red dot icon
Journal Article
A nonresident parent is a person 15 years or older who does not reside for most nights in the same household as one or more of his or her biological, adopted, or stepchildren under age 21. Research finds that many nonresident parents and their children are economically vulnerable, and government policies often have substantial impacts on their lives. This report reviews demographic, relationship, and economic characteristics of nonresident parents, with additional focus on the low-income subset of such parents. The report also presents data on nonresident parents’ child support payments.…
Brief
This resource provides an overview of the Colorado Parent Employment Program (CO-PEP). CO-PEP focuses on helping noncustodial parents overcome barriers to employment in order to increase child support payments. An assessment of the program is underway.
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…
red dot icon
Journal Article
Mixed methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fathers Offering Children Unfailing Support (FOCUS) program. FOCUS is a diversion program which is designed to offer an alternative to incarceration for fathers who are noncompliant with child support payments. Quantitative data were collected through a pretest/posttest design (n = 55) and qualitative data were collected through telephone interviews with FOCUS instructors (n = 2) and community key stakeholders (n = 5) and focus groups with FOCUS participants (n = 76). FOCUS appears to be benefiting children by increasing their…
As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities in outcomes for the next generation. This paper reviews evidence about the effectiveness of two strategies to strengthen fathers' involvement and family relationships-- fatherhood programs aimed at disadvantaged noncustodial fathers and relationship…
This action plan reviews both federal and state barriers to identifying and serving children of incarcerated parents, and offers policy recommendations for the U.S. Congress and the Administration. The action plan is designed to help federal leaders improve policies for children of incarcerated parents, but also includes recommendations of value to states and local governments that can facilitate and complement federal initiatives and result in better responses to this population. (Author abstract)
red dot icon
Journal Article
This study examines the relationships among nonresident fathers' financial support, informal instrumental support, mothers' parenting and parenting stress, and their children's behavioral and cognitive development in single-mother families with low income. Informed by stress-coping and social support models, this study estimates the mediating effects of nonresident fathers' financial support on children's outcomes transmitted through mothers' parenting and parenting stress. The analyses use the longitudinal data from a subsample of 679 single mothers in the Fragile Families and Child…
The effectiveness of fatherhood programs working with low-income and mostly noncustodial fathers are reviewed in this chapter, including results from the Children First program, eight federally funded demonstration projects designed to increase noncustodial parents access to their children, and the Parents Fair Share program. Lessons learned from the evaluations of these programs are shared. 30 references.
The Common Ground project brought together advocates, practitioners, and researchers who work primarily with low-income mothers and fathers, to develop and advance public policy recommendations to promote effective co-parenting relationships and ensure emotional and financial support for children. This first report focuses on issues surrounding the establishment of paternity. It begins by discussing paternity establishment before and after the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), the increase of children born to unmarried parents, and…
The role of noncustodial fathers in the lives of low-income families has received considerable attention from policymakers and programs in recent years. While child support enforcement efforts have increased dramatically in recent years, there is evidence that many low-income fathers cannot afford to support their children financially without impoverishing themselves or their families. To address these complex issues, a number of initiatives have focused on developing services to help low-income fathers become more financially and emotionally involved with their families, and to help young…
