This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews current Responsible Fatherhood (RF) program approaches undertaken to prevent and tackle intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence. The report illustrates the programs’ strengths and gaps in their services and referrals and promising practices that may improve service provision to address IPV. There is also discussion about new directions for research in IPV prevention, given the success, challenges, and barriers in service delivery that RF programs experience.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation-funded report evaluates the effectiveness of the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Justice Involved Individuals Seeking Employment (CBI-Emp) curriculum to address economic stability under the Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study. Economic stability is one of the three approaches within the Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grant program. A process study assessed how three RF program grantees implemented CBI-Emp, which assists individuals with recent justice involvement in identifying and changing thinking patterns and actions that prevent positive outcomes. Under the study, participating fathers were randomly selected and offered either their respective organization’s services or CBI-Emp with the range of services offered by their organization; these interventions’ costs and impacts were evaluated.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host a webinar on February 19, 2020 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. CT to discuss ways that a father’s health and behaviors impact their children’s well-being. Researchers will present findings about fathers’ experiences in prenatal and pediatric care settings and strategies for promoting fathers’ physical and mental health; also presented will be findings on how to support fathers in modeling positive health behaviors for their children.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report presents findings from the Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study. The B3 study covered approaches addressing parenting and economic stability within Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grant programs, and examined the impact of one particular intervention – Just Beginning (JB). It also detailed how three RF grantees implemented JB within their existing set of supportive services.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report illustrates the research projects of the Division of Family Strengthening in Fiscal Year 2018. The report highlights six sections of activity: Supporting Fatherhood, Strengthening Relationships, Home Visiting: Nurturing Children Through Families, Supporting Positive Youth Development and Transitions to Adulthood, Preventing Family Violence, and Other Cross-Cutting Research.

The Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin at Madison will host a webinar on November 20, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to cover the latest research on the dynamics of noncustodial fatherhood involvement and co-parenting. The webinar will also offer strategies for providers to support families more holistically by valuing and engaging mothers and fathers and promoting co-parenting relationships. Speakers include researchers from the Institute for Research on Poverty and the Men’s Health Unit at the City of Milwaukee Health Department who will cover statewide and national trends and programs.

The Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE) seeks public comment on potential changes to performance measures for the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) program. Developed in 2014, the program’s current metrics include reporting that reflects program applicant characteristics, program operations, participant outcomes (based on an entrance survey and an existing survey), a quarterly performance report, and a semi-annual performance report within the nFORM (Management Information) system.

OPRE seeks input on the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected, relevance and appropriateness of the performance measures for HMRF program populations, how well the measures are aligned with program goals and theories of changes, whether quarterly reports capture program performance accurately, and ways to minimize performance data collection burdens. Public comments are to be submitted to nformfeedback@acf.hhs.gov by Friday, December 6, 2019.

This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation report reviews how fatherhood programs serving previously incarcerated low-income fathers can incorporate a trauma-informed system of care into their program design. Trauma-specific services are important for fathers as they reconnect with their families upon release, since their past experience with trauma may challenge them. The report also examines the approaches that fatherhood programs use to identify and assess fathers who could benefit from a trauma-informed system of care, as well as available resources for implementing trauma-informed approaches.