{ "id": "RL31025", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "RL31025", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 584707, "date": "2018-05-01", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T21:30:28.990668", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": "Long-standing research indicates that children raised in one-parent homes are more likely than children raised in homes with both biological parents to do poorly in school, have emotional and behavioral problems, become teenage parents, and have poverty-level incomes as adults. In an effort to improve the long-term outlook for children in one-parent homes, federal, state, and local governments, along with public and private organizations, have supported programs and activities that promote the financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial parents to their children and reduce the incidence of parental absence in the lives of children. Fatherhood initiatives include campaigns that seek to encourage noncustodial parents to connect with their children; counseling and training on \u201csoft skills,\u201d including relationship skills, to help noncustodial parents connect with them; and employment and training services so that they can help financially support them.\nOver the years, sources of federal funding for fatherhood programs have included the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, TANF state Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) funding, Child Support Enforcement (CSE) funds, and Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) funds. However, the need for a specific funding stream for the program was identified in legislation as early as the 106th Congress, and President George W. Bush included funding for such programs in each of his budgets. Ultimately, funding for a competitive Healthy Marriage Promotion (HMP) and Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grants program was enacted as part of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171). Between FY2006 and FY2010, the act provided up to $50 million per year for the RF grants and about $100 million per year for the HMP grants, but the Claims Resolution Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-291) subsequently altered the split between the programs to $75 million each. Funding for these programs has been extended on multiple occasions since that time, usually through provisions in appropriations acts. Most recently, on May 5, 2017, funding was extended through the end of FY2018 by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (P.L. 115-31).\nMost fatherhood programs include media campaigns that emphasize the importance of emotional, physical, psychological, and financial connections of fathers to their children. They also include elements such as parenting education; responsible decisionmaking; mediation services for both parents; information on the CSE program; skills development related to conflict resolution, coping with stress, and problem-solving; peer support; and job-training opportunities. RF grantees include states, territories, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and public and nonprofit community groups (including religious organizations).\nThe 42 most recently awarded RF grants, which are scheduled to run through FY2020, have included a new emphasis on key short- and long-term outcomes intended to enhance evaluation and strengthen program design. According to the Office of Family Assistance (in the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services), it is expected that the new RF grant-funded programs (and their evaluations) will increase the understanding of policymakers and others of what works and why.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31025", "sha1": "1c5d030a9a395709f56fa5172f9baa136aaa228a", "filename": "files/20180501_RL31025_1c5d030a9a395709f56fa5172f9baa136aaa228a.html", "images": {} }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31025", "sha1": "d272263c13db2796443862a3861a0f6960286fb6", "filename": "files/20180501_RL31025_d272263c13db2796443862a3861a0f6960286fb6.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4798, "name": "Child Support & Family Formation" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 457913, "date": "2016-12-28", "retrieved": "2017-01-03T22:37:22.501703", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": "In 2016, while the majority of children in the United States lived in families with two parents (69%), an estimated 27% of children were maintained in one-parent homes. Of children in one-parent homes, an estimated 85% were in homes maintained by the mother only. Research indicates that children raised in single-parent families are more likely than children raised in two-parent families (with both biological parents) to do poorly in school, have emotional and behavioral problems, become teenage parents, and have poverty-level incomes. In hopes of improving the long-term outlook for children in single-parent families, federal, state, and local governments, along with public and private organizations, are supporting programs and activities that promote the financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial fathers to their children and increase the participation of fathers in the lives of their children. These programs have come to be known as \u201cresponsible fatherhood\u201d programs.\nSources of federal funding for fatherhood programs include the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, TANF state Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) funding, Child Support Enforcement (CSE) funds, and Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) funds.\nBeginning with the 106th Congress, bills containing specific funding for responsible fatherhood initiatives were debated. President George W. Bush, a supporter of responsible fatherhood programs, included funding for such programs in each of his budgets. Likewise, President Obama has also included responsible fatherhood initiatives in each of his budgets. \nP.L. 109-171 (the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, enacted February 8, 2006) included a provision (in Title IV-A of the Social Security Act) that provided funding for a Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood grants program. The program provided up to $50 million per year (FY2006-FY2010) for competitive responsible fatherhood grants and about $100 million per year (FY2006-FY2010) for competitive healthy marriage promotion grants. Grantees for responsible fatherhood grants include states, territories, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and public and nonprofit community groups (including religious organizations).\nFor FY2017, the authority and funding (at the $150 million annual rate, divided equally between the programs) for the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grant programs has been provided through two continuing resolutions (P.L. 114-223, enacted on September 29, 2016; and P.L. 114-254, enacted on December 10, 2016). The continuing appropriations in P.L. 114-254 are scheduled to expire on April 28, 2017. \nMost fatherhood programs include media campaigns that emphasize the importance of emotional, physical, psychological, and financial connections of fathers to their children. Most fatherhood programs include parenting education; responsible decisionmaking; mediation services for both parents; providing an understanding of the CSE program; conflict resolution, coping with stress, and problem-solving skills; peer support; and job-training opportunities (skills development, interviewing skills, job search, job-retention skills, job-advancement skills, etc.).\nThe 44 most recently awarded responsible fatherhood grants, which are scheduled to run through FY2020, have included a new emphasis on key short- and long-term outcomes intended to enhance evaluation and strengthen program design. According to the Office of Family Assistance (in the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services), it is expected that the new responsible fatherhood programs (and their evaluations) will increase the understanding of policymakers and others of what works and why.\nThe federal government\u2019s support of fatherhood initiatives raises a wide array of issues. This report briefly examines the role of the CSE agency in fatherhood programs, discusses initiatives to promote and support father-child interaction outside the parents\u2019 relationship, and talks about the need most see for work-oriented programs that enable noncustodial parents to have the financial ability to meet their child support obligations in a consistent and timely manner.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31025", "sha1": "f6de2590f7ed2ed6608669b9041bc95f2e4db0b0", "filename": "files/20161228_RL31025_f6de2590f7ed2ed6608669b9041bc95f2e4db0b0.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31025", "sha1": "1bbbe4b7234d35c526d2d91864491deb83151f1a", "filename": "files/20161228_RL31025_1bbbe4b7234d35c526d2d91864491deb83151f1a.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4798, "name": "Child Support & Family Formation" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 448833, "date": "2016-01-14", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:29:05.414385", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": "In 2014, almost 25% of families with children (under age 18) were maintained by mothers. According to some estimates, about 50% of children born in the United States will spend a significant portion of their childhood in a home without their biological father. Research indicates that children raised in single-parent families are more likely than children raised in two-parent families (with both biological parents) to do poorly in school, have emotional and behavioral problems, become teenage parents, and have poverty-level incomes. In hopes of improving the long-term outlook for children in single-parent families, federal, state, and local governments, along with public and private organizations, are supporting programs and activities that promote the financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial fathers to their children and increase the participation of fathers in the lives of their children. These programs have come to be known as \u201cresponsible fatherhood\u201d programs.\nSources of federal funding for fatherhood programs include the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, TANF state Maintenance-of-Effort (MOE) funding, Child Support Enforcement (CSE) funds, and Social Services Block Grant (Title XX) funds.\nBeginning with the 106th Congress, bills containing specific funding for responsible fatherhood initiatives were debated. President George W. Bush, a supporter of responsible fatherhood programs, included funding for such programs in each of his budgets. Likewise, President Obama has also included responsible fatherhood initiatives in each of his budgets. \nP.L. 109-171 (the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, enacted February 8, 2006) included a provision (in Title IV-A of the Social Security Act) that provided funding for a Healthy Marriage Promotion and Responsible Fatherhood grants program. The program provided up to $50 million per year (FY2006-FY2010) for competitive responsible fatherhood grants and about $100 million per year (FY2006-FY2010) for competitive healthy marriage promotion grants. Grantees for responsible fatherhood grants include states, territories, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and public and nonprofit community groups (including religious organizations).\nP.L. 114-113 (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, enacted December 18, 2015) continued program authority and funding (at the $150 million annual rate, divided equally between the programs) for the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grant programs through FY2016.\nMost fatherhood programs include media campaigns that emphasize the importance of emotional, physical, psychological, and financial connections of fathers to their children. Most fatherhood programs include parenting education; responsible decisionmaking; mediation services for both parents; providing an understanding of the CSE program; conflict resolution, coping with stress, and problem-solving skills; peer support; and job-training opportunities (skills development, interviewing skills, job search, job-retention skills, job-advancement skills, etc.).\nThe 44 most recently awarded responsible fatherhood grants, which are scheduled to run through FY2020, have included a new emphasis on key short- and long-term outcomes intended to enhance evaluation and strengthen program design. According to the Office of Family Assistance (in the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services), it is expected that the new responsible fatherhood programs (and their evaluations) will increase the understanding of policymakers and others of what works and why.\nThe federal government\u2019s support of fatherhood initiatives raises a wide array of issues. This report briefly examines the role of the CSE agency in fatherhood programs, discusses initiatives to promote and support father-child interaction outside the parents\u2019 relationship, and talks about the need most see for work-oriented programs that enable noncustodial parents to have the financial ability to meet their child support obligations in a consistent and timely manner.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/RL31025", "sha1": "ae5767dea1f9c4113b5550abd84f2d63959a4cfa", "filename": "files/20160114_RL31025_ae5767dea1f9c4113b5550abd84f2d63959a4cfa.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31025", "sha1": "b62e9e8d03ff9eeba87f7f200b5a026ac185bf05", "filename": "files/20160114_RL31025_b62e9e8d03ff9eeba87f7f200b5a026ac185bf05.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2651, "name": "Child Well-Being" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc808029/", "id": "RL31025_2015Jan16", "date": "2015-01-16", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150116_RL31025_4ae6d475a6369be4f49ca2b1275b6847e5288c52.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150116_RL31025_4ae6d475a6369be4f49ca2b1275b6847e5288c52.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806034/", "id": "RL31025_2014Jan28", "date": "2014-01-28", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20140128_RL31025_ff12d87dc89619b992c10ba7345702846154e92a.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20140128_RL31025_ff12d87dc89619b992c10ba7345702846154e92a.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc227968/", "id": "RL31025_2013Oct22", "date": "2013-10-22", "retrieved": "2013-11-05T18:07:05", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": "This report discusses programs that promote the financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial fathers to their children and increase the participation of fathers in the lives of their children. These programs have come to be known as \"responsible fatherhood\" programs.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20131022_RL31025_e1357566b4b92f9020f6794d37997dbd0e915e3d.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20131022_RL31025_e1357566b4b92f9020f6794d37997dbd0e915e3d.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Families", "name": "Families" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Custody of children", "name": "Custody of children" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Aid to dependent children", "name": "Aid to dependent children" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811757/", "id": "RL31025_2012Dec07", "date": "2012-12-07", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20121207_RL31025_5af896d0eaeff4933d3dcca23f226780bef95216.pdf" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc809496/", "id": "RL31025_2012Feb24", "date": "2012-02-24", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20120224_RL31025_bb64850e17aa7d8bf92b959229860cc628c090c7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20120224_RL31025_bb64850e17aa7d8bf92b959229860cc628c090c7.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc814966/", "id": "RL31025_2011Jul15", "date": "2011-07-15", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20110715_RL31025_ba9dbca74d03db87239cf58773ddc564a34cda2c.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20110715_RL31025_ba9dbca74d03db87239cf58773ddc564a34cda2c.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc505383/", "id": "RL31025_2007Oct16", "date": "2007-10-16", "retrieved": "2015-05-29T05:37:21", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": "This report discusses \"responsible fatherhood\" programs that promote the financial and personal responsibility of noncustodial fathers to their children and increase the participation of fathers in the lives of their children.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20071016_RL31025_17e9fb8bd91b81dc17e493859c811a19fff535dc.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20071016_RL31025_17e9fb8bd91b81dc17e493859c811a19fff535dc.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Aid to dependent children", "name": "Aid to dependent children" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Custody of children", "name": "Custody of children" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Families", "name": "Families" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc806116/", "id": "RL31025_2005Feb17", "date": "2005-02-17", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20050217_RL31025_c7c3a3d1638bfddf0c95ca213ab2498785b601b0.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20050217_RL31025_c7c3a3d1638bfddf0c95ca213ab2498785b601b0.html" } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc818946/", "id": "RL31025_2004Jan23", "date": "2004-01-23", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "Fatherhood Initiatives: Connecting Fathers to Their Children", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20040123_RL31025_93a020052d55eea9e38db5a08c3e803d0a4d70d7.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20040123_RL31025_93a020052d55eea9e38db5a08c3e803d0a4d70d7.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Appropriations", "Domestic Social Policy" ] }