On May 16, 2002, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4737, the Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2002, which, among other things, amends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to encourage states to make more efforts to promote marriage and, to a lesser extent, responsible fatherhood. The bill also earmarks substantial funds -- $1.6 billion -- focused almost exclusively for the promotion and support of marriage. In this paper, we describe and analyze the various family formation provisions in H.R. 4737 and offer recommendations for how the…
This paper provides an overview of family matters during incarceration as one means of informing public debate and actions in this emerging area of social policy and practice. The problems that families face when a parent is incarcerated and the strategies they use to manage those problems are described. The relevance of the maintenance of prisoners' family and parental relationships to societal and family goals are discussed and the ways in which social policies and administrative practices hinder or support family maintenance are examined. (Author abstract)
Over the past several decades, increasing numbers of U.S. children have been growing up fatherless. Recent research indicates several obstacles that stand in the way of these fathers providing a supportive and nurturing environment for their children. This document reports on the findings of focus groups of low-income fathers in Austin, Columbus, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia where some of these obstacles were identified. (Author abstract)
This fact sheet is the ninth in the series of Fact on Kids in South Dakota. Each issue takes a look at the specific indicator of child well-being. The focus on this issue is on families and fathers. To grow up safe and healthily children today needs support from the school, the community and most importantly their family. (Author abstract)
In this paper, we review what is known about the life chances of children raised in single mother families and the extent to which these children are disadvantaged relative to their peers. Because we are concerned about life chances, most of the outcomes we consider are measured in adolescence and early adulthood. While there is good evidence that father absence has negative consequences for young children, our main concern is whether or not these disadvantages persist into adulthood. We begin the next section by showing the changes in children's family structure between 1960 and 2000. Next,…
The U.S. Administration for Children and Families (ACF), with support from the Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network, sponsored the Uniting Incarcerated Parents and their Families workshop on May 21-22, 2002, in Orlando, FL. Participants included representatives from Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), corrections staff, and child care staff from the following States: Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana. The purpose of this 2-day seminar was two fold: to provide participants with an opportunity to understand how TANF agencies and corrections staff can work…
Low-income families in Boston, Chicago, and San Antonio were interviewed twice during a 16-month period about children's living arrangements. At the time of the first interview, 57 percent of children were living with their mother, who was neither married nor cohabitating. Twenty percent of children lived with two married, biological parents; five percent lived with two cohabitating biological parents; five percent lived with a mother who was married to a nonbiological father; nine percent lived with neither parent; and two percent lived with a mother who was cohabitating with a man who was…
navy dot icon
Training Materials This guide for parents provides answers to common questions about caring for children from birth to three years old. Topics include prenatal care, health and nutrition, brain development, behavior, financial and legal issues, and adoption. Child care options, stages of development, sleep and play, and the roles of fathers and grandparents also are discussed. The last section reviews challenges facing children, such as the causes of child abuse and neglect, when to report abuse, the dependency system, single parenting, special needs, trauma, and the effects of violence. Each section offers…
This report summarizes the findings of a study of father involvement in Early Head Start Programs, conducted as part of the national Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. Officials from 261 Early Head Start programs completed an Internet-based survey about the characteristics of fathers, strategies for involving fathers, goals for father involvement, level of father involvement, characteristics of staff, and barriers to involving fathers. Respondents reported that an average of 44.6 percent of children served have a resident father and 24.9 percent have an involved nonresident…
Federal policies are promoting father involvement in families to improve developmental, academic, and economic outcomes for children. This information packet provides an overview of issues related to fatherhood initiatives for providers and consumers of social services. It includes a fact sheet of statistics about effects of fatherlessness, a summary of policies and legislation, and lists of references and web resources. The innovative Georgia Fatherhood Program also is profiled.
