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The majority of children in the child welfare system do not live with their fathers, increasing their risk for poverty, criminal activity, school withdrawal, substance abuse, and teen pregnancy. Despite the benefits of father involvement, many child welfare workers do not address father-child relationships in their assessments and services to families. This article identifies several strategies to engage fathers in child welfare work, including assessing the reasons for limited contact, using materials designed specifically for fathers, and helping mothers and children to appreciate the role…
This paper examines the impact of substance abuse on family functioning from two perspectives: children as victims of parental drug use and the family's role in preventing children's abuse of drugs and alcohol. The discussion addresses the health effects of parental substance abuse on the family in the form of prenatal exposure, environmental tobacco smoke, and injuries to children when parents are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The financial consequences of smoking and alcohol abuse, marital problems related to substance abuse, social isolation, and risk for domestic violence…
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Training Materials The National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) Advanced Fatherhood Training Curriculum was developed in response to feedback from practitioners asking how to engage fathers, especially when they are resistant or reluctant to get involved with their children. This curriculum focuses on the skills needed to engage fathers and best practice in working with fathers.The AFTC training package contains:- 30-page manual featuring: differences in fathers' and mothers' communication and parenting styles; strategies for overcoming obstacles to father involvement; helpful hints when engaging fathers…
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Journal Article The use of group interventions with parents to prevent child maltreatment and to support positive parenting has been demonstrated to be effective. This article describes an experiential group approach to working with fathers in diverse settings. The format provides both content about parenting and a context for fathers to develop their own '"voice'" as parent through a combination of leader directed parenting education and opportunities for participant fathers to build positive supportive relationships with one another. In this article, the curriculum for this group approach is described,…
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The Building Strong Families (BSF) project aims to foster the development of programs designed to enhance children's well being by helping new, unmarried parents build stronger relationships and achieve a healthy marriage if they so choose. The motivation and design of BSF programs draw heavily on findings about unmarried parents from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. This research brief summarizes information from that study about the characteristics and relationship patterns of unwed parents. While not representative of all unwed parents, the study sample is representative of…
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Journal Article The parenting dynamics of batterers can be the source of considerable trauma and abuse to children, in addition to that incurred by witnessing violence against their mothers. Bancroft and Silverman describe how batterers are at high risk of physically, sexually, and psychologically abusing and exploiting their children, and how a batterer's attempts at pathological control of the family often continue after separation through custody disputes and during visitation. Intimidation by batterers also prevents mothers from protecting their children and using their parenting strengths. This article…
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Journal Article This special issue focuses on teen parenthood and includes articles that address the developmental trajectory for children born to teenage parents, protective factors for teen parents and their children, intervention efforts to promote resiliency, and the experiences of infants of teenage parents. An introductory article discusses the risks associated with adolescent parenthood and community-based strategies to support young families. The following article reviews findings from large national studies on the effects of early care and intervention on the children of adolescents. The next…
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Journal Article Five focus groups substantially agreeed about the lack of paternal participation in child welfare services and the reasons for low paternal involvement. The groups had considerable disagreement about whether child welfare professionals should address this issue. Some caseworkers believed that all fathers and mothers should be treated identically with respect to services to be offered and time frames for services; other caseworkers thought that the special circumstances of some fathers, such as lack of child care experience, called for service approaches that differ from those for mothers.…
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Fathering After Violence (FAV) is a national initiative developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) and its partners to enhance the safety and well-being of women and children by motivating men who have perpetrated violence against women to renounce their violence and become better fathers (or father figures) and more supportive parenting partners. FAV is NOT a program per se or a quick solution to a complex problem. Rather, it is a conceptual framework to help end violence against women by using fatherhood as a leading approach that can be integrated into existing programs. Using…
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This CD-ROM contains information on how strategies presented in the Parenting Wisely series are successfully implemented. Parenting Wisely (PW) is a self-administered, computer-based program that teaches parents and their children important skills to enhance relationships and decrease conflict through behavior management and support. The program is designed to improve child adjustment and has the potential to reduce delinquency, substance abuse, and involvement with the juvenile justice system. The program uses an interactive CD-ROM in which parents view video scenes of common family problems…
