The Building Strong Families evaluation is a multisite, random-assignment evaluation of a relationship skills education program for unmarried parents. From Mathematica Policy Research, this report evaluates the impact of a partnership between the Building Strong Families program and the Child Support Division of the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Researchers evaluate the partnership in terms of child support outcomes, including paternity establishment, child support orders, and child support payments.
As described in earlier articles, children whose parents have higher income and education levels are more likely to grow up in stable two-parent households than their economically disadvantaged counterparts. These widening gaps in fathers' involvement in parenting and in the quality and stability of parents' relationships may reinforce disparities in outcomes for the next generation. This paper reviews evidence about the effectiveness of two strategies to strengthen fathers' involvement and family relationships-- fatherhood programs aimed at disadvantaged noncustodial fathers and relationship…
In April 2006, the District of Columbia implemented a child support pass-through and disregard policy for families in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) caseload, passing through the first $150 per month of child support paid to these families and disregarding this amount when determining their TANF benefits. This study provides a process evaluation of the policy implementation and uses a difference-in-difference framework to assess policy impacts. Our results suggest that noncustodial parents with a current support order for children on TANF paid 5.6 percent more child…
