Brief
This brief highlights the importance of father-child visitation in the child welfare system and recommends best practices for child welfare professionals in facilitating and promoting these visits. It begins by reviewing the research on the link between parent/child visits and achieving permanency for the child. The differences between fathers and mothers that should inform practices relating to father-child visits are then explained, and included a greater focus on tasks, a less likelihood of talking about relationships, the use of a stern voice and fewer words when correcting children, more…
Brief
This policy brief, published by the Brookings Institute, presents major findings and policy recommendations based on results from The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The study shows that a large number of parents are not married when they have a child, which contributes to problems with parenting, couples' relationships, and children's well-being. Also, many unwed parents may be in close relationships when children are born, but few of these relationships last. Unwed parents often have characteristics (i.e., low education, poor health) that make finding employment, forming stable…
Other
This article discusses the value of child welfare and child support agencies building relationships and developing proceduresto make sure that, when appropriate, fathers and other paternal kin have the opportunity to take responsibility for their children in need.
Other
This article offers tips for fathers in knowing both the status of their child support orders and how to initiate redirection through their attorney or by themselves.
Other
Every community faces some of the same problems and opportunities in handling families with cases in both the child support and child welfare agencies. When the two agencies fail to coordinate, absent parents may not be located, parents with children in foster care may receive child support in error and face the prospect of making repayments, and child support may never be established even though it would help the family to reunify. This article discusses the child support and child welfare project, which was undertaken to improve collaboration between sister agencies in multiple…
Other
This webinar presented strategies and approaches you can use in your program to raise awareness and change behavior, and had an emphasis on working with men in a fatherhood context and empowering them to take these conversations to family, friends and community. Topics included: ways to raise fatherhood program participants' awareness of the realities of violent and controlling behavior and the negative impacts for children; emphasize communication, mutual understanding, and healing; and, ways to use fatherhood groups to reinforce the message and build mutual support systems to change…
Other
This 2009 study represents a repeat of research conducted in 1999 which looked at attitudes about the role of fathers in America. The purpose of the current study is to measure the extent of change that has occurred, whether positive or negative, during the ten-year gap. (Author abstract)
Brief
Fathers are a critical component in childhood development, strong family structure, and overall family economic success. This brief explores the obstacles and opportunities around responsible fatherhood, as well as lessons learned and best practices from the field. (Author abstract)
Brief
This tip sheet offers six ways that parents can positively influence their teens' daily decisionmaking, impact healthy behaviors, and help them to become responsible adults. (Author abstract modified)
Brief
Housing security is an important component of economicand emotional wellbeing, particularly among disadvantagedpopulations. Among those returning from incarceration,stable housing is especially critical. This brief contributes to our knowledge of the challenges faced by ex-prisoners (particularly urban fathers) upon re-entry in two ways. First, it examines the relationship between recent incarceration and housing insecurity net of other factors known to characterize social and economic disadvantage. Second, it investigates the extent to which the association between incarceration and housing…
