This web section provides information about how program staff can work with young fathers directly to cultivate the skills needed for positive engagement with their children. Keep in mind that staff will need to assess young fathers' age-related maturity and their general abilities (e.g., literacy level). Staff may also need to adjust the engagement strategies recommended in this tip sheet accordingly to meet fathers where they are. The web section is organized by children's developmental periods: infancy (0-1 years), toddlerhood (1-4 years) and the early school years (5-12 years). Each…
Brief
The purpose of this brief is to draw attention to the issue of post-permanency with its focus on the family, and move attention away from re-entry, which focuses on the system. Addressing the gaps in post-permanency practices will strengthen families and prevent children from re-entering care. There are many ways to support families after exiting foster care, including establishing clear funding streams for the most effective post-permanency supports, standardizing data elements to examine who does and does not re-enter care, and conducting rigorous research to identify what has helped…
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Journal Article There is substantial and growing evidence to demonstrate the importance of fathers to child development and the impact of fathers’ positive or negative involvement on the health and well-being of mothers and children (Feldman, Bamberger, & Kanat-Maymon, 2013; Lamb, 2010; Lamb & Lewis, 2013), yet fathers remain underserved in parenting programs and many other domains of social work practice (Panter-Brick et al., 2014; Stahlschmidt, Threlfall, Seay, Lewis, & Kohl, 2013). Despite widespread motivation and investment in parenting on the part of fathers, service providers often face…
Brief
The science of child development and the core capabilities of adults point to a set of “design principles” that policymakers and practitioners in many different sectors can use to improve outcomes for children and families. That is, to be maximally effective, policies and services should: 1) Support responsive relationships for children and adults; 2) Strengthen core life skills; and 3) Reduce sources of stress in the lives of children and families.These three principles can guide decision-makers as they choose among policy alternatives, design new approaches, and shift existing practice in…
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Journal Article Objective: To compare mothers' and fathers' total workloads within couples with different work-time arrangements in a social democratic welfare state (Norway) and explore possible changes in the 1990s and 2000s. Background: Women's double workload in families with two full-time jobs has been well documented. However, some argue that fathers, too, may experience the double burden of market and domestic work as they become more involved in parenting. Method: The data are from the Norwegian Time Use Surveys conducted in 1990, 2000, and 2010 among representative samples of the adult population. A…
Brief
Using data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education, this brief reports differences in the child care settings foreign-born and US-born parents select for their young children. The authors explore differences in parents’ child care preferences and perceptions and how being an immigrant and having limited English proficiency, among other factors, might influence parents’ interest in and ability to access different child care. (Author abstract)
Senior year of high school can be a pivotal time in a young person’s life. For some, it is the last step on the path to college and work. For others, finding stable employment or attending university after high school is far from guaranteed.Urban Alliance, headquartered in Washington, DC, helps students at risk of becoming disconnected from work or school transition to higher education or employment after high school. Through its High School Internship Program, it offers participating high school seniors training, an internship, and mentoring to help them succeed. The Urban Institute recently…
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Training Materials Fathers and mothers who interact positively with each other contribute to their child’s positive development in several ways. Young parents can interact positively as romantic partners or as co-parents. While these two aspects of parents’ relationships are related, co-parenting (e.g., the ability to support each other’s needs as parents) is particularly important for children’s positive development because it directly involves the child. Program staff can help young fathers and mothers foster supportive and positive co-parenting interactions to promote children’s well-being. This resource…
Brief
Low-income families face significant challenges navigating both low-wage employment or education and training programs and also finding good-quality child care. Programs that intentionally combine services for parents and children can help families move toward economic security and create conditions that promote child and family well-being. Although these programs in general are not new (see Background), policymakers and program leaders are now experimenting with innovative approaches to combining services. Yet, most currently operating programs, sometimes called “two-generation” or “dual…
Families on limited incomes can struggle to navigate low-wage jobs or education and training programs while also searching for quality early care and education for their children. Some programs provide integrated services to parents and their children in an effort to solve this problem. This practice is sometimes called a two-generation or whole-family approach. This report provides: (1) key findings from a literature review, an environmental scan, and field work to identify and describe existing program models; (2) development of a conceptual framework to inform program design and research;…
