Positive Influence

Children who live with their biological fathers are, on average, at least two to three times more likely not to be poor, less likely to use drugs, less likely to experience educational, health, emotional and behavioral problems, less likely to be victims of child abuse, and less likely to engage in criminal behavior than their peers who live without their married, biological (or adoptive) parents.  These differences are observed even after controlling for socioeconomic variables such as

Fathers' and Mothers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools by Family Type and Resident Status

A report released by the Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics profiles findings about the importance of fathers and mothers involvement in their children's education, even if parents and children do not reside together.

Fathers' Involvement in Their Children's Schools

This report provides a broad overview of the extent to which resident (excluding foster) and nonresident fathers are involved in their children's schools and examines the influence their involvement has on how children are doing in school. The report emphasizes fathes' involvement in their children's schools, but information on mothers' involvement is also provided. Throughout the discussion of resident fathers' involvement, a distinction is made between fathers in two-parent families and fathers who are heads of single-parent families.

Father Involvement in the Lives of their Children

The Child Care Resource Center (ACF) has compilied a list of materials that shows 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 with their children. The following resources provide a sample of information on father involvement. The first section lists publications that have information on research and on strategies that relate to father involvement in the education of their children. The second section has information on publications that have explored father involvement in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The third section has general information about involvement of fathers in the care and support of their children. The last section lists Federal agencies and national organizations that provide resources on fatherhood issues, including father support referrals, parenting, child custody, and research.

Fathers Matter!  Strategies for Engaging Fathers in Children’s Learning

The Departments of Health and Human Servies and Education have been working together to provide to provide ideas, strategies, and tools for teachers, school principals, child care providers, and others to successfully involve fathers in children’s learning, including readiness to learn at school, at home, and in the community. Available from this collaboration are several products:

• Fathers Matter!, a live, interactive national teleconference for educators and family service providers, hosted by the Secretaries of Education and Health and Human Services was broadcast on October 28, 1999. Fathers Matter! offered strategies for making schools more welcoming to parents, developing family-friendly policies at work, encouraging support for fathers’ roles in education, and providing professional development for those who work with children and families. Discussion guide, list of panel members, and background information.
• Involving Non-Resident Fathers in Children’s Learning
  This report focuses on involving non-resident fathers in their children’s learning. Additional efforts may be needed to help fathers who do not live with their children to realize that their contributions do matter and to engage them in their children’s lives. This publication provides ideas, tips, examples, and resources for getting non-resident fathers involved in their children’s learning, and readiness to learn at school, at home, and in the community.

Hispanic Fathers and Family Literacy:  Strengthening Acheivement in Hispanic Communities

In January 2000, HHS convened a meeting of community based programs serving Hispanic fathers and families, leaders in the fatherhood advocacy community, literacy program providers and federal staff to have a dialogue about Hispanic fathers and their role in promoting children’s learning. This report provides a summary of that meeting and contains supplementary information to help organizations develop programs and services for Hispanic fathers and their families. Printed copies of the report are not available. [You may download the word processing and other files to print the report yourself as a zipped file (320K).]

America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2005

America's Children:  Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2005 is a biennial report to the Nation on the condition of children in America. Nine contextual measures describe the changing population, family, and environmental context in which children are living, and 25 indicators depict the well-being of children in the areas of economic security, health, behavior and social environment, and education. This year's report has special features on children with asthma, children with specified blood lead levels, and parental reports of children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties. In addition, the report includes a special section on family structure and the well-being of children. Highlights from each section of the report follow.  Table of Contents for Sections in PDF format

Top of Page

Fatherhood Home

Site Map

ASPE Home