ERIC Number: ED506972
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Oct
Pages: 65
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Working Dads: Final Report on the Fathers at Work Initiative
Spaulding, Shayne; Grossman, Jean Baldwin; Wallace, Dee
Public/Private Ventures
Noncustodial fathers have an essential role to play--both financially and emotionally--in the lives of their children. However, of the 11 million noncustodial fathers in the US, two thirds do not pay any formal child support. Many of these fathers are poor themselves and face multiple barriers, including low education levels, limited work experience, and criminal records, which impede their success in the labor market as well as their ability to provide for their children. "Working Dads: Final Report on the Fathers at Work Initiative" presents findings from P/PV's evaluation of Fathers at Work, a national demonstration funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, designed to help low-income noncustodial fathers increase their employment and earnings, become more involved in their children's lives, and provide them with more consistent financial support. The Fathers at Work programs offered a unique combination of job training and placement, child support and fatherhood services at six well-established community-based organizations in Chicago, IL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Richmond, CA; and Roanoke, VA. Our findings suggest that the programs produced important benefits for participants, including increased earnings and child support payment. The report details the specific strategies Fathers at Work programs used and explores the policy implications of this research. This report contains five chapters. Following an introduction, Chapter 2 provides a description of the individuals who participated in the initiative and their specific needs. Chapter 3 describes the organizations and the services they offered to meet the diverse needs of participants. Chapter 4 reports the findings from the evaluation, outlining the areas where the researchers observed positive program effects, namely around employment and child support, and where they did not. The concluding chapter discusses the implications of these findings for program operators and policymakers. An appendix presents the methods for estimating impacts. (Contains 9 tables and 35 endnotes.)
Descriptors: Labor Market, Job Training, Financial Support, Fathers, Employed Parents, Parent Role, Barriers, Poverty, Program Effectiveness, Low Income Groups, Employment Level, Income, Parent Child Relationship, Parent Education, Urban Areas, Program Evaluation, Employment Services, Child Welfare, Family Programs, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, At Risk Persons, Employment Qualifications, Job Placement
Public/Private Ventures. 122 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10168. Tel: 212-822-2400; Fax: 202-949-0439; e-mail: publications@ppv.org; Web site: http://www.ppv.org
Publication Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Administrators; Policymakers
Language: English
Sponsor: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Authoring Institution: Public/Private Ventures
Identifiers - Location: California; Illinois; New York; Pennsylvania; Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A