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Journal Article Neoconservative social scientists have claimed that fathers are essential to positive child development and that responsible fathering is most likely to occur within the context of heterosexual marriage. This perspective is generating a range of governmental initiatives designed to provide social support preferences to fathers over mothers and to heterosexual married couples over alternative family forms. The authors propose that the neoconservative position is an incorrect or oversimplified interpretation of empirical research. Using a wide range of cross-species, cross-cultural, and social…
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Journal Article Maternal gatekeeping is conceptualized within the framework of the social construction of gender and is defined as having three dimensions: mothers' reluctance to relinquish responsibility over family matters by setting rigid standards, external validation of a mothering identity and differentiated conceptions of family roles. These three conceptual dimensions of gatekeeping are operationalized with modest reliability and tested with a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 622 dual-earner mothers. With cluster analyses, 21% of the mothers were classified as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers did…
One of the most challenging goals for welfare reformers has been improving the collection of child support payments from noncustodial parents, usually fathers. Often vilified as "deadbeats" who have dropped out of their children's lives, these fathers have been the target of largely punitive enforcement policies that give little consideration to the complex circumstances of these men's lives. Fathers' Fair Share presents an alternative to these measures with an in-depth study of the Parents' Fair Share program. A multi-state intervention run by the Manpower Demonstration Research…
The fatherhood movement has established itself as an innovative and effective response to the most daunting crisis facing American families. Written by the movement's founders, The Fatherhood Movement illustrates methods for reconnecting men with their children and restoring the fragile bonds that hold our society together. It provides valuable insights into the historical, social, economic, and spiritual dimensions of the "disappearance" of fathers from society. Reflecting the complex nature of this problem, the contributors include activists, politicians, public intellectuals, and academics…
This workbook was provided to participants in an Early Head Start/Child Welfare orientation training program held in June 2003, in Washington D.C. The first part of workbook includes information about the child welfare system, including the Children’s Bureau and child welfare services. The second part of the workbook includes child welfare resources, including a listing of federal funding resources for technical assistance, prevention activities, and online resources. The following sections review the major components of the Head Start program and the Early Head Start program. And provide…
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Journal Article This article presents a discussion on a book called "The Fatherhood Movement: A Call to Action." Participants include: Susan Albright, an editorial pages editor of the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune; David Blankenhorn, the founder and president of the New York based Institute for American Values, a private, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, publication, and education on issues of family well-being and civil society; and Wade Horn, president and co-founder of the Maryland-based National Fatherhood Initiative. The discussion touches on the reasons for a fatherhood movement, the…
In this report we describe the state of current research on father involvement and point to ways in which research findings might inform the economic and public policies that affect fathers. We do not intend an extensive review of the literature (see Lamb, 1997); rather, our goal is to integrate research and policies on father involvement into a framework that emphasizes the synergistic relationship between the two. A central aim of this report is to highlight limitations of past research and policies on father involvement and to raise questions that we hope will guide future efforts in this…
You can be a good dad and a successful businessman by being the same person in both places. Daddy@Work shows you how openness and tenderness can work at the office and how your management and planning skills can work at home. As a young executive, Robert Wolgemuth discovered how work and home could become "graduate schools" for each other. This is the message of Daddy@Work: a successful man transfers skills in one sphere to the other, thereby improving them both.Whether you're a white- or blue-collar worker, whether a CEO or an…
Edited by founder and chairman of the National Fatherhood Initiative Don Eberly, The Faith Factor in Fatherhood addresses the key role that religious institutions can play in reviving what Eberly calls the "sacred vocation of fatherhood." In response to the wider debate regarding the increased expectations that are being placed by policy makers on faith-based institutions to serve important public purposes, contributors to this volume guide denominations, places of worship, and religious social agencies to recover the role they once played in reaching and supporting young men with a message…
In this ground-breaking volume author Armin Brott gives single dads the knowledge, skills, and support they need to become-and remain-actively involved fathers. With the same thoroughness, accessibility, and humor that have made the books in his critically acclaimed NEW FATHER series the best and most popular fatherhood guides in the country, Brott steers divorced, separated, widowed, and never-married men through every aspect of fathering without a partner. Incorporating the advice of top psychologists, lawyers, and other experts, The Single Father offers a wealth of essential information…