This InfoSheet presents research findings from the 2006 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study, What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate, and Involve Nonresident Fathers, which was conducted by the Urban Institute with the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Based on this research, it offers ways in which caseworkers can locate and work with fathers to get them involved with their children.
Men on a Mission provides the first comprehensive study of men who work and volunteer with kids in a variety of public settings. This engaging book brings to life diverse histories and experiences of men who have worked as coaches, teachers, youth ministers, probation officers, Big Brothers, Boys & Girls Club staff, 4-H agents, and the like.Drawing on in-depth interviews with men between the ages of 19 and 65, ethnographic observations, and more than twenty years of research on fathers, William Marsiglio explores the many aspects of male mentorship of youth, including the motivating…
The sheet offers practical tips for guiding your program into the future, especially as many federal grants wind down. Managing the daily activities of a healthy marriage and relationship education (HMR) program can leave little time for thinking about the future. However, preparing for the future is a necessity for HMR programs interested in program sustainability. This tip sheet will: 1) define program sustainability 2) address important factors for achieving program sustainability and 3) provide guidance on how HMR programs can position themselves to carry on beyond the life of their…
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Journal Article In this article, the authors report the results of an evaluation study of a program for couples during the transition to parenthood on father involvement in child care. One-hundred-twenty couples were assigned to 1 of the 3 groups: a treatment group that received the Welcome Baby new-parent, home-visiting program focused on infant development and health, supplemented with the self-guided Marriage Moments program focused on strengthening couple relationships; a comparison group that received just the Welcome Baby program; or a control group. The study revealed that the treatment group fathers…
This study, the first of its kind, provides an estimate of the taxpayer costs of father absence. More precisely, it estimates the annual expenditures made by the federal government to support father-absent homes. These federal expenditures include those made on thirteen means-tested antipoverty programs and child support enforcement, and the total expenditures add up to a startling $99.8 billion. (Author abstract)
This activity book describes strategies for strengthening families drawn from telephone interviews with 1,000 adults in Minnesota, 400 family questionnaires, 12 focus groups with families of various ethnic groups, and five family forums. Nine family strengths are identified and discussed: communication, health, time together, spirituality, support, respect, unity, cultural traditions, and extended sense of family. For each strength, activities are suggested as well as ideas from other families. The booklet closes with worksheets for families to complete to identify their own strengths and…
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Journal Article This paper presents a case study of one local (United Kingdom) Sure Start programme's significant success in engaging large numbers of fathers with its services. The paper details both the levels of male involvement in the programme over time and the strategies found to be effective in involving men. Numbers of fathers using programme services rose to over 100 in 2005, with the total number of male attendances exceeding 1000 in that same year. The successful engagement of fathers in this programme's activities was found to be a result of a combination of both strategic and day-to-day…
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Journal Article Accounts of fathers' reluctance to engage with locally based family learning groups rarely acknowledge the relationship between learning and identity. This tends not to be the case in parallel accounts of women's reluctance to become involved in groups or networks where the mainstream clientele is male. Drawing on the case study of a national initiative aimed at developing family literacy in local communities throughout the UK, it is argued that decisions to join or not to join these groups is primarily social and cultural rather than individual. This means that the attendance of fathers…
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Journal Article The focus of this article will be intimate partner violence among custodial parents receiving welfare benefits and their required cooperation with the child support enforcement system to encourage the financial involvement of the noncustodial parent. The majority of the mothers in the study encouraged the father's continued emotional involvement with their child despite the violence. This article will illustrate through the use of a case study the desire of these mothers to encourage both a financial and emotional relationship with their child's father, with safety always a priority. (Author…
Community Integration Workbook speaks directly to those readers who are looking to change their lives for the better, and who find themselves in groups of likeminded souls, groups facilitated by professional or paraprofessional counselors. It is also an effective tool for guiding the individual counseling of similar clients.
The purpose of this book is to provide a counseling guide, emphasizing the transition from institutions like prison, jail, halfway houses, homeless shelters, inpatient alcohol and substance abuse treatment facilities, mental hospitals, and various therapeutic…
