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As part of the Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998, Congress established a medical child support working group to identify barriers to medical support enforcement and to recommend ways to address them. This webpage report is an effort to provide greater background on one such barrier - the lack of access by many nonresident parents to employment-based health care coverage. The report develops a national estimate of the extent to which nonresident fathers have access to employment-based health care coverage, and considers the potential for increasing the number of children…
The Caring Dads program is one of the first group intervention manuals designed specifically for men who have maltreated their children and / or exposed them to domestic violence. Developed and piloted over five years, this 17-session program draws from best practices in the fields of batterer intervention, parenting, child maltreatment, behavior change, and working with resistant clients. The Caring Dads manual provides clear, easy-to-follow guidelines and activities for the implementation of the program and is a useful tool for both experienced and relatively novice service providers.…
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This 69-minute DVD presents strategies for effectively communicating with young children and preventing tantrums. Information is provided on: the developmental characteristics of toddlers, steps for speaking toddler-ese, strategies for addressing behavior problems, techniques for preventing tantrums, and the success stories of families using the techniques. Questions about the strategies are answered at the end of the presentation.
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Training Materials Previous studies focused exclusively on fatherinvolvement and outcomes for U.S born adolescentsfrom white middle class populations. The present study explores how father involvement is related to adolescent risk behaviors among a wider classification of youth than previously examined.
The passions surrounding the public discourse about the effects of father absence inhibit an objective analysis of the well-being of children in a variety of single-parent situations. This chapter presents data from several national studies about risk factors for children in different living arrangements. The statistics indicate that problems such as dropping out of high school and teen pregnancy exist in two-parent, as well as single parent families. Outcomes also vary according to family characteristics and do not necessarily reflect common assumptions about the disadvantages faced by…
The fatherhood movement endorsed by activists such as David Blankenhorn proposes that men be enticed back into the family by policies that ensure their authority over their wife and children. However, this strategy focuses on the male's role as father rather than parent and is contrary to the feminist vision of equality in marriage. Feminist principles assert that masculinity and male domination are linked to violence and that the goal of returning to the family structure of 1950s America is undesirable. This chapter presents two case studies to illustrate the relationship between economic…
A framework for defining the role of fathers must acknowledge the importance of commitment, the fact that not all fathers are married to the mother of their children, and responsibilities other than that of "breadwinner." This chapter describes four key dimensions of fathering identified from a review of social science, biological, historical, and theological literature: involvement, consistency, awareness, and nurturance. Involvement depends on the father's ability to be engaged with his children, as well as accessible and responsible for their daily needs. A father's level of involvement…
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This report describes fatherhood programs identified as exemplary by the members of the National Governors' Association in 1998. Thirty-nine governors cited services for low-income, noncustodial fathers; parenting skills training programs; public awareness campaigns; state fatherhood commissions; comprehensive funding streams; and premature fatherhood prevention. These programs promote father involvement as a strategy for the prevention of poverty, school problems, early sexual activity, substance abuse, and youth violence. They range from employment-related services to parent training for…
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This one hour documentary produced for Maryland Public Television examines the changing role of fathers and the benefits of father involvement for men and their children. Social influences on family life and the risks of fatherless families for poverty, juvenile delinquency, and teen pregnancy are addressed. The video presents the perspectives of the major religions (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim), as well as movements such as the Million Man March and Promise Keepers. Support services for fathers offered by the Maryland Fatherhood Initiative and private agencies are highlighted, including…
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Training Materials Support groups for children of substance abusing parents can alleviate risks for alcohol and drug abuse, as well as school and social problems. This packet of materials was developed to help substance abuse therapists establish treatment and education groups for the children of their clients. The developmentally appropriate program teaches children that they are not the cause of their parent's substance abuse and nurtures resilience through problem solving, safety planning, and support services. Materials include inservice guidelines, tools to engage parents and children in the program,…
