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Journal Article Children tend to fare better when fathers are involved in their lives. Numerous studies have shown fathers’ emotional and financial involvement enhances children’s social, behavioral, and academic outcomes. In 2018, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) undertook the Fatherhood, Relationships, and Marriage – Illuminating the Next Generation of Research (FRAMING Research) project to systematically identify current gaps in the knowledge base for Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) and RF programming. Fathers involved in the criminal justice system often face…
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Journal Article The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study partnered with fatherhood experts and practitioners to identify new and promising approaches to supporting fathers working toward economic stability and improved relationships with their children. The study team tested three innovative, interactive skill-building approaches that addressed parenting and economic stability, within the context of existing programs offering services for fathers. The objective of the B3 study was to implement and test these innovative new interventions in the context of usual fatherhood services, and to learn whether…
Brief
Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual…
Other
This document presents a conceptual framework suggesting new approaches to improving economic self-sufficiency and well-being outcomes for low-income adults participating in employment programs. Grounded in research on the importance of goals and the factors that contribute to attaining them, the framework suggests interventions that seek to improve participants’ self-regulation skills and behaviors that can help them to achieve their goals. It also suggests ways that programs can change their practices to make it easier for participants to use their skills and increase the likelihood that…
Families on limited incomes can struggle to navigate low-wage jobs or education and training programs while also searching for quality early care and education for their children. Some programs provide integrated services to parents and their children in an effort to solve this problem. This practice is sometimes called a two-generation or whole-family approach. This report provides: (1) key findings from a literature review, an environmental scan, and field work to identify and describe existing program models; (2) development of a conceptual framework to inform program design and research;…
The STEP Forward program attempted to address issues facing low-income job seekers by offering them opportunities to interview for jobs with private sector employers at weekly job fairs, and by offering employers temporary wage subsidies to encourage them to try out job seekers whom they might not otherwise hire, with the goal of ultimately hiring these workers into permanent unsubsidized employment. A diverse group of low-income job seekers enrolled in the program, the vast majority of whom were either CalWORKs (California’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program) clients,…
This report provides an understanding of programmatic responsible fatherhood features that lead to strong engagement and participation by the fathers and provide context for the evaluation's forthcoming results on parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability. This report specifically addresses three questions: 1) What were the circumstances, experiences, needs, and concerns of fathers at program entry? 2)To what extent and how did programs seek to address the needs, concerns, and circumstances presented by fathers; and 3) How did fathers respond to the offered programming in terms…
Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners are increasingly interested in the role that self-regulation may play in the ability of people to obtain and maintain employment. This interest is motivated by findings from three broad strands of research. First, research suggests self-regulation is necessary for goal setting and goal pursuit, which in turn foster positive outcomes across a variety of contexts. Second, there is growing evidence that the conditions associated with poverty can hinder the development and/or use of self-regulation skills. Third, evidence suggests that self-regulation…
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, describes activities the Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs used to foster economic stability for participating fathers and their families. The brief presents recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry projects, for practitioners implementing economic stability activities for the reentry population. (Author abstract)
The evaluation of the Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Projects (“Fatherhood Reentry”) documented the implementation of six programs designed to help stabilize fathers and their families, help move fathers toward economic self-sufficiency, and reduce recidivism. This report presents the findings from the evaluation and provides an overview of the activities implemented by the programs, describes their various approaches to implementation, and identifies the implementation challenges they faced and the solutions they used to overcome those challenges. We…
