Brief, NRFC Quick Statistics and Research Reviews
To help unmarried parents improve their coparenting relationship, this National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
(NRFC) spotlight on research provides a quick look at findings from a recent journal article, “Harder Being Without the
Baby”: Fathers’ Coparenting Perspectives in Responsible Fatherhood Programming (Randles, 2020).
The research drew on interviews and focus groups conducted with 64 low-income fathers who participated in a federally
funded responsible fatherhood program in California. The program is referred to as “DADS” in the article and in this
spotlight.
…
Brief
This brief summarizes relevant research on coparenting; offers strategies to help practitioners encourage and support high-quality, stable, coparenting relationships; and provides tips for fathers. The brief focuses particularly on tips for fathers who live separately from the mothers of their children.
Brief
What makes for a good teen fatherhood program? The timing of fatherhood is a powerful organizer of the paternal role. Early entry into fatherhood is a non-normative event and often accelerates role transitions. Even before they become fathers, teen fathers are a particularly vulnerable group of males whose family backgrounds and life-stressors tend to differ from older men and men who do not become fathers during adolescence. For many years, teen fathers were either overlooked or blamed for their role in teen pregnancy. However, interest in designing programs to reduce teen pregnancy, and…
Brief
In fiscal year 2018, noncustodial parents were obligated to pay nearly $33.6 billion in current child support on behalf of the 15 million children served by the Title IV-D child support program. One-third of that, or $11 billion, was not collected. Unemployment is the leading reason for non-payment of child support by noncustodial parents. This brief will explore the opportunities at the state and federal levels to provide employment services to noncustodial parents and increase child support payments in the process.
NRFC Quick Statistics and Research Reviews, Brief
Men’s family formation behaviors have changed in recent decades. Men are delaying marriage and increasingly living with partners prior to getting married. Additionally, they are becoming fathers at increasingly older ages. These changes in behavior are mirrored by changes in men’s attitudes towards children, family life, marriage, and cohabitation.
In this data snapshot, we report data from original analyses of the National Survey of Family Growth and the General Social Survey, as well as from published resources on men’s attitudes, values, and expectations about family formation. (…
Fatherhood Summit Session
A father’s role is integral to his children’s social, emotional, and economic well-being, but several barriers may prevent successful co-parenting. Some of the challenges include high-conflict environments, the effects of incarceration, issues of domestic violence and substance misuse, and children in foster care or relative placements. Even when parents face such challenges, positive co-parenting is possible and can provide important benefits for children.
This session provided an overview of the obstacles, interventions, strategies, and benefits for coparenting across a variety of…
Brief
This brief describes the work of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-entering Fathers and Their Partners (MFS-IP) grantees in delivering programming in correctional facilities. The brief documents challenges faced by grantees, including logistical barriers, recruitment problems, and challenges retaining incarcerated fathers in programming. (Author abstract)
Brief
This brief describes the work of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-entering Fathers and Their Partners (MFS-IP) grantees in delivering programming to the partners of incarcerated fathers. The brief documents services offered to partners; challenges encountered in enrolling and serving partners; and solutions grantees employed to meet these challenges. (Author abstract)
Brief
This brief describes implementation findings from the evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners (MFS-IP) funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) and the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). It documents innovative parenting supports provided to incarcerated and reentering fathers and their families. (Author abstract)
Brief
This brief uses a sample of over 1,000 reentering men in five states to examine reentry success. The analysis uses a common measure of recidivism as well as measures of success in other areas, including employment, drug use, and two dimensions of family relationship quality that are very rarely examined in reentry studies: financial support for children and intimate/coparenting relationship quality. The results suggest that most men were successful in at least four of the measured areas and that family contact during incarceration was positively associated with reentry success. Further,…
