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Master teacher and clinical psychologist Dr. Adolph Brown discussed how low-income fathers are a greatly misunderstood population and how these fathers are overlooked in discussions of poverty and economic vulnerability—often being viewed as the cause of social problems rather than as having been abandoned by society.

In this highly engaging plenary, Dr. Brown presented a more comprehensive picture of the significant obstacles and trauma low-income fathers experience. Participants learned about how to “lead with compassion” by offering services and interventions to fathers that…

Program book for the NRFC 2021 Virtual Event, Leading with Compassion: Understanding and Serving Low-Income Fathers in a Changing World

This qualitative study examined the needs, barriers, and experiences among homeless-experienced veteran families to better inform service providers.  

The authors conducted 25 semi-structured interviews with veteran parents who had recently experienced homelessness as well as homeless service providers throughout Los Angeles County, California.

These interviews revealed that during periods of homelessness there was an increase in parenting stress and worsening mental health among family members. Participants noted a need for family focused services as well as…

Many of the fathers that seek support from responsible fatherhood and human service programs have experienced trauma that affects multiple aspects of their daily lives, including their parenting; the way they view themselves, others, and the world around them; and their ability to ask for and accept help. During this session, experienced practitioners shared effective trauma-informed and strengths-based approaches for providing in-person and virtual care and service delivery to low-income fathers.

This session provided participants with a framework for helping low-income fathers address the tough issues that serve as barriers to parenting. During this session, participants learned about proven solutions and strategies from experienced fatherhood practitioners.

Impoverished and low-income men face multiple barriers that affect their ability to engage with their children consistently and positively. This panel will share tips and lessons learned about ways fatherhood and other programs can provide a range of in-person and virtual services that help ameliorate these barriers, programmatically engage and retain fathers, and increase the likelihood that fathers are able to parent successfully.

This session will include discussions about emerging research on the mindset, circumstances, and needs of low-income fathers, including findings from ethnographic studies about the effects of COVID-19 on impoverished fathers and families and what can be done to increase their resilience. This session also will include a discussion on what future research needs to address.

This facilitated fireside chat allowed participants to hear first-hand from two fathers who will explore their parenting experiences, particularly during the pandemic, what they learned from the challenges they encountered, and what has helped them navigate those challenges, including:

Wealth inequality in the United States has increased tremendously over the last several decades and has potentially serious repercussions for disparities in child well-being. Household debt, a key component of wealth, may also play a role in such disparities. In this study, the authors explore the associations of parents’ unsecured debt with children’s socioemotional well-being. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the authors compare the associations of mothers’ unsecured household debt, fathers’ unsecured household debt, and fathers’ child support arrears with…

Homeless, noncustodial fathers who struggle to maintain housing also struggle to occupy the role of father. This article presents a review and evaluation of a program for homeless noncustodial fathers that provides housing and encourages their occupancy to the role of parent. The program posits that engagement with children in the role of father cannot be achieved without stable housing and the men's establishment of paternity, sense of competence in parenting, social support, and therapeutic counseling. The findings identified through a focus group with homeless noncustodial fathers…