Research shows that children and families do better when fathers are involved. Kids exhibit better school performance, increased self-esteem and improved relationships with peers, while parents feel less stress when they support each other and co-parent. This toolkit is based on a programmatic review of fatherhood involvement efforts in early childhood programs and is a collection of the many tangible steps a WIC site can take to become more inclusive of men and dads. (Author introduction modified)
Brief
This brief from the Head Start Health Manager Descriptive Study explores family engagement through these research questions: In what ways do Head Start/Early Head Start programs support family engagement in health-related aspects of program services? What are the barriers to family engagement in health-related aspects of program services from the health manager perspective? To what extent do barriers to family engagement differ by program or health manager characteristics and the populations served? What are the implications regarding family engagement for Head Start/Early Head Start health…
With a growing focus on the importance of men's reproductive health, including preconception health, the ways in which young men's knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) predict their reproductive paths are understudied. Young men's KAB in adolescence predicts their future fatherhood and residency status. Strategies that address adolescent males' reproductive KAB are needed in the prevention of unintended reproductive consequences such as early and nonresident fatherhood. (Author abstract modified)
Where and when during childhood and adolescence do people acquire the foundations of financial capability? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) researched the childhood origins of financial capability and well-being to identify those roots and to find promising practices and strategies to support their development. Our new report, “Building Blocks to Help Youth Achieve Financial Capability: A New Model and Recommendations,” illuminates critical attributes, abilities, and opportunities acquired during the years spanning preschool through young adulthood that support the development…
This chapter describes the Family Life Project, a large-scale longitudinal study that chronicles the lives of African American and non-African American children and their families living in two poor rural areas of the US: Appalachia and the Black South. The breadth of the Family Life Project data allows us to expand the previous literature on rural poverty and to highlight the notion that the effects of poverty are not limited to low levels of income, but are rather fused with several “correlated constraints” that co-occur with poverty: low maternal education, low job prestige, non-standard…
Brief
Employment Pathways for Boys and Young Men of Color: Solutions and Strategies That Can Make a Difference is part of a larger issue brief series aimed at identifying and disseminating best practices that support the well-being and empowerment of boys and young men of color. In particular, this brief discusses promising strategies to improve employment outcomes for young men of color and the role of public policy in dismantling discrimination and promoting pathways to work. (Author abstract)
Brief
Young men may not be sure which contraceptive method their female partner uses, or may incorrectly assume a female partner is using contraception when she is not. We looked at young men's and women's reports of recent contraceptive use, within heterosexual couples, and found inconsistencies in their reports. (Author abstract)
Brief
As states work to strengthen supports for young children's mental health, often with the goal of reducing the incidence of costly conditions at later ages, they face the question of how to finance new or expanded services. This brief examines states' use of Medicaid as a key source of funding for early childhood mental health (ECMH) services. It presents the results of a 50-state survey that gathered information from state administrators about Medicaid coverage and related policies concerning the following services for children from birth to age 6: child screening for social-emotional…
This report is the fourth and final in a series on Self-Regulation and Toxic Stress; it is targeted specifically towards program administrators and practitioners. This report reviews the key concepts for understanding self-regulation, including the relationship between stress and self-regulation. Additionally, it summarizes principal findings from a comprehensive review of self-regulation interventions. Finally and most importantly, it addresses how current theory and knowledge of self-regulation may apply to programs and practitioners serving children and youth in different developmental…
Brief
A widespread stereotype about low-income children is that they have “deadbeat dads.” That is, that their fathers do not live with them and are not involved in bringing them up. In this study, Urban Institute scholars found that fathers who lived with their children tended to spend more time with them: helping them with homework, taking them to the extracurricular activities, offering emotional support, etc. In this study, we assume that positive fathering is related to child well-being. The key finding, however, was that this pattern held true for both low-income and high-income residential…
