BACKGROUND for Project
High divorce rates, out-of-wedlock births and incarceration among Black fathers have led to a decline in the involvement of fathers in the lives of their children. It is estimated that one-third of the children in the United States live in a household headed by a single parent. Compared to children raised in two-parent families, children raised by a single parent are more likely to be poor and to experience several negative outcomes. In particular, children raised in poverty are more likely to experience developmental delays, poor health, low educational attainment, higher school dropout rates, increased risk of juvenile delinquency and substance abuse, and higher rates of teenage pregnancy. These risk factors can be reduced if children have strong family bonds. In particular, research suggests that children benefit from positive relationships not only with their mothers, but also with their fathers, even if they do not share the same residence. Social programs in the past have focused on the provision of services to poor children in families headed by single mothers, neglecting the needs of these children’s fathers. Recent studies suggest that poor children tend to have low-income fathers who face substantial barriers to employment, and that their limited access to services may prevent them from financial and emotional involvement with their children.
In view of these findings, welfare reform goals to increase compliance with child support payment are unlikely to take place unless Federal and state agencies provide low-income fathers with programs that increase their employability and parental skills. In recent years, programs that address the needs of non-custodial parents have gained in importance, as practitioners and researchers have become aware of the barriers to responsible fatherhood. As fathers are able to meet their child support payments, they also are more likely to become emotionally connected to their children, thus reducing the risks of negative outcomes among our youngest generations. In addition, increasing the payments of non-custodial parents to their families will help to eradicate child poverty.
Central to effective programs addressing the complex needs of non-custodial parents is the collaboration of agencies, organizations and fatherhood initiatives to respond to inhabitants that impede non-custodial fathers’ involvement in their children’s lives. The current project, Non-Custodial Fathers of TANF Children Reconnecting with their Children and their Civic Responsibilities: A Follow-Up Study, attempts to access the present status (social, legal, and psychological) of former program participants, and to analytically determine the level of success IAWF programming had on their lives by assisting them in becoming more engaged and responsible fathers in their children’s daily lives, thus better citizens of the community.
PROJECT CONCLUSIONS:
Based upon the overall evaluation process, participant and staff feedback, and project outcomes, Non-Custodial Fathers Re-Connecting with their Children and their Civic Responsibilities: a Follow-Up Study, met its goals and objectives. The primary anticipated benefit of this project was to be able to draw on the experience of non-custodial fathers from a wide variety of backgrounds to help create a culturally relevant training model that is transferable to non-custodial fathers worldwide; and to assess how well IAWF did in re-uniting male non-custodial fathers in the project with their children. The richness of IAWF programming was seen in the benefits rendered to a vulnerable population that historically experienced little to no ongoing contact with their children and or were burdened with legal entanglements. The reunification process and the personal development of the men who participated in this program were life changing events. Non-custodial fathers profited from these experiences and learned to avoid a few of the pitfalls that inevitably occur in estranged relationships.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Based on the overall evaluation process, the Institute for the Advancement of Working Families (IAWF) submits the following recommendations:
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Implement a three-tier supportive environment for non-custodial fathers and their families: social and legal services, legislation and policy advocacy, and include education on family matters for all fatherhood initiatives.
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Implement early entry and prevention strategies, such as reaching males before they become fathers as well as accessing fathers who are incarcerated, in halfway houses, state facilities, and other settings where they may not normally have access to available resources and information about fatherhood initiatives.
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For the immediate future, establish Memorandum of Understandings with and between Fatherhood Initiative Programs throughout the State of Pennsylvania so that services may become complimentarily, substantive, and reach a larger service area.
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Close the racial and discriminatory divide for services between racial, cultural and ethnically diverse non-custodial fathers and their children and families through a coordinated program of engagement.
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Close the gender service gap between custodial parents .
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Utilize a phased approach with major deliverables to non-custodial fathers and their children and families, rolled out every six to nine months, over a four-year period. This will firmly establish the sustainability of life skills, education, employment and self-sufficiency of non-custodial fathers and will assist in the eradication of poverty among children and families.
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