The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation developed this report to study the impact of couples-based family strengthening services for incarcerated fathers and their families. The Office of Family Assistance funded 12 grantees to support healthy relationship programming for incarcerated fathers, their partners, and their families from 2006-2011, and this report focuses on the findings from four of those programs. Three out of four of the healthy relationship programs had weak and non-significant finds, but one program showed sustained positive effects on multiple relationship and parenting outcomes. The authors suggest that more robust and comprehensive interventions might be necessary for justice-involved families.

This MDRC brief describes three innovative approaches to low-income fathers from the Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study. The B3 study is a partnership between six organizations that provide Responsible Fatherhood services, MDRC, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The goal of this study is to identify services that can improve outcomes of fathers who participate in Responsible Fatherhood programs. Innovations highlighted in this brief include a cognitive behavioral workshop that builds skills for employment stability, an interactive approach to high-quality parenting, and an engagement and retention approach.

In this brief from the Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, strategies used by Responsible Fatherhood reentry programs to enhance the fathers’ parenting skills are discussed, such as building knowledge of child development, increasing communication, and providing assistance with child support. Also included are recommendations for practitioners who offer responsible parenting services to reentry populations.

Child abuse prevention programs have begun to focus on strengthening families to prevent abuse, as opposed to only targeting risk factors. Father involvement with children is one of these protective factors and is associated with improved child well-being. This brief from the Child & Family Research Partnership discusses the relationship between involved fathers and protective factors against abuse in families, including knowledge of parenting and connection to social supports.

In this three-part podcast series, the Child Welfare Information Gateway presents information about the importance of father involvement in the lives of children, as well as suggestions for engaging fathers and working with fatherhood organizations. In Parts 1 and 2, leaders from fatherhood organizations share some benefits of father involvement, tips for locating local noncustodial fathers, and insights into the perspective of fathers. In Part 3, a partnership between a child welfare agency and fatherhood program in South Carolina is discussed.

Mathematica Policy Research, as part of an evaluation of the Parents and Children Together study, conducted a qualitative study of fathers who voluntarily participated in Responsible Fatherhood programs. Many of these fathers struggled with unstable employment and low wages, which complicated their ability to financially support their children, despite a desire to do so. The findings show some of the challenges fathers experience when dealing with child support systems, and the report makes suggestions for service providers about how to help fathers address them.

The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study suggests that fathers are more likely to struggle with depression when they do not have full-time employment, live apart from their children, have children with two or more women, or have been incarcerated. This tip sheet from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse helps fatherhood programs best serve fathers who may be dealing with depression.

Reading is linked to children’s cognitive development, academic skills, and future employment opportunities. Research suggests that fathers are particularly influential for children’s language and literacy development. This brief from the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse provides programs with ideas to inspire fathers to read with their children.

Cultural competence refers to “a set of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be developed over time in order to work with those who appear and may be different from us.” This addition to the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit provides tips for programs to integrate cultural competence into their activities and service delivery.