This report presents findings from the demonstration-phase implementation of the Parents' Fair Share program, and early impacts on fathers' earnings and child support payments. In exchange for current and future cooperation with the child support system, a partnership of local organizations offered fathers services designed to help them find better jobs, pay child support, and assume a more paternal role. (Author abstract)
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Journal Article
Fathers who abandon their sons challenge sons' capacity to restore self-esteem and create intimacy. The physical and emotional absence of fathers has increased through the 20th century, and most single-parent families are headed by mothers. Therapy for abandoned sons includes grieving and reducing the mystery of abandonment. (Author abstract).
The purpose of this volume is to share with federal statistical agencies, federal and state policy-makers and the broad family and child well-being research community the results of a multi-year process by the Forum to review and analyze the state of data collection and research on male fertility, family formation, and fathering. This review considered what data has been collected about male fertility, family formation, and fathering, the quality of that data, what has have learned from the analysis of the data, what theoretical and empirical work remains to be done, and how the federal…
The purpose of this volume is to share with federal statistical agencies, federal and state policy-makers and the broad family and child well-being research community the results of a multi-year process by the Forum to review and analyze the state of data collection and research on male fertility, family formation, and fathering. This review considered what data has been collected about male fertility, family formation, and fathering, the quality of that data, what has have learned from the analysis of the data, what theoretical and empirical work remains to be done, and how the federal…
Brief
The rapid development of fathering programs has been accompanied by renewed efforts to define good fathering. Programs to promote good fathering have emerged in complex social environments with limited evaluation of effective practice. This paper will address two major issues that fathering programs face in the 1990s. The first issue is the need for a guiding image of good fathering that can be applied to the diverse set of fathering programs that currently exist. The second issue is the identification of effective practice that moves beyond specific case studies to a more general approach to…
Over the past decade, fathering programs of various kinds have proliferated in a number of different contexts. These programs are faced with two critical issues. The first is the need for a practical, inclusive, yet challenging framework to guide effective practice in diverse settings. A definition of good fathering as generative fathering is presented. A conceptual model of reflective practice as applied to fathering programs is described. The presentation of the model of reflective practice includes discussions of practitioner relationships, characteristics of reflective practice in action…
The passions surrounding the public discourse about the effects of father absence inhibit an objective analysis of the well-being of children in a variety of single-parent situations. This chapter presents data from several national studies about risk factors for children in different living arrangements. The statistics indicate that problems such as dropping out of high school and teen pregnancy exist in two-parent, as well as single parent families. Outcomes also vary according to family characteristics and do not necessarily reflect common assumptions about the disadvantages faced by…
Other
This report describes fatherhood programs identified as exemplary by the members of the National Governors' Association in 1998. Thirty-nine governors cited services for low-income, noncustodial fathers; parenting skills training programs; public awareness campaigns; state fatherhood commissions; comprehensive funding streams; and premature fatherhood prevention. These programs promote father involvement as a strategy for the prevention of poverty, school problems, early sexual activity, substance abuse, and youth violence. They range from employment-related services to parent training for…
This resource for early childhood programs describes strategies for involving men in the care and education of young children. Based on a study of exemplary programs, the text outlines a process that promotes systemic change by welcoming men, engaging them in the program, planning activities specifically for men, and encouraging continued participation. Program planners are advised to assess the needs of men, conduct outreach activities, and evaluate program achievement. Suggested projects include ice breakers, men's groups, parenting skill training, family events, and recognition programs.…
Brief
This brief summarizes key research findings on the relationship between father involvement and child outcomes. As rates of divorce and nonmarital childbearing have increased in recent decades, the percentage of children and fathers who live apart from one another has also increased. Yet our knowledge of how father involvement affects children's well-being in these situations is quite limited, since most research on fathers and children has focused on intact families. This brief summarizes that larger body of research, as well as the relatively small group of studies that consider fathers who…
