Findings from the Urban Institute’s Cross-Site Review of Responsible Fatherhood Projects

• In Event: Improving Reentry Programs

Abstract

As part of its implementation evaluation, The Urban Institute (UI) has documented the activities of six responsible fatherhood reentry programs funded by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide parenting and relationship education along with wraparound case management services to assist fathers in reunifying with their families, finding employment, navigating the child support system, and meeting other needs. UI will present key themes from the research, while focusing on the logic behind how grantees expect programs to impact fathers, families, and the correctional and reentry contexts in local communities. Of particular interest is how the logic models have changed over the course of program implementation and any identified resource or knowledge gaps. UI will also discuss potential measures for future evaluations of fatherhood programs, which will draw from expertise in the field, as well as the experiences of the six fatherhood grantees. For instance, grantees have experienced difficulty in finding parenting curricula that are culturally appropriate for their populations, or in determining the optimal amount of father-to-child interaction in very strained families. Future evaluations should implement measures that take such challenges into consideration.

Authors

• Jeremy Levy, Urban Institute

• Jocelyn Fontaine, Urban Institute

• Lindsey Cramer, Urban Institute

• Shelli Rossman, Urban Institute