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;…
This chapter draws upon 14 years of related ethnographic studies to uncover the principal features that characterize family life among the poor. Experiences dealing with multiple agencies are discussed, as well as experiences dealing with health problems in the context of the U.S. medical care system, and the aftermaths of household emergencies. 34 references.
This chapter synthesizes the results of both quantitative experimental and qualitative research about how low-income children fare as their mothers spend more time in the labor market and attempt to strike a new balance between work and parenting. Findings indicate policies that effectively increase parental income as they increase employment improve the well-being of young children and are the most promising for helping families cope. Numerous references.
Brief
Employment Pathways for Boys and Young Men of Color: Solutions and Strategies That Can Make a Difference is part of a larger issue brief series aimed at identifying and disseminating best practices that support the well-being and empowerment of boys and young men of color. In particular, this brief discusses promising strategies to improve employment outcomes for young men of color and the role of public policy in dismantling discrimination and promoting pathways to work. (Author abstract)
Much of the success of the Federal child support program is contingent upon the ability or willingness of noncustodial parents (NCPs) to provide financial support for their children. As a result, OCSE has an established track record of supporting demonstration and research projects focused on testing innovative program practices that enable NCPs to assume personal responsibility (financial and emotional) for their children. Highlights of numerous demonstration and research projects funded by this office in recent years. This report contains information on projects related to: Fatherhood and…
Other
The inaugural White House Community Roundtable and Town Hall Meeting on Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families was held in Chicago, IL, on August 5, 2009. The event was the first in a series of locally focused meetings designed to highlight the importance of fatherhood in communities across the nation. It provided a forum for responsible fatherhood program representatives, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers at the Federal, State, and local levels to discuss the successes and challenges faced by fathers and responsible fatherhood programs. (Author abstract)
In our discussion, we review and synthesize research evidence on five identified domains of instability that have been well established in the literature: family income, parental employment, family structure, housing, and the out-of-home contexts of school and child care. In our review of the evidence, we also discuss some of the key pathways through which instability may affect development. Specifically, research points to the underlying role of parenting, parental mental health, and the home environment in providing the stability and support young children need for positive development. We…
Brief
This brief contributes to our knowledge of the challenges faced by children with incarcerated fathers by examining the effect of paternal incarceration on child homelessness. Specifically, it explores three mechanisms by which father incarceration may lead to child homelessness, including weakening family finances, limiting children's access to institutional and informal supports, and reducing mothers' capacities and capabilities. It also examines the extent to which this relationship is concentrated among black children and tests concerns of spuriousness, the possibility that both…
The increase in the number of children being born to unmarried parents present a number of social policy issues for strengthening the involvement of unwed fathers with their children. This working paper examines trends in out-of-wedlock childbearing, the influence of fathers in child development, and how social policies such as welfare, child support, and fathering programs affect unwed fathers and their family involvement. The authors discuss a number of studies that have found paternal involvement to be associated with better emotional, behavioral, and developmental outcomes in children, as…
