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Journal Article The new welfare reform law includes a number of provisions designed to increase the amount of child support paid by nonresident fathers, but little is known about whether stronger child support enforcement may create parental conflict. Parental conflict may increase when fathers do not wish to pay or when fathers pay and demand more time with their child, but mothers resist these demands. Using seven-city data from the study of Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing, the authors find that very few parents are opposed to the idea that fathers should have child support obligations and rights to…
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Journal Article While considerable research has been carried out on the experiences of birth mothers in adoption, birth fathers remain a relatively neglected group. As part of an ongoing project to redress the balance, Gary Clapton explores the life course of a group of 30 birth fathers ranging in age from 35 to late 60s. Beginning with the immediate post-adoption period, he traces the men's early feelings of grief and loss, and in a minority of cases, alleged indifference, through to a spectrum of emotions spanning curiosity, concern, regret and 'connectedness'. The author points to similarities with the…
The increase in the proportion of children living in female-headed families implies that men's likelihood of living with their children has declined. However, this may understate men's coresidence with children as many female family heads live with other men, either with their fathers or in cohabitating relationships. Many of the absent fathers of children in female headed families live with children other than their own, such as their younger siblings or stepchildren. This paper examines patterns of coresidence with children under age 15 during the period 1880 to 1990 in the United States,…
Greater collaboration is needed between researchers, policymakers, and child welfare practitioners in creating social policies to foster improved parenting by fathers. This chapter examines ways policymakers and researchers have historically approached efforts to encourage responsible fathering, and the lack of systematic data from practitioners on the problems and issues they face with regard to fathers. Practice-derived research can provide greater insight into actual problems, as well as offer necessary data for policies aimed at providing solutions for families. Focus groups can help…
The increase in the number of children being born to unmarried parents present a number of social policy issues for strengthening the involvement of unwed fathers with their children. This working paper examines trends in out-of-wedlock childbearing, the influence of fathers in child development, and how social policies such as welfare, child support, and fathering programs affect unwed fathers and their family involvement. The authors discuss a number of studies that have found paternal involvement to be associated with better emotional, behavioral, and developmental outcomes in children, as…
The degree of paternal economic and emotional investment in children and families has a major impact on child outcomes, however trends away from two-parent families indicate the need for social policy changes to further encourage active involvement by fathers, married or otherwise. The authors consider a number of economic factors that may contribute to the drift away from two-parent families in this review of the economic literature on welfare reform, child support enforcement, and labor markets, and their possible influence on paternal disengagement through divorce, separation and birth to…
A survey of the fifty States and the District of Columbia on fatherhood initiatives identified 31 commissions, initiatives, and programs, 3 of which were inactive. This report provides a State-by-State profile of the different initiatives. The profiles include information on the development of the program, the mission, duties and responsibilities, meetings and reporting requirements, agency contact, and activities to date. Findings from the survey indicate several States reported that administration and implementation of all, or at least part, of their fatherhood activities were contracted to…
The best interests of the child are not being served by court practices that severely restrict a father's access to his children. This book describes the negative consequences of father absence for children and outlines the benefits of joint custody arrangements. The chapters summarize psychiatric and psychological literature about the importance of both parents to child development and provide a history of the evolution of the family and family law. Children's rights and international law, injustice in the court system, and demographics are discussed. The book also provides a father's…
