Full Citation

Title: Expanding Our Understanding of Public Policies to Support Father Involvement

Citation Type: Book, Section

Publication Year: 2022

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-13686-3_9

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Abstract: Fathers are integral to family processes and children’s well-being. However, major social and economic changes in the United States over the last several decades have had profound impacts on the economic and social well-being of men of lower socioeconomic status (SES) and men of color, specifically Black, Latino, and Indigenous men. These changes have created stark disparities in the ability and capacity of fathers to be involved with their children. Social policies can be effective mechanisms for promoting and ensuring the well-being of fathers, but fathers are rarely the explicit target of policy efforts. Child support enforcement, the only national policy targeting fathers, has produced an inequitable system that disproportionately subjects low-SES fathers and fathers of color to a series of punitive enforcement mechanisms with minimal benefit to children. We provide evidence for the potential of a broad swath of social policies that have not traditionally been targeted at fathers to improve the well-being of fathers and facilitate their engagement with children. We propose that social workers are uniquely positioned to advocate for reforms and expansions to these policies that will improve father, child, and family well-being and promote economic, social, and racial justice.

Url: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-13686-3_9

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Authors: Nepomnyaschy, Lenna; Miller, Daniel P.

Editors: Bellamy, Jennifer A., Qiana R.; Shadik

Pages: 147-167

Volume Title: Social Work Practice with Fathers

Publisher: Springer, Cham

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Family and Marriage, Work, Family, and Time

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