Young Men as Fathers Program.

This program evaluation assessed the effectiveness of the Young Men as Fathers (YMAF) program administered by the California Youth Authority. The program offers parenting education to 15 to 20 wards of the state living in four institutions to help them become more involved in their families, prevent child abuse and neglect, and provide greater emotional and financial support to their children. Data for the evaluation was collected for 822 program participants from July 1993 through December 1995 and for a comparison group of 847 wards in two non-participating institutions. While the participants showed more improvement in knowledge about parenting than nonparticipants as a result of the program, the attitudes of both groups about parenthood decreased. No significant differences were found in self-esteem of either group. No differences were found between ethnic groups, indicating that the program was culturally sensitive. The report proposes that longitudinal research examine the long-term effects of the program on delinquency and violence. 9 tables.