Brief
Early childhood is a critical period of development. Home visiting programs support a safe and nurturing environment for children by promoting positive parenting and school readiness and by reducing the risk of child maltreatment (Avellar & Supplee, 2013; Peacock et al, 2013). Evidence of their effectiveness in supporting positive child outcomes has propelled expansion of these programs in the United States (Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000; Michalopoulos et al, 2019).
The purpose of this brief is to explore possible barriers to father engagement in home visiting programs,…
Brief
Low-skilled men, especially minorities, typically work at low levels and provide little support for their children. Conservatives blame this on government willingness to support families, which frees the fathers from responsibility, while liberals say that men are denied work by racial bias or the economy--either a lack of jobs or low wages, which depress the incentive to work. The evidence for all these theories is weak. Thus, changing program benefits or incentives is unlikely to solve the men's work problem. More promising is the idea of linking assistance with administrative requirements…
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, describes the key strategies Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs used to provide responsible parenting activities to participating fathers and their families. The brief also provides recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry programs, for practitioners implementing responsible parenting activities for the reentry population. (Author abstract)
Brief
This brief, one of three in a series, focuses on Community-Centered Responsible Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot Project (Fatherhood Reentry) programs’ efforts to support healthy marriage among program participants. Fatherhood Reentry programs included several activities to strengthen relationships between fathers and their partners/coparents and to encourage healthy coparenting and family reunification. This brief describes the activities provided by the Fatherhood Reentry programs and offers recommendations, based on an implementation study of the Fatherhood Reentry projects, for…
Brief
This is the fifth in a series of research briefs commissioned by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that draws on the Family Options Study to inform HHS and HHS grantees as they carry out their special responsibilities for preventing and ending the homelessness of families, children, and youth. It expands on the information in the first brief "Are Homeless Families Connected to the Social Safety Net?"
Brief
This brief explains the Two-Generation (Two-Gen) approach for working with families builds well-being by creating a solid and stable foundation through integrated, intensive, and high-quality services in four areas of focus: early childhood education, elementary education, economic stability, and family engagement. It discusses findings from a research study that explored how three States (Connecticut, Colorado, and Utah) are development and implementing a Two-Gen framework in practice and how support for an intentional Two-Gen approach can be translated into a coordinated implementation…
Brief
This brief provides a general overview of four Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grantees involved in the Parents and Children Together (PACT) Evaluation. The brief: 1) provides a general overview of two approaches to service delivery in fatherhood programs; 2) documents how service delivery is linked to fathers’ characteristics; and 3) describes how service delivery approach may be linked to program participation and retention rates. Data gathered via staff interviews, program observations conducted during site visits in fall 2013; ongoing interactions with leadership at each program; and data on…
Brief
This brief provides a summary of research findings on the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program, a parent involvement, school readiness program that helps low literacy parents prepare their three- to five-year-old children for success in school and life. HIPPY programs provide a 30-week direct instruction program to at-risk parents focusing on language development, problem solving, perceptual discrimination, and other pre-academic skills. It is free to parents and delivered by home visitors who live in the same high need neighborhoods as the families they serve…
Brief
This brief discusses the need to delay early or unplanned fatherhood, and calls on policy makers intensify their focus on the responsibilities of men in preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy by addressing pregnancy planning and prevention in federally funded programs serving significant numbers of men, and reaching men more effectively in family planning programs. It recommends pregnancy planning and prevention be included as a component of such programs as responsible fatherhood, healthy relationships and marriage, education and workforce development, juvenile justice, and re-entry…
Other, Brief
This paper analyzes legislative proposals that address marriage, and the potential impact on current fatherhood programs serving low-income families. The initiation of fatherhood programs following the passage of the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act in 1996 is reviewed and current legislative proposals are described, including: the Child Support Distribution Act of 2001 and the Fathers Count Act of 1999, which combine child support reform measures with fatherhood provisions; the Strengthening Working Families Act, which contains child support distribution…
