Fatherhood Programs and Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Assault
April is Sexual Assault Awareness month. At the beginning of the month, we explored ways that fatherhood practitioners can talk about healthy sexuality and healthy relationships within their programs as an important step toward preventing sexual assault. We discussed that men who attend fatherhood programs are important leaders in their families and communities and that […]
March 29, 2013
Fatherhood programs and Sexual Assault Awareness Month
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The purpose is to raise awareness of the problem and educate individuals and communities on ways to prevent sexual violence. There are multiple ways that sexual assault awareness is relevant to fatherhood program practitioners. For the beginning of the month, we’ll discuss healthy relationships. Later in April, we’ll have […]
February 21, 2013
“Ban the Box” to Increase Employment Opportunities for People With Criminal Records
Increasing employment opportunities for people with criminal records is the goal of “Ban the Box” efforts in states, counties and cities across the nation. The “Box” refers to the question—often a checkbox—about a job applicant’s criminal record on an employment application. Policies to “Ban the Box” aim to remove this question from initial job applications […]
December 19, 2012
Low-Income People Want Access to Medicaid
How do low-income people feel about not having health insurance? It is “scary,” and people feel “vulnerable” and “worried” according to a new report titled “Faces of the Medicaid Expansion: Experiences of Uninsured Adults who Could Gain Coverage.” These words will ring true for practitioners who work with low-income noncustodial parents, especially in Black and […]
November 15, 2012
Healthy Masculinity Action Project Offers Trainings for Town Halls
Healthy Masculinity Action Project(HMAP) is a two-year effort “designed to raise the visibility of healthy masculinity and build a new generation of male leaders across the country who model non-violent, emotionally healthy masculinity, serving as positive change-makers in society.” Organizations, practitioners, and community members can become involved by forming action teams and organizing local town […]
October 20, 2012
Voting Resources for People With Criminal Records
“Can I vote if I have a criminal record?” This is a question that some low-income noncustodial parents are likely to ask social service providers as the national elections approach. The laws that determine whether a person with a criminal conviction can vote vary greatly from state to state. Two states—Maine and Vermont—have no crime-related […]
October 18, 2012
Supportive Questions Can Identify and Mobilize Parents’ Strengths and Resources
Low-income noncustodial parents may struggle to pay child support, while also trying to support themselves and others who may depend on them, such as other children, partners, family, and/or dependent adults. Such parents, in turn, may also receive support—financial, in-kind, or emotional—from people in their family, circle of friends, and/or community. For social service providers […]
October 5, 2012
Racial Stereotypes Can Affect Case Management Decisions
Social service providers, including those working with low-income noncustodial parents, should be attentive to how case management decisions impacting their clients can be affected by bias due to racial stereotypes. A body of research from the last 20 years has shown that people of color are more negatively affected than white people in a variety […]
September 7, 2012
Fathers Advisory Council Contributes to Program Development By Jayde Bennett, Research Intern
A recent article highlights the importance of noncustodial fathers contributing their perspectives to the design of programs that will serve other fathers like themselves. “Fatherhood Intervention Development in Collaboration With African American Non-Resident Fathers,” by Wrenetha Julion, et al., was published in the online version of Research in Nursing & Health. The article states that […]
August 16, 2012
Federal Child Support Performance Incentives Can Inform Advocacy for Noncustodial Parents
If you are a practitioner who works with low-income noncustodial parents, an understanding of how your local state’s child support enforcement agency receives federal funding may help you advocate for parents in certain circumstances. State child support enforcement agencies receive a significant portion of their funding from performance-based incentives that measure various aspects of each […]