Brief
Healthy relationships, including coparenting and romantic relationships, are critical to the health and well-being of fathers and families. Supporting these relationships is therefore a key goal of many fatherhood programs. During COVID-19, fathers have faced a number of challenges that may affect their romantic and coparenting relationships. These include increased unemployment, issues around child access and visitation, and difficulties navigating work-from-home arrangements. At the same time, COVID-19 created unique hurdles for fatherhood programs in providing services to fathers. In…
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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…
Webinar
Four presenters from three states answered the questions below and identified innovative practices states are utilizing to engage fathers in the 13th FRPN learning community webinar.
What are innovative state policies and practices to engage fathers in key family programs?
How are some child support agencies passing through more child support to families, adjusting orders for fathers with low incomes, engaging fathers to avoid court involvement and using debt forgiveness and driver’s license reinstatement to promote father engagement in workforce and parenting programs?
How are some… Brief
This brief explores in-depth interviews with low-income fathers enrolled in responsible fatherhood programs about their experiences with the child support system. The brief explores three main themes: 1) The challenge that economic instability poses to fathers in meeting their child support obligations; 2) Fathers’ experiences requesting modifications to make child support obligations align better with their income; and 3) Fathers’ views of the disconnection between paying child support and having access to their children. (Author abstract)
Brief
This research snapshot describes work schedules of parents of young children during a reference week in 2012. We describe how work schedules differ for households of different income levels; between one-parent and two-parent families; and in households where neither, one, or both parents work. One group of particular focus is ‘fully-employed’ households; these are households where all parents work – a one-parent/one-worker household or a two-parent/two-worker household. (Author abstract)
Brief
This is the fifth in a series of research briefs commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that draws on the Family Options Study to inform HHS and HHS grantees as they carry out their special responsibilities for preventing and ending the homelessness of families, children, and youth. It expands on the information in the first brief "Are Homeless Families Connected to the Social Safety Net?"
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, describes the key strategies Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs used to provide responsible parenting activities to participating fathers and their families. The brief also provides recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry programs, for practitioners implementing responsible parenting activities for the reentry population. (Author abstract)
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, focuses on Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs’ efforts to support healthy marriage among program participants. Fatherhood Reentry programs included several activities to strengthen relationships between fathers and their partners/coparents and to encourage healthy coparenting and family reunification. This brief describes the activities provided by the Fatherhood Reentry programs and offers recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry projects, for…
Brief
Based on qualitative interviews with a group of responsible fatherhood program participants, this brief focuses on fathers’ perspectives on co-parenting, specifically: the nature of their co-parenting relationship; changes in their co-parenting relationships; and efforts they made to obtain formal agreements for visitation, custody, or parenting time. Each interviewee participated in one of these four responsible fatherhood programs: The Center for Fathering at Urban Ventures (Minneapolis, Minnesota); The Family Formation Program at Fathers’ Support Center (St. Louis, Missouri); Successful…
Brief
This brief provides a general overview of four Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grantees involved in the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation. The brief: 1) provides a general overview of two approaches to service delivery in fatherhood programs; 2) documents how service delivery is linked to fathers’ characteristics; and 3) describes how service delivery approach may be linked to program participation and retention rates. Data gathered via staff interviews, program observations conducted during site visits in fall 2013; ongoing interactions with leadership at each program; and data on…
