Strengthening the Roles:
Report on a Federal Conference

hosted by National Center on Fathers and Families, Domestic Policy Council, National Performance Review, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Fatherhood: A Federal Initiative

The Clinton Administration's Fatherhood Initiative encompasses a comprehensive effort by federal agencies and offices to help support men in their role as fathers. Rooted in President Clinton and Vice President Gore's beliefs that America's future depends upon the strength of families, the initiative has gained momentum from several federal actions, policies, and changes in attitudes toward fatherhood. Key developments include the Vice President's leadership of national family policy and the annual Family Re-Union conference, the "Father to Father" initiative, President Clinton's 1995 State of the Union address, partnerships among federal, state, and local governments to support stronger families, and White House working meetings involving federal agencies, practitioners, and policy experts.

Federal agencies and offices are engaged in a government-wide effort to review and strengthen policies and programs that support men in their role as fathers. Their efforts respond to President Clinton's June 16, 1995 memorandum to the heads of all federal agencies asking them to find ways for a flexible, responsive federal government to strengthen the role of fathers in families. The memorandum directed all federal agencies and executive offices to (1) ensure that all relevant policies and programs meaningfully engage and include fathers; (2) modify relevant programs directed at women and children to include and strengthen father involvement; (3) measure the success of appropriate programs in part by how effectively they involve fathers with their families and children; and (4) incorporate fathers in appropriate government-initiated research on families and children. Appendix A of this report presents the President's memorandum.

A follow-up memorandum from Carol Rasco, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and Elaine Kamarck, Senior Policy Adviser to the Vice President, asked agencies also to address the needs of fathers in the federal workforce. (For the Rasco/Kamarck memorandum, see Appendix B). After a half-day information session hosted by the President's Domestic Policy Council, the National Performance Review, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in July 1995, agencies reported their efforts to change policies, programs, and attitudes to strengthen fathers' involvement in their families' lives.

The Family Re-Union Initiative had grounded this effort in a family-centered and community-based approach and determination to build on the assets of those families and communities. Leaders in the Administration and field are committed to rethinking policy and programs so that they would encourage meaningful involvement of fathers in their children's lives.

"A National Crisis"

According to Vice President Gore, given the "troubling and... shocking results" of research on children, the need to strengthen fathers and their role in families is urgent. Data indicate that:

• More than one-half of the children born in 1992 will spend all or part of their childhood apart from one parent, usually their fathers.

   

• In 1994, more than 19 million American children were living in homes without fathers.

   

• Compared with children who live with their fathers, children living in homes without fathers are five times more likely to be poor, twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and almost twice as likely to be out of school and jobless their late teens.

These findings underscore the importance of federal efforts to reach out to fathers and support their positive involvement in the lives of their children and families. Raising awareness about fatherhood, changing public attitudes toward fathering, and actively promoting positive father involvement are key steps in strengthening America's families. When such efforts succeed in bringing fathers into their children's lives, "the hearts of America's children will become more secure," says Ken Canfield, president of the National Center for Fathering.

Vice President Gore challenges all federal government staff to continue their work in strengthening families and supporting the role of fathers. The Vice President asks that "every institution in America...begin formally to see fathers as more than just a paycheck or child support payment." New thinking should:

• Focus on the strengths and assets of entire families rather than deficits or pathologies;

   

• Emphasize father presence rather than assuming father absence in allocating resources and targeting efforts; and

   

• Make fathers and their family roles "visible" by encouraging agencies to include men in programs directed at families and children and by including father involvement as a measurement of program success.

These goals also represent some of the topics discussed during a federal conference in May 1996, the latest step in the Clinton Administration's initiative to "bring fathers back to the center of American life." The remainder of this report highlights the themes and issues that emerged during the conference.

Preface

Families have re-emerged as a salient part of the public consciousness and a critical area of research, practice, and policy. This recent and rising wave of effort on families is not limited to mothers and children alone. It also considers the role of fathers, aims to understand better how fathers can and do contribute to the general quality of their children's lives, and seeks ways that fathers might support mothers more effectively in the daily parenting and tasks of caring for children. The Federal Conference described in this report attempted to address a range of questions concerning families and the role of fathers. It put first the idea of the family as fundamental to the care, support, and nurturance of children and fathers as central to ensuring the well-being of their children and families.

The National Center on Fathers and Families (NCOFF) and the Philadelphia Children's Network are pleased to have been able to participate in the Federal Conference and to collaborate with our colleagues at the National Performance Review, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, through their support of the conference and family-focused initiatives, the President, Vice President, and federal agencies are asserting their commitment not only to motivate responsible fatherhood but also to build stronger families within the federal workforce and among the families served through federally funded programs. The collaboration that marked this meeting is a noteworthy example of the possibilities that exist for significant and thoughtful efforts in support of children and families.

As a university-based research center, NCOFF is committed to exploring issues identified in the Core Learnings on page 1, to understanding theoretical and practical issues in family development, and to serving as a resource for the field. We are encouraged by the interest in practice-focused efforts, continued commitment to basic and policy research on families, and increasing public attention to father involvement and family efficacy.

NCOFF's vision is developed upon the assumption that parents across income levels and ethnic groups share the desire for a trusted relationship with their children. We seek to build a field in which researchers, practitioners, policymakers, advocates, and families themselves create places for hope and where they can imagine and work toward enhancing the possibilities for children, particularly the most vulnerable within our society. The Federal Conference was one more important step toward achieving this goal and building the field-individuals, communities, and organizations vested in effecting positive change and ensuring the care and welfare of children.

Vivian L. Gadsden

Director

To order the complete document"Strengthening the Role of Fathers in Families: Report on a Federal Conference", contact the National Center on Fathers and Families at mailbox@ncoff.gse.upenn.edu

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to the participants in the Federal Conference-the Vice President, Cabinet members, staff members of the federal agencies, and fathers and families specialists throughout the country-who continue to seek the best for children and families. We also deeply appreciate the work of Nancy Hoit and Lisa Mallory of the National Performance Review, who were responsible for organizing the meeting; the Domestic Policy Council; and the Department of Health and Human Services, and the contribution of Leila Feister and Sara Nathanson of Policy Studies Associates, which was contracted to record the meeting and compile the report.

The Center expresses its gratitude to the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation. for their support of the Federal Conference. The views expressed in this report are not necessarily those of the funding sources for the project.