ProjectOverviewProject OverviewOver the last three decades, MDRC has established itself as a leader in providing technical assistance to organizations that deliver services to fathers through such projects as Parents’ Fair Share, Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) Training and Technical Assistance, Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs (SIRF), and Building Bridges and Bonds (B3). This project page showcases publications from MDRC projects that offer best practices for program operators serving fathers, many of which are also featured on the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood websites. These publications are designed to support the federal Administration for Children and Families, which funded most of MDRC’s technical assistance to fatherhood programs, with implementing its learning agenda to build a knowledge base for promoting program improvement and increasing positive outcomes for individual participants, couples, and their families. Resources Hosted by the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse “DADication” documentary and accompanying discussion guides Simpler Solutions for Fatherhood Programs Things to Consider When Connecting with Fathers Via Mobile Applications Like Tweet Share Print Email STATUS: Current Basics Issue: Families with Children Focus Area: Child Support, Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Focus Population: Fathers, Parents Who Are Ordered to Pay Child Support Featured Content InfographicFrom Unexceptional to Unforgettable: How Fatherhood Programs Can Engage Clients Using Behavioral ScienceThis infographic uses before-and-after examples to demonstrate how fatherhood programs can use lessons from behavioral science, which studies how people process information and make decisions, to improve the effectiveness of their communications to fathers. Overview » BriefSix Recommendations for Supporting Families Affected by Parental IncarcerationA Review of the Literature When a parent is jailed or incarcerated, it has direct consequences for children and families. Family-strengthening programs seek to maintain healthy relationships between such parents and their children. They have the potential to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration on families. This brief describes six recommendations for family-strengthening programs. Overview »Full BriefWalking in Participants’ ShoesCustomer Journey Mapping as a Tool to Identify Barriers to Program Participation To identify ways to bolster participation in fatherhood programs, the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs project used “customer journey mapping,” a process that focuses on the needs and goals of participants. This document describes and illustrates each of five steps in the mapping process. Overview »Full Agenda, Scope, <br> & Goals Like Tweet Share Print Email STATUS: Current Basics Issue: Families with Children Focus Area: Child Support, Two-Generation Programs Population: Families Focus Population: Fathers, Parents Who Are Ordered to Pay Child Support Featured Content InfographicFrom Unexceptional to Unforgettable: How Fatherhood Programs Can Engage Clients Using Behavioral ScienceThis infographic uses before-and-after examples to demonstrate how fatherhood programs can use lessons from behavioral science, which studies how people process information and make decisions, to improve the effectiveness of their communications to fathers. Overview » BriefSix Recommendations for Supporting Families Affected by Parental IncarcerationA Review of the Literature When a parent is jailed or incarcerated, it has direct consequences for children and families. Family-strengthening programs seek to maintain healthy relationships between such parents and their children. They have the potential to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration on families. This brief describes six recommendations for family-strengthening programs. Overview »Full BriefWalking in Participants’ ShoesCustomer Journey Mapping as a Tool to Identify Barriers to Program Participation To identify ways to bolster participation in fatherhood programs, the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs project used “customer journey mapping,” a process that focuses on the needs and goals of participants. This document describes and illustrates each of five steps in the mapping process. Overview »Full Funders & <br />PartnersFunders U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation The Annie E. Casey Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Charles Stewart Mott Foundation Fathers Incorporated Ford Foundation The McKnight Foundation The Pew Charitable Trusts Public Strategies, Inc. U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Department of Agriculture W. K. Kellogg Foundation MDRC StaffMDRC Staff Dina A. R. IsraelSenior Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentIsrael is one of MDRC’s senior field liaisons and technical assistance team members, as well as a project director.More » Xavier AlemañyInternal Visual Design LeadAlemañy is a design analyst in MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS), where he leads the graphic development of intervention materials informed by behavioral science. He specializes in using a user-centered approach to redesign program and agency communications.More » Rebecca BehrmannOperations Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentBehrmann has more than 15 years of experience in the implementation of large-scale research studies.More » Emily BrennanResearch Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentBrennan’s research focuses on criminal justice policies and systems and employment and training programs. Brennan specializes in the implementation of large-scale studies in collaboration with researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, conducting qualitative data collection and analysis as well as quantitative analysis.More » Virginia KnoxPresidentVirginia Knox became President of MDRC on October 15, 2019. Prior to being named president, Knox served as vice president and as leader of the organization’s Families and Children Policy Area.More » Michelle S. MannoSenior Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentManno works primarily as an implementation researcher for several of MDRC’s evaluations of policies and programs serving populations with barriers to employment, including individuals with experience in the criminal justice system and “disconnected” young adults (those who are neither employed nor in school).More » Emily MaranoResearch Associate, MDRC Center for Applied Behavioral ScienceEmily Marano works in MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science (CABS), where she provides operational and implementation support for studies designed to improve outcomes for low-income populations using behavioral science.More » Meghan McCormickSenior Associate, Family Well-Being and Children’s DevelopmentMcCormick’s work uses experimental and quasi-experimental approaches to estimate the impacts of school- and home-based programs and policies on children’s academic, behavioral, and social-emotional outcomes, with a focus on identifying programs and policies that promote equitable opportunities and outcomes for children and families living in poverty.More » Charles MichalopoulosChief EconomistMichalopoulos is MDRC’s chief economist and directs the Youth Employment, Criminal Justice, and Employment Policy Area. He has more than three decades of experience studying a wide variety of social policies to help low-income families achieve better economic, health, and social outcomes.More » Frieda MolinaDirector, Economic Mobility, Housing, and CommunitiesMolina has over 20 years of experience providing technical and operational assistance to workforce development service providers, and has worked at MDRC for 17 years on numerous workforce development evaluations.More » Diego QuezadaOperations Analyst, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentQuezada is an operations analyst in the Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and Employment policy area.More » Keri WestOperations Associate, Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and EmploymentWest is an Operations Research Associate in MDRC’s Youth Development, Criminal Justice, and Employment Policy Area.More » Samantha WulfsohnSenior Associate, Family Well-Being and Children’s DevelopmentWulfsohn is a senior field liaison and licensed clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience working alongside staff in the field to continually strengthen program implementation at all stages of the evidence-building cycle.More » Donna Wharton-FieldsSenior Fellow, Economic Mobility, Housing, and CommunitiesWharton-Fields, a Senior Fellow, has more than 15 years of experience in community development and urban planning. Her current work is focused on the Opportunity NYC project, a new demonstration program designed to reduce inter-generational poverty in New York City.More » Project Director Publications & Resources COMPLETE LIST OF PUBLICATIONS Items per page 510204060View All InfographicFrom Unexceptional to Unforgettable: How Fatherhood Programs Can Engage Clients Using Behavioral Science09/2022Xavier Alemañy, Dina A. R. IsraelThis infographic uses before-and-after examples to demonstrate how fatherhood programs can use lessons from behavioral science, which studies how people process information and make decisions, to improve the effectiveness of their communications to fathers. Overview » BriefWalking in Participants’ ShoesCustomer Journey Mapping as a Tool to Identify Barriers to Program Participation 07/2022Rebecca Behrmann, Becca Heilman, Kureem Nugent, Donna Wharton-FieldsTo identify ways to bolster participation in fatherhood programs, the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs project used “customer journey mapping,” a process that focuses on the needs and goals of participants. This document describes and illustrates each of five steps in the mapping process. Overview »Full VideoEngaging Dads in Fatherhood Programs: Prioritizing Fathers’ Perspectives10/2021The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study worked with fatherhood programs to engage fathers and identify effective ways to provide employment training and support positive father-child relationships. In this video, program staff and fathers share their experiences about how programs prioritized fathers’ perspectives, which helped the programs to continuously learn how to better engage fathers. More » VideoEngaging Dads in Fatherhood Programs: Positive Experiences Inside the Program10/2021The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study worked with fatherhood programs to engage fathers and identify effective ways to provide employment training and support positive father-child relationships. In this video, program staff and fathers share their perspectives on how programs supported fathers’ engagement through positive experiences in the program. More » BriefSix Recommendations for Supporting Families Affected by Parental IncarcerationA Review of the Literature 09/2021Emily Brennan, Meghan McCormick, Bright Sarfo, Michelle S. MannoWhen a parent is jailed or incarcerated, it has direct consequences for children and families. Family-strengthening programs seek to maintain healthy relationships between such parents and their children. They have the potential to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration on families. This brief describes six recommendations for family-strengthening programs. Overview »Full Pages123next ›last »
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance
InfographicFrom Unexceptional to Unforgettable: How Fatherhood Programs Can Engage Clients Using Behavioral Science09/2022Xavier Alemañy, Dina A. R. IsraelThis infographic uses before-and-after examples to demonstrate how fatherhood programs can use lessons from behavioral science, which studies how people process information and make decisions, to improve the effectiveness of their communications to fathers. Overview »
BriefWalking in Participants’ ShoesCustomer Journey Mapping as a Tool to Identify Barriers to Program Participation 07/2022Rebecca Behrmann, Becca Heilman, Kureem Nugent, Donna Wharton-FieldsTo identify ways to bolster participation in fatherhood programs, the Strengthening the Implementation of Responsible Fatherhood Programs project used “customer journey mapping,” a process that focuses on the needs and goals of participants. This document describes and illustrates each of five steps in the mapping process. Overview »Full
VideoEngaging Dads in Fatherhood Programs: Prioritizing Fathers’ Perspectives10/2021The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study worked with fatherhood programs to engage fathers and identify effective ways to provide employment training and support positive father-child relationships. In this video, program staff and fathers share their experiences about how programs prioritized fathers’ perspectives, which helped the programs to continuously learn how to better engage fathers. More »
VideoEngaging Dads in Fatherhood Programs: Positive Experiences Inside the Program10/2021The Building Bridges and Bonds (B3) study worked with fatherhood programs to engage fathers and identify effective ways to provide employment training and support positive father-child relationships. In this video, program staff and fathers share their perspectives on how programs supported fathers’ engagement through positive experiences in the program. More »
BriefSix Recommendations for Supporting Families Affected by Parental IncarcerationA Review of the Literature 09/2021Emily Brennan, Meghan McCormick, Bright Sarfo, Michelle S. MannoWhen a parent is jailed or incarcerated, it has direct consequences for children and families. Family-strengthening programs seek to maintain healthy relationships between such parents and their children. They have the potential to reduce the harmful effects of incarceration on families. This brief describes six recommendations for family-strengthening programs. Overview »Full
