Does fathers' involvement in services affect mothers' likelihood of reunification with children placed in foster care?

Abstract

Social science literature shows associations between fathers' involvement with their children and beneficial developmental outcomes of those children. A related but smaller body of research in the child welfare services arena has found measures of father involvement to be positively associated with beneficial child welfare outcomes, including child's reunification with parent after placement in foster care. However, the pathway by which father involvement affects reunification likelihood has not been determined. This study builds on the existing body of literature by testing a theoretical basis for the relationship between father involvement (measured as service use) and mothers' reunification in a model controlling for family structure. I find that fathers' involvement in services improves mothers' likelihood of reunification, independently of family structure. Results suggest that agency efforts to involve fathers in services make sense both when the aim is to prepare the father for possible custody, and when the aim is to reunify the mother.

Distinguishing Characteristics and Disparities in Child Protective Services-Investigated Maltreatment by Fathers

“…Fathers may have both a direct influence on children’s outcomes through caretaking and communication, and indirect influence through others in children’s social networks and social circumstances that effect children’s development (Lamb, 2010). Research in child welfare samples further suggests the importance of engaging fathers to promote child well-being, demonstrating the positive influence of father involvement on children’s development (Leon et al, 2016), including less time spent in foster care and increased reunification (Burrus et al, 2012; Coakley, 2008; D’Andrade, 2017).…”