Session: Fathers on the Margins: Advancing Policy and Practice through Research on Systemic Barriers and Strengths-Based Solutions (Society for Social Work and Research 30th Annual Conference Anniversary)

Fathers play a critical role in their children′s lives, yet many fathers face barriers that limit their involvement. These include systems involvement, poverty, non-residential status, and racial marginalization. Social work science is uniquely positioned to lead efforts to both understand and address these barriers. This symposium brings together four complementary papers that examine the systemic, structural, and institutional challenges facing fathers and their families, reflecting a shared commitment to research that drives more equitable policy and practice. This symposium aligns with the conference theme, Leading for Transformative Change: Aligning Social Work Science with Policy and Practice, by highlighting how rigorous, equity-oriented research can examine and address systemic barriers to father engagement, inform more inclusive policy design, and strengthen interventions that reflect the lived experiences of diverse families.

The first paper is a scoping review of research on fathers of color involved in the child welfare system and at least one intersecting system--family support, child support, or criminal justice. Across studies, fathers reported marginalization, punitive financial or legal challenges, and limited cultural responsiveness. The review highlights widespread gaps in coordination and calls for interdisciplinary, equity-focused policy reforms that promote father engagement.

The second paper uses national child welfare survey data combined with a machine learning approach to identify key predictors of father-child contact among families whose child maltreatment cases were investigated by child protective services. Drawing on 124 variables across ecological levels, the study finds that sociodemographic factors, service accessibility, and even missing data--such as absent race/ethnicity information--are among the most predictive. These findings underscore the need for improved data infrastructure and multilevel interventions that reflect the complex realities of system-impacted families.

The third paper analyzes nearly two decades of NCANDS data to examine re-report risk among single-father households. Compared to other family structures, single fathers consistently faced elevated risk of CPS re-involvement. Prior substantiated maltreatment reports, multiple allegations, and child disability status emerged as significant predictors. The findings point to the need for disaggregated data and family structure-specific prevention strategies that better serve the needs of single-father households.

The final paper shares qualitative findings from Daddy REAds with Me (DREAM)--a community-based dialogic reading intervention designed for non-resident Black fathers with low income. Participants described a strengthened sense of parental identity, greater use of interactive reading techniques, and deeper emotional connections with their children. The program was well-received, demonstrating the promise of culturally grounded, father-focused interventions for enhancing child development and parenting confidence among underserved fathers.

Together, these four studies reflect the potential of social work research to illuminate and begin to address structural barriers facing fathers in marginalized contexts. Using diverse methodologies--including scoping review, machine learning, longitudinal modeling, and qualitative analysis--and data sources, these papers point toward actionable changes that can support father engagement, improve child welfare outcomes, and promote racial and economic justice. This symposium invites dialogue and offers critical reflections on how fatherhood can be more fully integrated into the core of transformative, justice-oriented social work research, practice, and policy.