Population: Families

Fathers

MDRC evaluates programs that seek to boost the earnings of fathers who have low incomes and to increase their involvement with their children.

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Brief

Learn, Do, Reflect

This document summarizes what was learned in SIRF (Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs), which engaged 10 programs in using learning cycles—repeated periods of implementing ideas and reflecting on the results—to build evidence on practices to improve the enrollment, engagement, and retention of fathers in fatherhood programs.

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Brief

Try, Reflect, Try Again

In rapid learning cycles, programs try a new approach, see how well it works, make modifications to strengthen it, and then try it again. This brief illustrates how 10 fatherhood programs used learning cycles to evaluate one of three promising approaches to engaging men in their services.

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Key Documents

Report

The Responsible Fatherhood Curriculum

Developed as part of MDRC’s Parents’ Fair Share Demonstration, the Responsible Fatherhood Curriculum is intended to help fathers more effectively fulfill their roles as parents, partners, and workers.

Behavioral Economics and Social Policy

Designing Innovative Solutions for Programs Supported by the Administration for Children and Families

This report describes three sites in the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency project, which applies tools from behavioral economics to improve the well-being of low-income individuals and families — the Texas Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

Applying Behavioral Science to Child Support

Building a Body of Evidence

Over the past several years, MDRC has worked with the federal Administration for Children and Families to test low-cost behavioral interventions to improve child support services in a number of states. This issue focus describes what’s been learned so far — and what’s planned for the future.

The Testing Identified Elements for Success in Fatherhood Programs (Fatherhood TIES) Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families	MDRC’s Technical Assistance for Fatherhood Programs Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Population: Families	Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF) Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Behavioral Interventions
Procedural Justice-Informed Alternatives to Contempt Focus Area: Family Relationships Child Support Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Locations: Arizona, California, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia	Families Forward Demonstration Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Child Support Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Intervention: Sectoral Training, Career & Technical Education, Counseling/Advising, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: Colorado, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington	Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency-Next Generation Focus Area: Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions
The Kansas Child Support Savings Initiative Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Intervention: Asset Building, Behavioral Interventions Locations: Kansas	Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) Project Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Behavioral Interventions Locations: California, Colorado, Dist. of Columbia, Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Vermont, Washington	MDRC Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS) Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools
Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) Evaluation Focus Area: Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs	Paycheck Plus: Expanded Earned Income Tax Credit for Single Adults Focus Area: Work Support and Asset Building Population: Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Asset Building, Financial Incentives Locations: Georgia, New York	The Subsidized and Transitional Employment Demonstration (STED) Project Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment
Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency Project Focus Area: Child Support Child Care and Early Education Two-Generation Programs Welfare Reform Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Families Populations with Low Incomes Children and Schools Intervention: Behavioral Interventions	Supporting Healthy Marriage Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs, Counseling/Advising Locations: Florida, Kansas, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Training and Technical Assistance Focus Area: Family Relationships Two-Generation Programs Population: Families	Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Employment (CBE-Emp) Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Employment Services Locations: New York	Nudges to Increase Customer Engagement (NICE) in Child Support Programs Focus Area: Child Support Two-Generation Programs Family Relationships Population: Families Populations with Low Incomes Intervention: Behavioral Interventions Locations: New York
The Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration Focus Area: Corrections and Reentry Population: Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Transitional Jobs/Subsidized Employment Locations: California, Georgia, Indiana, New York, Texas, Wisconsin	Parents' Fair Share Focus Area: Family Relationships Child Support Population: Families Populations with Barriers to Employment Intervention: Parenting Skills Programs, Counseling/Advising, Job Training, Employment Services Locations: California, Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee	Building Strong Families Focus Area: Family Relationships Population: Families Intervention: Counseling/Advising, Relationship Education, Parenting Skills Programs Locations: Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Oklahoma, Texas
The UK Employment Retention and Advancement Project Focus Area: Job Retention and Advancement Financial Incentives Population: Populations with Low Incomes Families Intervention: Employment Services, Financial Incentives, Job Training, Reemployment Programs, Welfare-to-Work Locations: United Kingdom

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