This resource is the final report of the QIC's research project on NonResident Fathers (NRF). There were three primary project goals: 1. To promote innovation, evidence-based practice improvements, and advancement of knowledge about child welfare outcomes by involving NRFs through experimental research designs testing promising practices. 2. To establish a national problem-solving and collaborative information-sharing network among sub-grantees, the Children’s Bureau TA network, public child welfare agencies, private service providers, fatherhood and healthy marriage groups, and other…
Demonstrating the urgent need for broad national action and collaboration between private and public leaders in our communities, The White House Council for Community Solutions released an analysis showing that in 2011 alone, taxpayers shouldered more than $93 billion to compensate for lost taxes and direct costs to support the young people disconnected from jobs and school. At least one in six young adults is disconnected from education and work, according to this report. Projections show that over the lifetime of these young people, taxpayers will assume a $1.6 trillion burden to meet the…
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Journal Article Objectives. Because of their youth, adolescent parents often lack the interpersonal skills necessary to manage the relationship challenges involved in parenting, leaving them and their children vulnerable to the health risks associated with relational stress and conflict. The primary goal of this study was to test the efficacy of the Young Parenthood Program (YPP), a 10-week counseling program administered during pregnancy and designed to facilitate interpersonal skill development and positive parenting among adolescent parents. Methods. Participants included 105 pregnant adolescents and…
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Journal Article Youth sports have been recognized as an arena for men to meet increased cultural expectations of being involved in their children’s lives. Indeed, in contrast to other child care practices, many men are eager to take part in their children’s organized sports. Drawing on an ethnographic study of middle-class families in the United States, this study examines how men juggle two contrasting cultural models of masculinity when fathering through sports—a performance-oriented orthodox masculinity that historically has been associated with sports and a caring, inclusive masculinity that promotes the…
One in six newborns were born poor over the past 40 years, and nearly half remained poor half their childhoods. These persistently poor children are nearly 90 percent more likely than never-poor children to enter their 20s without completing high school and are four times more likely to give birth outside of marriage during their teenage years. Children whose parents did not complete high school are less likely to complete high school themselves. This paper examines the magnitude of child poverty, family characteristics related to childhood poverty persistence, and childhood poverty's lasting…
This study evaluated the family-inclusive case management component of the Chicago-based Safer Return program, which engages family members in service provision to former prisoners. Using qualitative and quantitative data, the research focused on the associations between family support and family members' and formerly incarcerated persons' short-term outcomes. The research found that family members have strong and positive relationships with their formerly incarcerated relatives. However, engaging families in the reentry process directly can be challenging because incarcerated persons are…
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Journal Article Cancer is a leading cause of widowed fatherhood in the USA. Fathers whose spouses have died from cancer constitute a potentially vulnerable population as they adjust to their role as sole or primary caregiver while managing their own grief and that of their children. The importance of addressing the psychological needs of widowed fathers is underscored by data showing that father's coping and emotional availability are closely tied to their bereaved children's mental health. Surprisingly, scant attention has been given to the phenomenon of widowed fatherhood with virtually no clinical…
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Journal Article Approximately one in four incarcerated male young offenders in the UK is an actual or expectant father. This paper reviews evidence on the effectiveness of parenting interventions for male young offenders. We conducted systematic searches across 20 databases and consulted experts. Twelve relevant evaluations were identified: 10 from the UK, of programmes for incarcerated young offenders, and two from the US, of programmes for young parolees. None used experimental methods or included a comparison group. They suggest that participants like the courses, find them useful, and the interventions…
This report summarizes and synthesizes study findings on the effectiveness of responsible fatherhood programs, including those aimed at promoting responsible fatherhood and economic self-sufficiency among low-income and noncustodial fathers. In particular, there is growing interest in ascertaining "what works for whom"--that is, in examining program impacts among meaningful subgroups of fathers in order to foster better program design and provide a basis for targeting program services. (Author abstract modified)
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Journal Article With a large and growing share of American families now forming outside of marriage, triangular infant-mother-father relationship systems in "fragile families" have begun to attract the interest of family scholars and clinicians. A relatively novel conceptualization has concerned the feasibility of intervening to support the development of a sustained and positive coparenting alliance between mothers and fathers who have not made an enduring relationship commitment to one another. At this point in time, there are very few published outcome studies of programs explicitly conceived to help…
