Suchergebnisse

Here, we review case law as it applies to parental rights. Specifically, we examine two issues: (a) Who has been awarded the right to parent? and (b) What rights have been bestowed to parents? The review demonstrates how family law in the United States reflects and perpetuates society's ambivalence about family structure and, subsequently, parental rights and responsibilities. On the basis of this analysis, we recommend a broadened legal perspective that not only communicates society's expectation of responsible parenting but, in addition, gives legal recognition to diverse family forms in which members carry out these responsibilities.

The authors present the voices of 20 low‐income fathers, all participants in a Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program in a large urban area. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used to document participants' memories of becoming fathers, explain participants' perceptions of the benefits and the barriers to remaining involved with the program, and share participants' suggestions for program improvement. The results provide a preliminary evaluation of the program's services, and we discuss how these findings are helpful to future programmatic and policy initiatives.

To address the policy debate surrounding the use of funds from TemporaryAssistance to Needy Families for marriage-promotion activities, this article profiles thenature of low-income rural mothers' relationships with their partners and thenonresidential fathers of their children. It presents the results of interviews with 35lowincome mothers from two rural Maryland counties. Although the analyses revealedthat the presence of a male partner was not related to a mother's economic oremotional well-being, other sources of social support buffered mothers against theireconomic challenges. The authors conclude that social workers should integrateinformal family support into their service delivery plans and that policy makers need toconsider alternatives to fostering economic self-sufficiency among rural low-incomepopulations.

The focus of this paper is adoptive identity, the sense of who one is as an adopted person. The paper first considers how identity has been shaped by recent social changes, and then explores the meaning of adoptive identity and its developmental course. Three contexts of development are examined: intrapsychic, the family environment, and contexts beyond the family, including relationships with friends, connection to community, and culture. Implications for professionals who work with adopted persons and for needed research are also discussed.