Brief
What makes for a good teen fatherhood program? The timing of fatherhood is a powerful organizer of the paternal role. Early entry into fatherhood is a non-normative event and often accelerates role transitions. Even before they become fathers, teen fathers are a particularly vulnerable group of males whose family backgrounds and life-stressors tend to differ from older men and men who do not become fathers during adolescence. For many years, teen fathers were either overlooked or blamed for their role in teen pregnancy. However, interest in designing programs to reduce teen pregnancy, and…
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Journal Article Literature in developmental psychology suggests that mothers and fathers both play unique and important roles in their children’s development. However, research investigating the unique contributions and psychological functioning of fathers of youth with developmental disabilities, and the role that fathers play in effective intervention, remains limited. Whereas evidence suggests that parent-mediated interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to increased engagement from parents, and reduced stress and psychopathology commonly experienced by parents of youth with…
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Journal Article Lower baseline testosterone (T) among men is generally associated with more sympathetic and nurturant responses to infant stimuli. The effect of exposure to infant crying on men’s levels of T, however, is not well understood. The present study aimed to measure men’s T responses to high and low levels of infant crying. Changes in fathers’ (n = 18) and non-fathers’ (n = 28) salivary T levels from baseline were measured in response to caring for an infant simulator programmed to cry often (high-demand condition) or infrequently (low-demand condition) during a 20-min caregiving simulation. Men…
Brief
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.
Other
This blog post provides an overview of the Young Family Resource Center (YFRC). The YFRC opened its doors in 2006 to expand services for young parents beyond case management by providing parenting education, vocational services, psychotherapy, and skill-building workshops. The resource center is a trailblazer – it is California’s first peer-directed, peer-focused program for young parents and their families. From its childbirth and breastfeeding classes to its sewing and cooking lessons, the YFRC offers youth many opportunities to learn and to gain confidence in their roles as parents. (…
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Journal Article In the second half of the 20th century, the United States experienced a massive increase in incarceration. In response to this growth, a burgeoning scholarship has sought to explore the collateral consequences of incarceration for young children. However, this scholarship has less frequently explored the impact of incarceration on long-term outcomes, how incarceration experienced in periods other than early childhood impacts children, and whether the incarceration of family members other than parents has negative implications for children. Using data from the children of the mothers in the…
Webinar
This Webinar focuses on working with young and teen fathers, including a program in California focusing on Latino fathers. (Author abstract)
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Training Materials The R Factor was created in response to a successful middle school curriculum at Dads Make a Difference. The middle school curriculum builds awareness of the issues of paternity and father involvement. The high school curriculum immerses the student in case studies, discussion of complex social issues, and expert articles, challenging the student to plan for self-improvement and a healthy future and gives students a chance to learn an invaluable skill--teach them to build resiliency.The R Factor can be completed in eight to ten class periods and allows for flexibility and optional activities…
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Training Materials The Dads Make a Difference (DMAD) middle school curriculum is a positive youth development, pregnancy prevention, paternity education program in which male and female high school teens trained as peer educators teach middle school-age youth about the importance of fathers in children's lives, about the responsibilities of being a parent, including legal responsibilities, and about the importance of making responsible choices about risky behavior so as not to become a parent too soon.Curriculum includes: an 18-minute video, four activity-based lessons taught by high school-aged teens to middle…
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Journal Article Approximately one in four incarcerated male young offenders in the UK is an actual or expectant father. This paper reviews evidence on the effectiveness of parenting interventions for male young offenders. We conducted systematic searches across 20 databases and consulted experts. Twelve relevant evaluations were identified: 10 from the UK, of programmes for incarcerated young offenders, and two from the US, of programmes for young parolees. None used experimental methods or included a comparison group. They suggest that participants like the courses, find them useful, and the interventions…
