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Nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for children in foster care
Abstract
Over the past decade an interest in fathers and their contributions to family stability and children's healthy development has heightened the attention paid within the child welfare field to identifying, locating, and involving fathers. The article presents findings from analyses of data on nonresident fathers and child welfare case outcomes for foster children. Using data available from a telephone survey of child welfare caseworkers, together with administrative data on case outcomes, a positive association between nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for foster children is shown. The sample of foster children with nonresident fathers who provided financial support, nonfinancial support, or both types of supports, were far more likely to experience a reunification outcome than children whose fathers did not provide these supports. The findings demonstrate associations between support and reunification but cannot demonstrate causality given the cross-sectional nature of the dataset. More research is needed to better understand the nature of nonresident father support in the lives of foster children, and the quantity and quality of interactions between mothers, nonresident fathers, and their children.
... We can presume that birth parents' commitment should be promoted when family reunification is aimed. Thus, the results suggest that parent-child contact might play a role in supporting parental commitment, adding to previous studies that exposed associations between contact frequency and family reunification (Davis et al., 1996;Malm & Zielewski, 2009). These reflections are all the more compelling given that the literature shows that modeling positive parent-child interaction through healthy communication and knowledge of socioemotional development can be greatly beneficial for nurturing parental commitment to their child while contributing to the quality of the parent-child relationship (Barr et al., 2011). ...
Objective
This study aims to document birth parents' commitment from a systemic perspective. Characteristics of birth parent's mental health (depressive symptoms), placement characteristics (family reunification, parent–child contact), and systemic characteristics (parent's perception of the foster parent's opinion on parent–child contact) are examined.
Background
Foster placement creates a highly vulnerable situation within families of origin. Moreover, birth parents are liable to have been exposed to multiple risk factors. Foster placement comes with many challenges that are not without consequences on the parenting experience, including loss of parenting responsibilities and redefinition of the parenting role.
Method
Parents ( n = 59) participated for 70 parent–child dyads in 90‐minute home visits where data on sociodemographic characteristics, mental health status, experience of the placement measure and parent–child contact, as well as level of parental commitment were gathered.
Results
Three‐step hierarchical regression models were used to examine the independent contribution of the parent's perception of the foster parent's opinion on contact on parental commitment after accounting for the birth parent's mental health and placement characteristics. Results suggest that parent–child contact and parent's perception of foster parent's opinion on contact have a significant contribution to parental commitment.
Conclusion
These findings underscore the importance of addressing parenthood in placement situations and the relevance of examining parental commitment from a systemic perspective.
Implications
A deeper understanding of this vulnerable population would require reflecting on the psychosocial practices in Child Protective Services while accounting for the needs of birth parents in the placement system.
... The involvement of fathers in their children's lives and in child welfare services has been shown to lower the likelihood of children being involved in the child protection system, reduce the length of time children remain in out-of-home care, increase children's reunification with a parent or other relative, and protect against future child maltreatment (Bellamy 2009;Berger et al. 2009;Burrus et al. 2012;Coakley 2013;Guterman et al. 2009;Malm and Zielewski 2009;Proctor et al. 2011;Wingrove et al. 2016). Father involvement with the child is associated with lower maternal child physical abuse risk ) and with cognitive and social-emotional benefits to children at-risk (Dubowitz et al. 2001;Lee et al. 2009). ...
This study examines the association between fathers and children’s risk in maltreatment cases where the father was not the maltreating parent. Although fathers play a significant role in children’s lives, the existing literature on the risk posed by fathers who are not the maltreatment perpetrator is limited. The study’s goals were threefold: (1) to describe differences in parent and child characteristics between families with resident biological fathers, non-resident biological fathers and resident non-biological fathers; (2) to examine whether resident biological fathers are associated with less or greater risk to a child; (3) to determine whether the association between risk to a child and a resident biological father, if found, persists even with controlled family and individual characteristics. The sample included 237 Israeli court cases in which the mother was adjudicated for child maltreatment. The cases were analyzed for a range of family and case characteristics. It was found that cases with resident biological fathers posed the greatest risk compared to single households and resident non-biological fathers, even though the fathers were not reported as the perpetrators of the maltreatment. The association was corroborated after controlling for family poverty, mental health, drug abuse, the child’s age and number of children in the family. The implications of the study’s findings identify a need for more inclusive social welfare practices and implementation of the family system approach when designing intervention plans. Future research directions are put forward.
... Given the empirical evidence exploring factors that impact nonresident father involvement and child well-being (Adamsons & Johnson, 2013;Arditti, Molloy, Spiers, & Johnson, 2019;Julion, Gross, Barclay-McLaughlin & Fogg, 2007;Johnson, 2001), scholars have begun to focus their investigations on the roles of fathers in kinship care. Continuing this line of research is important given that engaging with fathers can be beneficial for the father-child relationship and for gaining access to resources for the child and primary caregiver (Malm & Zielewski, 2009). ...
Kinship care refers to familial arrangements where the primary caregiver(s) are biological relatives, godparents, or other fictive kin with strong bonds, raising children when the biological parents are unable. The majority of children living in a home with neither of their biological parents present are living in kinship care arrangements. Previous research has primarily focused on maternal involvement and experiences in kinship care; however, little is known about paternal access, engagement, and responsibility in these arrangements. Researchers and practitioners have identified factors that can serve as barriers and facilitators to fathers’ involvement in various contexts. The current study seeks to gain a better understanding of the experiences of fathers with children living in kinship care. To address these goals, we asked the two following questions: (1) What are fathers’ experiences regarding involvement with their children in kinship care arrangements? and (2) What are the common barriers and facilitators to fathers’ involvement in kinship care arrangements? Participants included 25 self-identified fathers of children living in kinship care arrangements. Findings suggest that relationship quality among father-child(ren) and father-caregiver, as well as paternal self-efficacy, each have implications for paternal involvement in kinship care. Continuing this line of research will provide support for enhancing father involvement in a manner that best supports child outcomes in kinship care.
... In child welfare cases where fathers are identified, children experience fewer days of foster care and increased potential for reunification with parents (Burrus, Green, Worcel, Finnigan, & Furrer, 2012), likely because fathers can be leveraged as potential alternative placements and sources of support for children. A few studies with small samples found that father engagement in the child welfare process may have positive effects on maternal reunification (D'Andrade, 2017; Malm & Zielewski, 2009) and may increase permanency (Coakley, 2013). Despite the potential benefits of positive father engagement for child well-being, little literature is available to inform how father engagement in child welfare services impacts placement stability and permanency. ...
Objective: Child welfare services predominately engage mothers, who typically are the primary caregivers of the children. Research on engaging fathers—or fathers and mothers together—in child welfare is limited. This study evaluates engagement of both mothers and fathers in case management services for out-of-home child welfare cases to better understand patterns and quality of parental engagement and the effect of engagement on permanency and stability. Method: We analyzed state case-review data collected by certified reviewers from 2007 to 2017 (N = 1,617) on out-of-home child welfare cases. Data included evaluation of the processes and outcomes of case management services. Using ordinary least squares regression and seemingly unrelated regression, we examined the relationship between parent engagement and permanency and stability outcomes. Results: Permanency and placement stability ratings are relatively poorer when fathers and mothers engage together in case planning. However, the quality of engagement with fathers and mothers is associated with improved permanency and placement stability ratings. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for high-quality engagement with fathers and mothers for positive foster care child outcomes. Future research may assess worker training for boosting outcomes of family engagement in child welfare.
b>Wprowadzenie. Polski system opiekuńczy ukierunkowany jest na wspieranie rodziny w przezwyciężaniu trudnych sytuacji życiowych. Działania pomocowe mają spowodować ograniczenie konieczności ingerowania w prawa rodzicielskie, wzmacniając jednocześnie skuteczność działań reintegracyjnych umożliwiających przywrócenie rodziny dziecku. Cel. Praktyka opiekuńcza pokazuje, że w Polsce średnio 33 procent dzieci wychowujących się w pieczy zastępczej wraca do rodziny własnej. W powiecie, który został objęty aktualnym badaniem niespełna 19 procent dzieci udaje się przywrócić rodzinę własną. Celem badania jest próba odpowiedzi na pytanie: Jakie czynniki determinują niską efektywność systemu wsparcia rodziny? Metoda badań. W badaniu zastosowano jakościowe studium przypadku. Do zebrania danych wykorzystano technikę wywiadu grupowego, częściowo kierowanego, skoncentrowanego na problemie. Wywiad realizowany był w dwóch grupach fokusowych. Wyniki. W analizie tematycznej zidentyfikowano istotne problemy, które obie grupy fokusowe uwzględniły w swoich ocenach systemu wsparcia rodziny. Trzy z nich zostały zdefiniowane jako te, które w największym stopniu wpływają na jakość jego funkcjonowania. Wyniki badania pokazują, że na niską efektywność systemu wsparcia rodziny wpływają przede wszystkim zbyt późno podejmowane decyzje o potrzebie objęcia rodziny wsparciem społecznym. Problem ten jest dostrzegany na każdym etapie rozwoju niekorzystnych zjawisk w rodzinie. W rezultacie następuje utrwalanie się dysfunkcjonalności rodziny, co w dużym stopniu wpływa na niską efektywność systemu opiekuńczego oraz znaczące ograniczenie możliwości realizowania skutecznej pracy reintegracyjnej.
Abstrakt
Wprowadzenie. Polski system opiekuńczy ukierunkowany jest na wspieranie rodziny w przezwyciężaniu trudnych sytuacji życiowych. Działania pomocowe mają spowodować ograniczenie konieczności ingerowania w prawa rodzicielskie, wzmacniając jednocześnie skuteczność działań reintegracyjnych umożliwiających przywrócenie rodziny dziecku.
Cel. Praktyka opiekuńcza pokazuje, że w Polsce średnio 33 procent dzieci wychowujących się w pieczy zastępczej wraca do rodziny własnej. W powiecie, który został objęty aktualnym badaniem niespełna 19 procent dzieci udaje się przywrócić rodzinę własną. Celem badania jest próba odpowiedzi na pytanie: Jakie czynniki determinują niską efektywność systemu wsparcia rodziny? Metoda badań. W badaniu zastosowano jakościowe studium przypadku. Do zebrania danych wykorzystano technikę wywiadu grupowego, częściowo kierowanego, skoncentrowanego na problemie. Wywiad realizowany był w dwóch grupach fokusowych.
Wyniki. W analizie tematycznej zidentyfikowano istotne problemy, które obie grupy fokusowe uwzględniły w swoich ocenach systemu wsparcia rodziny. Trzy z nich zostały zdefiniowane jako te, które w największym stopniu wpływają na jakość jego funkcjonowania. Wyniki badania pokazują, że na niską efektywność systemu wsparcia rodziny wpływają przede wszystkim zbyt późno podejmowane decyzje o potrzebie objęcia rodziny wsparciem społecznym. Problem ten jest dostrzegany na każdym etapie rozwoju niekorzystnych zjawisk w rodzinie. W rezultacie następuje utrwalanie się dysfunkcjonalności rodziny, co w dużym stopniu wpływa na niską efektywność systemu opiekuńczego oraz znaczące ograniczenie możliwości realizowania skutecznej pracy reintegracyjnej
Decisions of child welfare workers regarding permanency planning, including a reunification with the birth parents, have a strong impact on the children and the parents. Although a safe reunification of children placed in out-of-home care is considered an important task of child welfare systems, limited research exists regarding reunification. The current study aims to uncover criteria used by Flemish foster workers to substantiate a reunification decision, how important these criteria are vis-à-vis each other and how difficult it is to assess these criteria. The criteria for reunification used by foster care workers were examined using concept mapping. Concept mapping resulted in 53 criteria clustered in six clusters ranked in descending importance: (1) Parents offer safety and focus on the child, (2) Conditions for parents, (3) Interest of the child, (4) Reunification is supported, (5) Conditions for the child and (6) Parents are willing to collaborate during and after reunification. The more important criteria are, the more difficult they are considered to assess. This research shows that the most important criteria are changes regarding safety and being able to focus on the interest of the child. Foster care workers consider most criteria easy to assess.
Father engagement in child welfare is an important process as their participation and inclusion in case activities may lead to improved placement and permanency outcomes for their children. However, despite evidence that father involvement is a critical component of child well-being and an integral part of a family system, the child welfare system struggles to engage fathers. Furthermore, father engagement with and participation in child welfare processes and services is low. Additionally, efforts by child welfare agencies to engage fathers and fathers’ participation in engaged services is not well recorded in child welfare data reporting systems. To assist social workers and child welfare caseworkers in more fully engaging fathers, we explore research on father engagement in child welfare services, including studies on engagement activities, associations with child welfare outcomes, and barriers to engagement. This chapter also discusses child welfare processes, assessment methods, practice guidance, and intervention strategies across six key child welfare domains: (1) child maltreatment prevention, (2) paternity establishment, (3) intensive family preservation, (4) permanency planning, (5) young fathers in foster care, and (6) improving father engagement.KeywordsChild welfare Child maltreatment Foster care Permanency planning Father engagement Paternal relatives
This is an analysis of the first 3 waves of data concerning the relationships of children in out-of-home care from the interview cohort of the Pathways of Care Longitudinal Study (POCLS) in NSW Australia.
The population cohort is a census of all children and young people who entered out-of-home care for the first time in NSW between May 2010 and October 2011 (18 months) (n = 4,126). A subset of those children and young people who went on to receive final Children’s Court care and protection orders by 30 April 2013 (2,828) were eligible to participate in the interview study (final orders cohort).
The interview cohort involved 1,285 children and their carers (895 households) who were interviewed for the baseline survey in wave 1. This has been extended to include a total of 1,479 children and their carers who were interviewed at least once across the three waves of data collection.4 The sample of 1,479 comprised 734 boys (49.6%) and 745 (50.4%) girls, with an average age of 5 years at the time of the wave 1 interview and therefore 8 years old at the time of the wave 3 interview.
Five waves of data have now been collected, and there is extensive linked administrative data that includes health, education, and casework information about the
More information about the study is available at:
https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/resources/research/pathways-of-care
and this report at:
https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/download?file=823745
The Family Visit Coaching (FVC) model is an alternative to traditional child welfare visitation. It differs from traditional supervised visits in that parents interact with a coach before, during, and after visits to build pragmatic parenting skills and improve emotional capacity to engage with their children. Although variations on the model are used throughout the United States, no peer-reviewed research has been done to demonstrate that the intervention improves parenting. In this study, 106 parents in San Diego, California, participated in an FVC program from 2015 to 2018. They were assessed at the beginning and end of the program using the San Diego County adaptation of the Parenting Skills Assessment, 10th edition (PSA), which we validated. We found a statistically significant improvement in parenting and a statistically significant association between each additional visit and improved parenting skills on specific measures—a promising finding, as past research has shown that positive parenting skills are associated with child welfare reunification and reduced foster care reentry.
C ommon sense suggests, and research confirms, that one of the critical elements of children's healthy development is the participation of parents in important activities in their children's lives. Mothers and fathers who are consistently and positively involved in their children's lives help them to grow up with a strong sense of self, a feeling of security, and a host of other positive characteristics. In most U.S. families, mothers generally are the parents who are most engaged in activities with the children. But in this month that is set aside for celebrating fathers, it seems especially appropriate to recognize that many fathers are very much engaged as well. Fathers may be involved in their children's lives in somewhat different ways than mothers, but many fathers are carrying a significant part of the parenting load. At the same time, we must acknowledge that there are some fathers who have infrequent or no contact with their children. This Research Brief brings together data from multiple sources to report on the involvement of fathers in their children's lives in four key areas: general activities, school activities, limit-setting, and religious activities. The data sources are the 1997 Panel Study of Income Dynam-ics (PSID), the 1999 National Household Education Survey (NHES), and the 1996 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). 1 A more extensive statistical profile of fathers will be available from Child Trends in late 2001.
Presents a theoretical perspective for understanding the roles African-American fathers play in their families. These roles are provider, decision maker, child socializer, and nurturer of spouse. From an ecological and historical perspective, despite economic, employment, and educational barriers, African-American fathers are no different from fathers in other ethnic groups regarding the roles they play within their families. Better evaluations of the interactions between African-American fathers and the various institutions with which they interact will help human service practitioners develop better services and programs for them and their families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
We employed meta-analytic methods to pool information from 63 studies dealing with nonresident fathers and children's well-being. Fathers' payment of child support was positively associated with measures of children's well-being. The frequency of contact with nonresident fathers was not related to child outcomes in general. Two additional dimensions of the father-child relationship—feelings of closeness and authoritative parenting—were positively associated with children's academic success and negatively associated with children's externalizing and internalizing problems.
Children are increasingly likely to grow up in a household with only one of their parents, usually their mother. Fathers' visits and child support payments compensate, in part, for the social and economic disadvantages children often suffer after their parents divorce. This study investigates the social and demographic determinants of the frequency of visits between noncustodial fathers and children and the amount of child support that noncustodial fathers pay. It also examines the association between visiting and paying support. Drawing on research and theory about relationships between nuclear and extended kin, we develop three interpretations of the visiting-paying association. Visits and payments (a) result from common demographic causes; (b) reflect unobserved social-psychological factors such as parents' commitment to children; and (c) are causally related to each other. We also investigate whether visits and payments are complements or substitutes. We use data from a telephone survey of a random sample of 180 divorced custodial mothers to evaluate these interpretations. Noncustodial fathers' education and living in the same state as their children increase both frequency of visits and the amount of child support paid, while the amount of time since the divorce decreases visits and payments. Our findings suggest that much of the association between the two outcomes can be explained by these common demographic predictors, but that visiting and paying support are also complementary activities. We consider the implications of this finding for a better understanding of noncustodial parent-child relationships after divorce.
Using survey data from 212 divorced fathers randomly selected from the court records, we investigated the relationships between frequency of father-child contact, quality of visitation, and payment of child support. A conceptual model was tested using structural equations analysis as implemented in LISREL 7. Findings indicate that fathers who see their children frequently tend to live nearby, report higher levels of father-child closeness before the divorce, and are more likely to have joint custody. Our results provide partial support for the hypothesis that frequent father-child contact is associated with better visitation quality and higher child support payment. As expected, fathers with frequent visitation report higher visitation quality and fewer problems during visitation. However, there is a lack of significance between visitation and child support payments. Possible explanations for these findings, as well as policy challenges, are considered.
This article reports the results of a study of the family reunification process for a sample of children placed in foster care in California. A Cox proportional-hazards model was developed to explore the effects of child, family, and system variables on the hazard rate for family reunification. Children initially placed in kinship care were less likely to go home in the first few months than other children. The effects of explanatory variables and interactions between those variables with respect to reunification rates are discussed.
Noting that the inherent stressors associated with single parenting and the practical advantages of having another parent share the decision-making and emotional responsibility for children are supported by considerable research, this paper examines the effects of single parenthood on children's social and cognitive development and family functioning, focusing on children in low-income, female-headed households. Topics discussed in the paper are: (1) cultural context, social need, and family functioning; (2) the nature of social need in young, female-headed households; (3) effects of father absence on family adjustment; (4) economic effects and stress; (5) poverty and single-parent homes; (6) developmental and social issues; (7) self-esteem, emotional development, and academic achievement; and (8) social development. The paper advocates the implementation of public policies built upon the premise of "kin" as a comprehensive family form of biological and non-biological supports. The paper asserts that there are competing and inconsistent data on whether children in two-parent families fare better than children in single-parent families. However, poverty is identified as a major obstacle to family functioning in single- and two-parent households. The paper also suggests that the impact of experiencing poverty and observing undue stress may be underestimated for children in poverty and in single-parent, father-absent homes. Finally, the paper asserts that policies are necessary that promote and advance the notion of community responsibilities for children. (Contains 118 references.) (KB)
Paternal involvement among unwed fathers is examined during pregnancy and at birth. The effects of relationship status, race and ethnicity, age, education, income, family structure and father values on father involvement are also examined. The findings suggest that overall there is a high degree of involvement among all the fathers examined. Relationship status is statistically significant and most predictive in assessing paternal involvement in each analysis. Fathers who are romantically involved and cohabiting are more involved than those who are romantically involved but do not cohabit. Fathers who are no longer romantically involved are least likely to sustain involvement. In addition, fathers who are employed are also more likely to sustain involvement.
Children of color are disproportionately represented in the child welfare system. In 2005 they comprised 53% of the 513,000 children in out-of-home placements in the United States [U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Administration for Children, Youth and Families, Children's Bureau (2006). Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). Retrieved on June 12, 2007 from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/afcars/tar/report 13.htm]. On average, they stay in foster care longer than Caucasian children [Hill, R.B. (2006). Synthesis of research on disproportionality in child welfare: An update. Washington, D.C.: Casey—CSSP Alliance for Racial Equity in the Child Welfare System. Retrieved April 11, 2007, from http://www.caseyfamilyservices.org/pdfs/0226_CC_BobHillPaper_FINAL.pdf].There is virtually no empirical research on African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning, which makes it difficult either to understand the relationships among fathers' involvement, agency practices, and children's permanency outcomes or to identify which types of efforts are most effective to involve African American fathers. This study examines the extent to which African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning influences children's placement outcomes using a secondary data analysis of 88 children's child welfare case records. Findings show that children were reunited with birth families more often and had shorter stays in foster care when their fathers were involved. This study contributes to the emerging research on fathers' involvement and explores agency practices that account for extended lengths of stay in foster care for children of color. Recommendations are provided for child welfare policy, practice, and research.
It has been argued that child-support payments and visits by an absent father are positively related. As a result, improvements in visitation laws and the child-support system are thought to have complementary effects on each other. However, previous empirical estimates ignore the causal relationship and simultaneity between child-support and visitation, as well as possible heterogeneity in unobserved characteristics of parents. This paper uses data for a sample of custodial mothers and absent fathers from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the relationship between child support and visitation. A set of simultaneous equations which eliminate unobserved differences between individuals are estimated. The findings indicate that changes in child support have no impact on changes in visitation and changes in visitation have no effect on changes in child support. The results suggest that the observed positive correlation between the two activities is due to unmeasured characteristics of the parents.