dot icon
Training Materials Designed for trainers, this manual presents the Developing a Positive Response youth training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES) and research findings on the effectiveness of the Creating Lasting Connections project, the manual outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and provides an…
navy dot icon
Training Materials Designed for youth, this notebook includes exercises for the Developing a Positive Response youth training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES), the notebook outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and provides an overview of the Developing a Positive Response training. Brief articles…
navy dot icon
Training Materials Designed for parents, this notebook includes exercises for the Raising Resilient Youth parent training component of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Curriculum, a curriculum for promoting the healthy development of youth at risk for alcohol and other drug abuse. After providing information on the Council on Prevention and Education: Substances, Inc. (COPES), the notebook outlines the individual training components that make up the Creating Lasting Family Connections prevention program model and includes an overview of the Raising Resilient Youth training. Brief articles, exercises,…
