Federal, State, and Local Efforts Supporting Father Involvement.

Programs designed specifically to support fathers in their role as parents are relatively new to the policy landscape. Originally emerging as an outgrowth of welfare reform and stronger child support enforcement in the 1990s, fatherhood programs ahve since evolved from a narrow focus on financial stability and support to a more balanced agenda that emphasizes healthy relationships, parenting skills, and father involvement. Accompanying these changes has been a growing interest among researchers in studying the role that fathers play in the lives of their children. In this brief, we highlight the broad initiatives, policies, and programs that are currently being implemented at the national, state, and local levels to support fathers and be more inclusive of the entire family.