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Father Involvement in Children's Development

Research has shown that when both parents are actively and positively involved in their children’s lives, children are more likely to lead healthy, productive lives. Over the past several years, many initiatives have been started to foster the positive involvement of fathers in the lives of their children.

The following publications and organizations provide information about research and strategies that relate to father involvement in the education of their children, Head Start and Early Head Start programs, care and support of their children, and other fatherhood issues, including father support referrals, parenting, and child custody. Additional resources are available via NCCIC’s Online Library, which can be accessed at http://nccic.acf.hhs.gov/library/index.cfm?do=oll.search. NCCIC does not endorse any organization, publication, or resource.

Publications

Father Involvement in Education

  • Creating Paths to Father Involvement: Lessons from Early Head Start (August 2005), a Mathematica Issue Brief, by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., examines grantees that received the Early Head Start Fatherhood Demonstration grant to encourage responsible parenting. The brief highlights implementation practices, participant experiences, and issues relevant to designing, operating, and sustaining fatherhood initiatives. This resource is available at www.nawrs.org/Madison/Final%20Projects/Session%203/Group%20C/Bellotti.pdf.

  • African American Father Involvement and Preschool Children’s School Readiness (July 2005), Early Education & Development No. 16, Issue 3, by Jason T. Downer and Julia L. Mendez, uses a developmental ecological model to identify father characteristics and child attributes as they relate to father involvement for children enrolled in preschool and Head Start programs. Information about how to order this publication is available at www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a789374916~db=all.

  • Father Involvement (January/February 2005), a Research to Practice Brief, by Sarah Kaye for the Child Welfare League of America, highlights the various types of father involvement for fathers from different cultures and identifies some of the barriers that may prevent fathers’ involvement in programs. This resource is available at www.cwla.org/programs/r2p/cvarticlesfather0501.pdf.

  • Father Involvement—Building Strong Programs for Strong Families (June 2004), Head Start Bulletin No. 77, by the Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is an issue dedicated to father involvement in Head Start. This resource is available at www.headstartinfo.org/publications/hsbulletin77/cont_77.htm.

  • Fathers and Early Childhood Programs (2004), by Jay Fagan and Glen Palm, published by Early Childhood at Thomson Delmar Learning, reviews research regarding father involvement in programs for young children and presents the results of 33 in-depth interviews. Information about how to order this publication is available at www.delmarlearning.com/browse_product_detail.aspx?catid=11623&isbn=1401804632&cat1ID=EA&cat2ID=EA20.

Father Involvement in Care and Support

  • Voices of Young Fathers: The Partners for Fragile Families Demonstration Projects (June 2007), by Alford Young, Jr., and Pamela A. Holcomb, for the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Human Services Policy, presents eight case studies of men who participated in the Partners for Fragile Families initiatives. It highlights the key findings and themes that emerged based on participant feedback. This resource is available at www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411512_young_fathers.pdf.

  • Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers’ Relationship Quality During the Transition to Parenthood: Associations with Father Involvement in Fragile Families (February 2007), Journal of Youth and Adolescence No. 2, Vol. 36, by Christina B. Gee, Christopher M. NcNerney, Michael J. Reiter, and Suzanne C. Leaman, uses data from the Fragile Families and Child-Well-Being Study to examine predictors of involvement among fathers of young children born to adolescent and young adult mothers. Information about how to order this publication is available at www.springerlink.com/content/350k7j9874513277/.

  • Fathers and Father-Figures: Their Important Role in Children’s Social and Emotional Development (November 2006), a What Works Briefs No. 16, published by the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning, highlights evidence-based practices, strategies, and intervention procedures designed to help teachers and other providers support young children’s social-emotional development as it relates to father involvement. This resource is available at www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/briefs/wwb16.pdf, and in Spanish at www.vanderbilt.edu/csefel/briefs/wwb16-sp.html.

  • Fathers of Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (July 2006), published by the U.S. Department of Education, provides results from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study. This resource is available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006002.pdf.

  • Sustaining and Growing Father Involvement for Low-Income Children (December 2005), Policy Brief, No. 14, by the Family Strengthening Policy Center, National Human Services Assembly, provides an examination of effective father-involvement programs. This resource is available at www.nassembly.org/fspc/practice/documents/Fathersbrief.pdf.

  • The Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Supports Advisory Group: Report and Recommendations (January 2004), presented to the Iowa General Assembly and Governor Thomas J. Vilsack by the Iowa Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Supports Advisory Group, Iowa Department of Human Services, describes the results of 25 focus groups in which Iowans were asked about their opinions on marriage, fatherhood, and family formation. This resource is available at www.dhs.state.ia.us/fatherhood/docs/FMFSAGroup%20Final%20Report.pdf.

  • “Unmarried African-American Fathers’ Involvement with Their Infants: The Role of Couple Relationships” (January 2004), a Fragile Families Research Brief No. 21, by the Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing, Princeton University Social Indicators Survey Center, Columbia University, looks at the factors that are associated with the variation in levels of fathers’ involvement around the time of a child’s birth, with special attention paid to the mother-father relationship. This resource is available at www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/briefs/ResearchBrief21.pdf.

Federally Funded Initiative

  • Promoting Responsible Fatherhood
    U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
    http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/index.shtml

    Promoting Responsible Fatherhood is a federally funded initiative designed to support and strengthen the roles of fathers in families.

National Organizations

  • American Coalition for Fathers and Children (ACFC)
    http://acfc.org

    ACFC focuses on the creation of a family law system, legislative system, and public awareness that promotes equal rights for both parents.

  • Bendheim-Thoman Center for Research on Child Wellbeing (CRCW)
    http://crcw.princeton.edu/index.asp

    CRCW stimulates basic research to educate faculty, students, policymakers, and providers at the Federal, State, and local levels about issues related to child policies. CRCW supports two initiatives:


  • Center for Fathers, Families and Public Policy (CFFPP)
    www.cffpp.org

    CFFPP is a training, technical assistance, and public education organization aimed at helping to create a society in which parents—both mothers and fathers—can support their children physically, emotionally, and financially.

  • Child Trends, Inc.
    www.childtrends.org 

    Child Trends, Inc., is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to studying children, youth, and families through research, data collection, and data analyses.

  • Male and Father-Involvement Initiative
    National Head Start Association
    www.nhsa.org/program/fathers/index.htm

    The Male and Father-Involvement Initiative’s mission is to define and implement strategies for increasing and improving Head Start programs’ support of, and interaction with, Head Start males and fathers. The following resources are available:


  • Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
    www.mathematica-mpr.com/index.asp

    Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., provides objective research to support decisionmaking about pressing social policy issues. The firm has conducted studies of health care, welfare, education, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs in the United States. Mathematica is responsible for the Fatherhood Research in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project. More information about this project is available at www.mathematica-mpr.com/earlycare/fatheroverview.asp.

  • National Center for Fathering
    www.fathers.com

    The National Center for Fathering conducts research about fathering and develops resources for fathers in nearly every fathering situation.

  • National Center on Fathers and Families (NCOFF)
    University of Pennsylvania
    www.ncoff.gse.upenn.edu

    NCOFF supports and disseminates research that enhances the public’s knowledge and understanding about father involvement in children’s lives.

  • National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL)
    www.ncsl.org  

    NCSL serves legislators and staff in the Nation’s 50 States, its commonwealths, and Territories by providing research, technical assistance, and the opportunities for policymakers to exchange ideas about the most pressing issues. NCSL is responsible for the Marriage, Fatherhood and Family Formation. More information about this project is available at www.ncsl.org/statefed/WELFARE/familyform.htm.

  • National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI)
    www.fatherhood.org  

    NFI is a nonprofit organization that focuses on increasing the public’s awareness about responsible fatherhood.

  • National Fathers Network (NFN)
    www.fathersnetwork.org

    NFN is a nonprofit organization that supports fathers and families with children with special needs. NFN provides trainings and resources for educators and health care providers.

  • National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute (NLFFI)
    Bienvenidos Children’s Center, Inc.
    www.nlffi.org 

    NLFFI focuses on addressing the needs of Latino males as it relates to their involvement in their families and communities.

  • The National Practitioners Network for Fathers and Families, Inc. (NPNFF)
    www.npnff.org/  

    NPNFF is a membership organization that provides publications, trainings, technical assistance, and conferences to providers working to increase responsible father involvement.

Updated June 2008

 
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