Low-Income Nonresident Fatherhood: A Literature Review With Implications for Practice and Research

Abstract

The emerging literature on fatherhood is contributing to the reframing of public perceptions of low-income nonresident fathers by focusing on father presence rather than absence. Insights into how and when fathers contribute to their children beyond financial support provides for a strengths-based perspective to engage fathers in services provided for their children. A review of this literature includes practice implications related to the need for: (a) father engagement training for agency staff, (b) father-friendly programs and services, (c) child support policy reform, and (d) more research on the issue of fatherhood in the 21st century.

Improving Parenting Practices Among Fathers Who Misuse Opioids: Fathering Through Change Intervention

“…Quality father involvement across contexts and father residency status has been associated with improved child social, emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (Adamsons and Johnson, 2013 ; Lee and Schoppe-Sullivan, 2017 ; Suizzo et al, 2017 ; Higgs et al, 2018 ). Involving fathers early in processes related to child welfare—including involvement in the child's case plan and enrollment in parenting, mental health and behavioral health treatment and other necessary supports to promote reunification and general father involvement—improves the father-child relationship.…”

“…Given longstanding evidence that quality father involvement by residential and non-residential fathers has independent beneficial impacts on children (Aquilino, 2006 ; DeGarmo, 2010 ; Adamsons and Johnson, 2013 ), we argue there are benefits to understanding and improving parenting among fathers who misuse opioids. Indeed, even in the context of social disadvantage, positive father involvement is related to a host of positive outcomes for children (Cabrera et al, 2000 ; Gordon et al, 2012 ; Adamsons and Johnson, 2013 ; Higgs et al, 2018 ).…”

Recruitment, Retention, and Intervention Outcomes from the Dedicated African American Dad (DAAD) Study

“…Although 2.3 million African American (AA) fathers live with their children, there are 1.7 million who do not [1]. AA families have the greatest percentage of children who live apart from their fathers [2], and these nonresident fathers are an understudied and vulnerable population [3]. Father non-residency can exert a negative influence on men's health and contribute to lower father involvement [4,5].…”

Engaging Nonresident Fathers: Exploring Collaborative Competencies in Support of Family-Centered Practice

“…As a result, nearly thirty percent of men with children under the age of 18 do not live with their children more than half of the time (Livingston & Parker, 2011). Despite living in separate spaces, there is promising evidence to suggest that nonresident fathers are still engaged in the lives of their children (Cheadle et al, 2010;Higgs et al, 2018;Jones & Mosher, 2013), which is beneficial for all members of the family system (Allport et al, 2018;Logan, 2018). Their involvement, however, is largely influenced by their socioeconomic status (Gibson et al, 2020;Icard et al, 2017).…”

“…Specifically, nonresident fathers with higher incomes report more engagement than men who earn less annually or are unemployed (Johnson, 2001;Jones & Mosher, 2013;Stykes, 2015). Unfortunately, over 60% of nonresident fathers qualify as low-income, which may constrain their emotional and financial involvement with their children (Higgs et al, 2018). To account for these disparities, the federal government has called for and funded responsible fatherhood programs that "focus on developing services and options to help low-income fathers find more stable and better paying jobs, pay child support consistently, and become more involved parents" (Martinson & Nightingale, 2008, p. 1).…”