National Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers and the Child Welfare System

Who We Are

The Children's Bureau funded American Humane Association and its partners the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law and the National Fatherhood Initiative to create the Quality Improvement Center on Non-Resident Fathers (QIC-NRF) in 2006. The purpose of this 5-year project is to determine, through a research design, the impact of nonresident father involvement on child welfare outcomes.

Background

The focus for the project came as a result of the CFSRs and the What About the Dads? report¹. Both the CFSRs on State child welfare systems and the What About the Dads? report indicate there is very little meaningful engagement occurring between the child welfare system and fathers or other paternal relatives.

Goals

The QIC-NRF has three main goals:

To promote a research-based and outcome-focused approach to inform best practices related to the engagement of nonresident fathers and the paternal family in the public child welfare system
To determine the impact of father involvement on child safety, permanence, and well-being outcomes
To facilitate a collaborative information-sharing and problem-solving national network among subgrantees, the Children's Bureau, public child welfare agencies, private service providers, the courts and legal systems, and other stakeholders

Research

Research will take place over two phases.

Phase I: National Needs Assessment
The first phase (Year 1) will involve conducting a national multifaceted, interactive needs assessment to identify the current state of nonresident father involvement in the child welfare system. The barriers and challenges to positive father involvement will be researched from three perspectives: social work/child welfare, legal/courts, and current private provider program practice. A literature review, a web-based resource board, a State CFSR Program Improvement Plan search, key informant interviews, focus groups, and informational summits will inform the selection of the topical focus areas for the research and demonstration projects administered in Phase II of the project.

Phase II: Implementation, Evaluation, and Dissemination
The second phase will involve:

Administering grants (Years 2-5): A small number of demonstration projects will be funded through a competitive process to ultimately answer the question, "How is overall child safety, permanence, and well-being impacted as a result of increased father involvement?" The QIC-NRF will provide ongoing technical assistance to funded projects and will facilitate the development of an information-sharing network among projects.
Evaluating process and outcomes (Years 2-5): A cross-site evaluation involving both descriptive and outcome analyses will be conducted to assess the outcomes achieved by the initiative and synthesize findings across the individual projects. Lessons learned through the implementation process will be documented. The QIC-NRF will provide technical assistance to support grantee evaluations.
Dissemination of knowledge (Years 2-5): To help build a knowledge development process and engage the field, information will be shared in a timely manner throughout all stages of the initiative. Initial information will include an executive summary of the literature review, key informant interviews, focus groups, and informational summits. Initial findings from grantees on their implementation process, strengths, and challenges will also be disseminated. Finally, information on outcomes achieved through the cross-site evaluation will be shared nationally, and project-specific outcomes will be synthesized and disseminated.

For More Information

Address:	American Humane Association 63 Inverness Drive, East Englewood, CO, 80112
Phone:	303.925.9454
Email:	soniav@americanhumane.org
Contact:	Sonia C. Velazquez, Project Director

Return to the Children's Bureau Training and Technical Assistance Network

¹ Malm K., Murray J., and Geen R. (2006). What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate and Involve Nonresident Fathers. Retrieved February 22, 2007, from www.urban.org/publications/411316.html back