Saturday, 15 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session II

The Texas Fragile Families Demonstration Project: Highlights from the Evaluation

Fatherhood issues have increasingly entered the research literature within social work and related disciplines over the last 30 years. Recently new family structures, out of marriage births, and maternal-child poverty rates have become increasinly important topics of discussion, policy, and research. Projects have been designed to support and serve these new “fragile families”. One such unique initiative, The Texas Fragile Families (TFF) Demonstration Project, was a three year, five million dollar, 11 site project aimed at serving young low-income unmarried fathers and their families primarily through peer support groups, employment services, and case management services. By employing a unique funding structure that included 27 different private local and national foundations TFF served approximately 1000 fathers and their families from July 2000 to June 2003. The primary goals of the initiative were to 1) use the post-natal "window of opportunity" to engage fathers and help them maintain their emotional and financial connection to their children and 2) change the social service landscape for young low-income fathers across the state by engaging key community and state partners. Highlights from the project evaluation include data collected at individual sites through the Responsible Fatherhood Management Information System (RFMIS) and interviews with stakeholders are presented. RFMIS was originally designed by the Lewin Group contract with the Department of Health and Human Services as a free evaluation tool for responsible fatherhood projects. Interviews with participants, staff members, funders, and community partners highlight struggles and strengths of the TFF initiative. Key lessons are discussed in areas including: engagement of participants, staffing, program structures, participant needs and barriers, and community based research. Implications for social work practice, policy, and future research are outlined.

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