This paper provides background information on the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), explains the basic requirements of ICWA, provides an overview of tribal child welfare and court systems, discusses disproportionality and its relationship to trends in ICWA compliance, highlights promising practices in State policy and practice that support ICWA, and underscores the necessity of working with tribal advocates on State child welfare policy change. Key ICWA requirements are summarized, as well as recommended practices that address State law, intergovernmental agreements, tribal-state forums,…
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Journal Article This research investigated African American fathers' involvement in the school-based lives of their elementary-aged children using the Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model of parent involvement and Epstein's framework of involvement. Questionnaires were administered to 101 African American males in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Multiple regression analyses found predictive relationships between attitudes and behaviors that influence African American fathers' decisions to be involved and the types of involvement related to the child's schooling. Results revealed significant…
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Journal Article Using latent profile analysis, the authors examined patterns of mother - father involvement in adolescents' peer relationships along three dimensions-support, guidance, and restrictions-in 240 Mexican-origin families. Three profiles were identified: (a) High Mother Involvement (mothers higher than fathers on all three dimensions), (b) High Support/Congruent (mothers and fathers reported the highest levels of peer support and similar levels of guidance and restrictions), and (c) Differentiated (more guidance and restrictions by fathers than by mothers, similar levels of parent support). These…
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Journal Article This article attempts to refute the deficit-thinking perspectives that permeate the parent involvement literature to better understand the micro-aggressions experienced by undocumented Latino immigrant fathers as they engage with their children. We explore the following 3 questions: (a) What types of micro-aggressions do undocumented Latino immigrant fathers endure on a daily basis? (b) How do these micro-aggressions impact their lives and their engagement with their children? (c) How do fathers counter micro-aggressions? (Author abstract)
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Journal Article This study examines whether levels of father engagement (e.g., verbal stimulation, caregiving, and physical play) vary by race/ethnicity using a model that controls for fathers' human capital, mental health, and family relationships. It also tests whether the models work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Its sample of N=5,089 infants and their families is drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). We found that, after including controls, African American and Latino fathers had higher levels of engagement in caregiving and physical play activities than…
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Journal Article The benefits of high-quality father-child relationships for fathers and children alike are well documented. While evidence suggests parenting programs can improve the quality of father-child relationships, few fathers participate in such programs. This qualitative study aims to fill the gap in knowledge on best practices for recruiting urban African American fathers, a group of fathers with unique parenting challenges, to parenting programs. Focus groups were conducted with 29 fathers to gain their perspectives on recruitment strategies. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with…
The situation of high unemployment for black men is not new. It has persisted for decades, and scholars, sociologists, economists, policy makers, and advocates have brought attention to various aspects of this challenge and put forth solutions. Yet, it is seemingly an intractable situation. In 2012, three years after the end of the recession, the black male unemployment rate was in the double digits for every age category up to age 65. This was not the case for any other racial group. In 2010, half of working black men were employed in the two occupational clusters with the lowest average…
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Journal Article The children of Mexican immigrants face formidable barriers to achieving socioeconomic mobility due to their parents? precarious economic position and high rates of unauthorized status. In the short term, Mexican immigrants often coreside in extended household living arrangements with extended kin and unrelated friends and associates to shelter themselves from economic deprivation and insecurity of unauthorized status. Using individual-level Census data, the present study examines how family economic resources relate to household living arrangements. The results are consistent with various…
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Journal Article Cultural models are shared frameworks that people use to make sense of the world. The cultural model of father involvement (a) specifies ideal roles fathers should play, (b) provides evaluations of involvement, and (c) describes the benefits of fathers' interactions with offspring for family members. Discourse about benefits of father involvement remains underexamined empirically but is vital to study because it may motivate and/or justify fathering actions. We perform content analysis on the 575 Parents' Magazine articles on fathering (1926-2006) to describe articulated benefits of father…
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Journal Article Current descriptions of coparenting (i.e., shared decision making between parents and the coordination of parenting activities; Feinberg, 2002; McHale & Kuersten-Hogan, 2004) often are not informed by diverse cultural or family contexts, or by the perspectives of fathers. One group that has been notably absent in the coparenting literature is African American fathers. We conducted semistructured, qualitative interviews with 30 African American fathers (28-60 years of age) of a preadolescent, biological son at-risk for depression, aggression, or both. Informed by grounded theory, we…
