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The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to supporting the economic and social well-being of children and families. ACF programs aim to empower families, support the development of children, and encourage strong, healthy communities.

This guide provides a listing and details of services for fathers and families. 

Many fathers who participate in fatherhood programs do not live with all of their children. They often seek help from fatherhood programs to navigate the child support system, determine how they can spend more time with their children, or improve their coparenting relationships. Unfortunately, it can be quite complicated for programs to provide this assistance, particularly when working with unmarried fathers.

This brief delves into the challenges that can arise and discusses parenting time and child support information that fatherhood programs can use to help unmarried fathers…

In 2016, more than one in four children under 21 in the United States lived in a household apart from one of their parents. In 80 percent of these households, the custodial parent was the mother and the non-residential parent was the father. The amount and frequency of financial support that both parents provide shapes household economic stability, which can also affect children’s overall health and well-being. Non-residential parents often have a legal obligation to help pay the costs associated with raising their children. However, some non-residential parents pay these costs…

This research brief from the Office of Child Support Enforcement identifies findings from a five-site Parenting Time Opportunities for Children (PTOC) grant. This grant, awarded to child support agencies in California, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Oregon, was intended to demonstrate how child support agencies can include parenting time orders in child support enforcement actions and how the increases in noncustodial parenting time, with safeguards in place for child welfare, led to improved relationships and increased compliance with child support payment.

In fiscal year 2018, noncustodial parents were obligated to pay nearly $33.6 billion in current child support on behalf of the 15 million children served by the Title IV-D child support program. One-third of that, or $11 billion, was not collected. Unemployment is the leading reason for non-payment of child support by noncustodial parents. This brief will explore the opportunities at the state and federal levels to provide employment services to noncustodial parents and increase child support payments in the process.

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.

This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) resource provides information on paternity establishment for practitioners who work with unmarried fathers. Laws and procedures vary from state to state; therefore, we provide information that is generally true across states, but recommend practitioners are prepared to discuss state-specific information with their participants. For help finding more information, you or the fathers you work with can call the NRFC Helpline at 1-877-4DAD-411. You can also go to our online state profiles, which include information about specific laws on…