red dot icon
Journal Article Mixed methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Fathers Offering Children Unfailing Support (FOCUS) program. FOCUS is a diversion program which is designed to offer an alternative to incarceration for fathers who are noncompliant with child support payments. Quantitative data were collected through a pretest/posttest design (n = 55) and qualitative data were collected through telephone interviews with FOCUS instructors (n = 2) and community key stakeholders (n = 5) and focus groups with FOCUS participants (n = 76). FOCUS appears to be benefiting children by increasing their…
This report presents the results of a study that identified areas of Oregon in which greater investments in effective prevention services may be particularly beneficial. For the study, Portland State University’s Center for the Improvement of Child and Family Services (PSU) conducted a county-level assessment of rates of child abuse and neglect, risk factors for maltreatment, and level of implementation of 12 maltreatment prevention programs that had been highlighted in CTFO’s 2013 report “Preserving Childhood: Oregon’s Leading Efforts to Prevent Child Abuse and Strengthen Families”.…
red dot icon
Journal Article This issue of The Future of Children assesses past and current two-generation programs. But it goes much further than that. The editors identified six widely acknowledged mechanisms or pathways through which parents, and the home environment they create, are thought to influence children’s development: stress, education, health, income, employment, and assets. Understanding how these mechanisms of development work—and when, where, and how they harm or help—should aid us in designing interventions that boost children’s intellectual and socioemotional development, strengthen families, and help…
In light of the momentum building to improve the fortunes of young men of color, this review takes a look at what is known about this population and highlights programs that are shown by rigorous research to be making a difference. It first examines the special challenges and struggles of these young men in the labor market, including problems related to their disproportionate involvement in the criminal justice system and their experiences in the educational system. A growing number of young men of color have become disconnected from the positive systems, institutions, and pathways designed…
Over the last year, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), which manages the Alliance for Racial Equity in Child Welfare, has reviewed data and research literature, talked to young African American men who are in - or had been in - foster care and identified initiatives and strategies that are showing promise. This paper is a product of that work and is intended to: Summarize what we know about the situation of African American males involved with the child welfare system; Outline an approach to more effective action to improve outcomes for these boys and young men; and…
Other
Many children experience adversity in the form of poverty, abuse or neglect, homelessness, or other conditions that make them vulnerable to the damaging effects of chronic stress. New research reveals that chronic stress alters their rapidly developing biological systems in ways that undermine their ability to succeed in school and in life. The good news is that we have strong evidence for programs and approaches that policy makers could use to help these children overcome the effects of stress. Home visitation and early childhood health care can give parents much-needed support and…
red dot icon
Journal Article Interventions for fathers are a recent growth area in family services. Although some specific approaches are beginning to be evaluated, there is little known about what kinds of interventions are more generally being used in practice. A web-based survey of practitioners was conducted in the UK, with contact being made via local authority service managers. Two hundred and twenty-one responses were received from 53% of local authorities. Both interventions specifically for fathers and services for both parents were targeted in the survey. Results are reported on organisational location;…
red dot icon
Journal Article This article discusses working with fathers to prevent child maltreatment and highlights specific interventions to increase father involvement in child protection in the United Kingdom. Strategies for engaging fathers should include using motivational interviewing and group interventions to improve parental attachment. The authors stress the need for culturally appropriate services and individualized assessments. 9 references.
red dot icon
Journal Article This article outlines what is known about fathers and fatherhood in South Africa, future research direction, and policy and program suggestions to promote the involvement of fathers in their children's lives. It stresses that the role of Black fathers in children's lives is and has always been important, but also acknowledges that children, women, and men could benefit from greater paternal involvement. 1 table and 9 references. (Author abstract modified)
red dot icon
Journal Article Findings from a review of 20 case files in six local authorities in the United Kingdom indicate contact details were not always being collected and recorded, fathers were not invited to conferences as frequently as mothers, and greater levels of support services were targeted at mothers. The authors discuss the unfair burdens placed on mothers and the need to engage fathers. 12 references.
