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Journal Article This study uses early descriptive data from the National Evaluation of Welfare to Work Strategies (NEWWS) Child Outcome Study, a sub-study of the larger random assignment evaluation of the Federal JOBS program, to answer two timely and important questions. First, what factors predict father involvement among nonresident fathers of young children who receive welfare? And second, is nonresident father involvement associated with better outcomes for these children? The three measures of nonresident father involvement examined are father-child visitation, formal child support payments received…
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Journal Article This article discusses recent revisions in child support and paternity establishment legislation enacted under the 1996 welfare reform effort, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). It critically reviews recent studies on child support collection and literature from social service programs that focus on fathers whose children receive welfare. In doing so, it illuminates the ways in which the contemporary U.S. welfare state defines men's fathering. Many scholars of the U.S. welfare state have described the state's role in the (re)production of women's…
The Common Ground project brought together advocates, practitioners, and researchers who work primarily with low-income mothers and fathers, to develop and advance public policy recommendations to promote effective co-parenting relationships and ensure emotional and financial support for children. This first report focuses on issues surrounding the establishment of paternity. It begins by discussing paternity establishment before and after the passage of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), the increase of children born to unmarried parents, and…
An examination of data from several large surveys of Australian families and child support records suggests unwed noncustodial fathers are significantly less involved as parents to their children than are divorced fathers without custody. Although almost one-third of children in Australia are born out of wedlock, no longitudinal survey data is available on characteristics of unwed noncustodial Australian fathers, or their role in their children's lives. As a result, any social policy directed at children of unwed parents must be developed without a baseline for future comparison studies, the…
Only 18 percent of child support cases in Maryland were fully paid during fiscal year 1999. This report describes the importance of child support to child well-being and proposes several policy changes that will improve compliance with support orders. One of the primary reasons for failure to pay is that some fathers, especially African American men, lack income because they are unemployed or underemployed. Existing programs intended to help low-income fathers have not been effective in engaging men. The report recommends a comprehensive strategy that provides employment services as well as…
The children of incarcerated men are at high risk for poverty, community violence, poor school performance, gang participation, and delinquency. However, incarceration presents many challenges to parent-child relationships, including loss of income and ability to provide financial support, restrictive visitation policies, transportation for families, and literacy skills. States have a vested interest in strengthening families as a strategy for preventing the future criminal involvement of children at risk and for motivating men to succeed when they are released from prison. Innovative…
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 strengthened the enforcement of child support orders through requirements for paternity establishment, uniform state laws, centralized state collection and disbursement offices, penalties for delinquent child support, and model programs to promote visitation. State Child Support Enforcement Programs and local agencies are available to help parents initiate and comply with support orders. This guide explains how the enforcement program can assist with locating noncustodial parents, establishing paternity, setting-up…
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Journal Article The Family Support Act of 1988 and the 1996 welfare reform act recognized the need to help low-income fathers stay involved with their families, financially as well as emotionally. The laws required states to offer AFDC assistance to two parent families in which the primary wage earner was not employed. They also encouraged states to establish education, employment, and training assistance to noncustodial fathers of low income children so that they could obtain the level of employment needed to fulfill child support obligations. Reform policies have also tried to amend state practices…
In late 1997, the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) funded Responsible Fatherhood Demonstration Projects in eight states. All of these programs attempt to improve the employment and earnings of under- and unemployed noncustodial parents, and to motivate them to become more financially and emotionally involved in the lives of their children. Although the projects share common goals, they do not follow a single format or a specific model of service delivery. This report is an early implementation analysis of the programs focusing on: (1) how they are administered; (2) the types…
This report is based on research conducted for the Parents' Fair Share Demonstration, a national demonstration project that combined job training and placement, peer support groups, and other services with the goal of increasing the earnings and child support payments of unemployed noncustodial parents (usually fathers) of children on welfare, improving their parenting and communication skills, and providing an opportunity for them to participate more fully and effectively in the lives of their children. (Author abstract).
