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Journal Article Most crimes committed by adolescents in the United States are linked to gang activity, which is disproportionally present in Latina/o communities. Although most gang-involved teenage fathers wish that their children would not join gangs, their parenting tends to foster gang involvement in their children. An improved understanding of fatherhood among gang-involved U.S. Latino youth can inform the development of parenting- and fatherhood-focused interventions. To foster such understanding, we conducted interviews and focus groups with purposive samples of young gang-involved Latino fathers,…
Webinar
Research has shown that fathers returning to their families and communities after a period of incarceration often face multiple challenges, such as housing, employment, child support, and complicated family relationships (Fontaine et al, 2017, Final Implementation Findings from the Responsible Fatherhood Reentry Projects). Please join us for a discussion of ways in which fatherhood programs can help returning fathers and their families overcome these challenges. A list of helpful resources will be provided, and attendees will hear from the perspectives of a researcher, two practitioners,…
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Journal Article The present study is a replication of the Creating Lasting Family Connections Fatherhood Program (CLFCFP) using a randomized controlled trial (RCT). CLFCFP has been shown in prior studies to have a positive impact on relationship skills and recidivism using weaker quasi-experimental designs (McKiernan et al., 2013). Survey data on relationship skills and recidivism data came from 280 men in prison reentry. Findings for relationship skills were replicated in this RCT, suggesting CLFCFP participants had larger sustained improvements in relationship skills. Policy changes occurring shortly…
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Journal Article This study extended work on the consequences of incarceration for families by linking parents’ incarcerations to their material support of children entering adulthood. It examined two categories of support, parental transfers of cash and shared housing, that are known deficits among young children of incarcerated parents and that play important roles in young adult attainment and well-being. Propensity score analyses of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N [Wave3] = 14,023; N [Wave4] = 14,361) revealed that previously incarcerated mothers were less likely to give…
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Journal Article As the male prison population increases, so too does the number of children with fathers in prison. The negative impact of fatherlessness on children has been well documented. While parenting education is often seen as an effective tool to improve the quality of family relationships and foster positive outcomes for children, fathers in prison frequently are ignored or excluded from parenting programs. This mixed method study examined the impact of short term parenting education on fathers in prison who were enrolled in a 3-day parenting class. A simple experimental design was coupled with…
Other, Fact Sheet
The incarceration of a loved one can be very overwhelming for both children and caregivers. It can bring about big changes and transitions. In simple everyday ways, you can comfort your child and guide her through these tough moments. With your love and support she can get through anything that comes her way. Here are some tools to help you with the changes your child is going through. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article This paper analyses how men who were delinquent as adolescents experience themselves as fathers. The men who took part in a longitudinal study, all in their 40s, had severe adjustment problems as teenagers, and thus have a past that causes uncertainty about their parenting abilities in the present. The paper analyses the men’s affective investments in their ways of being fathers. Four analytical categories that address the men’s fathering experiences were identified as significant in the interviews. First unsettling relations and distance from their own children, which for many of the men…
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Journal Article The movement towards family focused justice emphasizes families, especially parents, as a critical component of juvenile offender rehabilitation, especially probation. However, there is a dearth of research on how probation officers involve the parents of juvenile offenders. This qualitative investigation attempts to fill that gap by exploring probation officers' practices with parents. Using a grounded theory approach, a conceptual model of the ideal parent of juvenile justice involved youth was developed. Probation officers explained that the ideal parent was able to support their child,…
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Journal Article High rates of imprisonment among American fathers have motivated an ongoing examination of incarceration's role in family life. A growing literature suggests that incarceration creates material and socioemotional challenges not only for prisoners and former prisoners but also for their families and communities. The authors examined the relationship between fathers' incarceration and one such challenge: the housing insecurity of the mothers of their children. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 4,125) and a series of longitudinal regression models, they found…
Other
Little Children, Big Challenges provides resources for families with young children (ages 3-8) as they encounter the difficult changes and transitions that come with a parent's incarceration.
