The extent to which men are beginning to enact new, more flexible models of masculinity remains an empirical question. What we do know is that many men continue to adhere rigidly to traditional gender role ideologies, which have been consistently linked to a range of negative physical and psychological outcomes (Berger, Addis, Green, Mackowiak, & Goldberg, 2013; Levant & Richmond, 2007; O'Neil, 2008). Although these trends continue, there is one area of men’s lives where such changes have been visible, quantifiable, and widespread: fathering. Such shifts, the focus of the current…
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Journal Article Objective: This article describes an intervention development focusing on the early design stages of a model to improve psychosocial and behavioral health outcomes among children of fathers with incarceration and antisocial behavioral histories.Method: We use a synthesis of the literature and qualitative interviews with key informants to inform a theoretical model and the next steps in building an intervention.Results: Findings suggest gaps in effective interventions that promote father involvement among men with histories of incarceration and antisocial behavior. Considerations for future…
This impact report from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project presents findings from four tests of behavioral interventions intended to increase the percentage of parents who made child support payments and the dollar amount of collections per parent in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. These findings demonstrate that low-cost, low-effort behavioral interventions can improve child support outcomes. However, interventions that are more intensive may be necessary to increase overall child support collection amounts, perhaps because some parents have a limited ability to…
Brief
This research snapshot from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project presents findings from the Cuyahoga tests, which demonstrate that low-cost, low-effort behavioral interventions can improve child support outcomes. However, interventions that are more intensive may be necessary to increase overall child support collection amounts, perhaps because some parents have a limited ability to pay. (Author abstract modified)
This impact report from the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project presents findings from four tests of behavioral interventions intended to increase the percentage of parents who made child support payments and the dollar amount of collections per parent in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. These findings demonstrate that low-cost, low-effort behavioral interventions can improve child support outcomes. However, interventions that are more intensive may be necessary to increase overall child support collection amounts, perhaps because some parents have a limited ability to…
Other
Addressing the scope and depth of harm that high incarceration rates impose on society requires a concerted strategic approach that addresses the full spectrum of causes and consequences of the incarceration crisis. Public health provides a useful frame in shaping this strategic approach, particularly in its conceptualization of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. Primary prevention entails actions to prevent a condition or disease from occurring (for example, a low sodium diet to prevent high blood pressure). Secondary prevention includes interventions that occur after the onset of…
This framework outlines the roles of various types of research and evaluation in generating information and answering empirical questions related to the human services provided by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). Within the framework, you will find descriptions of each type of research and evaluation, including the purpose, the policy and/or practical significance justifications, the empirical and theoretical justifications, and the expectations for study design and expected outcomes. The framework aims to: 1) Help organize and guide ACF’s decisions about investments in…
Brief
The federal government created the child support program in the 1970s to secure financial and medical support for children whose parents live separately. Today, the program collects $32 billion per year in child support payments and serves more than 16 million children and families. Still, about 35 percent of child support obligations go unpaid each month. Parents who do not pay often lack the ability to do so, due to unemployment, disability, incarceration, or other (sometimes multiple) barriers. These parents leave a significant amount of child support unpaid, and collecting that support…
NPEN’s 2015 survey of parenting education nationwide revealed information about work being done in the parenting education arena, including how parents and other caregivers are being reached, how they are engaging with parenting programs, what they are learning and how those programs are promoted and funded. Data was also collected regarding the settings in which parenting educators work, what kind of curricula are being used, what advocacy efforts are being made and which of those efforts have the most success, and what are the greatest obstacles to providing more parenting education. The…
Brief
This brief is a resource for human service professionals on child safety and risk assessments in AI/AN communities. It is informed by the work of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) with tribal child welfare professionals and by concerns in the field about the effectiveness of standard assessments in tribal communities. A majority of the tribal organizations that received ACF grants in 2011 to coordinate Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and child welfare services (9 of 14 grantees) used safety and risk assessments in their practice (Ahonen et al., 2016).…
