As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities in outcomes for the next generation. This paper reviews evidence about the effectiveness of two strategies to strengthen fathers' involvement and family relationships-- fatherhood programs aimed at disadvantaged noncustodial fathers and relationship…
There are a number of reasons why we might expect that family structure would be affected by Wisconsin's experimental child support policy that allowed all support paid by nonresident fathers of children on welfare to be passed through to the mother and fully disregarded in calculating cash assistance. The fathers may be encouraged to take more financial responsibility for their children if the support is passed through in full and disregarded in calculating benefit checks. The fathers may be more connected to the mothers of their children than fathers whose support payments are only in part…