Suchergebnisse

AbstractRigorous research can inform each stage of the policy‐making process, however too often academic research is not shared with policy leaders in a timely or actionable manner, and policies are often made and implemented with incomplete information. This essay describes each stage of the policy‐making process and discusses the types of research and evidence that are most useful at each stage. I draw on examples from my experience founding two university‐based research centers that, in addition to conducting original research, have aimed to translate complex research findings to empower policy leaders to adopt and implement effective and equitable policies.

When their children are born, most unmarried parents have high expectations for the future, but they are particularly vulnerable to financial and relationship instability. Their children are disproportionately likely to experience negative health and wellbeing outcomes, in part because of low father involvement. We provide an overview of the findings in this area, drawing primarily from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and two studies conducted by the Child and Family Research Partnership at The University of Texas at Austin. We conclude that father involvement is largely a function of parental relationship quality, and that interventions designed to improve child outcomes should focus on enhancement of co‐parenting skills.
Key Points for the Family Court Community
Relative to their married peers, unmarried parents face distinct barriers to financial and relationship stability.
Children of unmarried parents are more likely to experience negative outcomes for health and wellbeing, in part because of low father involvement.
One of the most consistent predictors of father involvement is the quality of the father's relationship with the mother.
Interventions that teach co‐parenting skills may enhance relationship quality and increase positive father involvement.

AbstractObjectiveThis descriptive study broadens the scope of father participation in home visiting and examines how fathers' participation varies by demographic and family characteristics.BackgroundConsistent and supportive father involvement is associated with positive outcomes for children. Although parenting programs during early childhood provide opportunities to influence fathers' involvement with their children, father participation in these programs is low.MethodWe developed and administered a survey to mothers participating in home visiting programs (N = 1,386) to describe how fathers participate in home visiting programs. A series of logistic regression analyses were used to describe how father participation varied across key factors.ResultsFathers frequently engaged with home visiting in ways that were more indirect, and therefore go unreported by home visitors (e.g., asking mothers about a missed home visit, doing homework or practicing lessons from the visit with the child). Father participation varied based on the relationship and coresidence status between the child's mother and father, father's employment status, and age of the child.ConclusionFindings suggest that fathers engage in home visiting more frequently than previously measured, as they often participate in ways that are not directly observed and reported by home visitors.ImplicationsExpanding the scope of what defines father participation provides home visiting program staff a better understanding of how fathers participate in the programs and, consequently, how to target father engagement strategies. Informed engagement strategies may be more effective for increasing father engagement and the impact of father participation for families and children.

The present study is the largest and most rigorous study to date on the effects of being appointed a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) on permanency outcomes of children in foster care. The intent-to-treat study accounts for selection bias by applying inverse probability weighting to logistic and sequential logistic regressions in a large sample of children in foster care in the state of Texas ( N = 31,754). Overall, children appointed a CASA have significantly lower odds than children without a CASA of achieving permanency. They have lower odds of being reunified, greater odds of being adopted (if not reunified), and lower odds of being placed in permanent kin guardianship (if not reunified or adopted) than children who are not appointed CASA. This study makes an additional contribution by looking beyond the aggregate effect of CASA on permanency by examining the effect of CASA for different age groups and different types of first placement after removal.