State Policy Series Series on Family Support and Father Involvement: A Summary of Activities and Issues in the States. (Philadelphia, PA, October, 1997.)

Report Summary

With the dramatic increase in state government activities around family support and responsible fathering, there is a need for policymakers to build strategically upon program efforts within their states and to learn from their peers in other states. This report describes the proceedings of the first meeting of the State Policy Series on Family Support and Father Involvement aimed at addressing this need.

This report is divided into five sections that highlight the issues of agenda-building and collaboration faced by states in coordinating services for children and families and increasing father involvement:

• Background for the Series introduces the purpose of the meeting and provides a context for the series.
• Summaries of Activities and Efforts describes state reports about programmatic efforts on responsible fathering and family support.
• Planning Programs and Initiatives: Potential Areas for Within and Cross-State Collaboration summarizes major points made by invited presenters.
• General Discussion: Emerging Themes and Issues identifies the most salient points of the day long discussion.
• Possibilities for State Policy, Practice, and Research lists new directions for action, e.g., developing systematic approaches to evaluate programs and considering the degree to which programs serve the communities in which they are situated.

Throughout the meeting, participants were encouraged to speak openly about the range of issues that they are examining, the goals of father and family-focused programs and related organizations within their state, and initiatives that state agencies and programs are pursuing. Discussion focused on three broad themes: (1) connections between and among social welfare, fatherhood, child support, and family efficacy; (2) coordination of fatherhood activities between federal and state governments, between different non-governmental organizations, and between different agencies within the same level of government; and (3) relationship development, e.g., between policymakers in different state governments; between policymakers and practitioners; and among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers.

Issues raised by representatives from the different states ranged from an initiative in Massachusetts to develop materials that help parents understand divorce court, to programs serving incarcerated fathers in New Jersey, to results from an evaluation of Delaware's Strengthening Young Parent Families Program. A representative from Maryland noted that improved collaboration between agencies is key to effective programming, while a representative from Pennsylvania described efforts to provide equitable information and resources, such as legal assistance, to both custodial and noncustodial parents.

In addition to state presentations, three invited presenters - Wendell Primus, Edward Pitt, and Elaine Sorensen - offered critical commentaries about the state of the field and the implications for welfare reform and child support. They outlined funding possibilities through the new welfare-to-work grants for programs serving noncustodial fathers, dilemmas facing practitioners serving fathers and families, and recent research on low-income noncustodial fathers, respectively. The report concludes by listing participants' suggestions concerning opportunities for clarification, outreach, and action across the three areas of state policy, practice, and research.