Fathers Financial Support for Their Children: Evidence from the Parents and Children Together Evaluation

Mathematica and its partners held a webinar on how low-income fathers in Responsible Fatherhood programs perceive and provide financial support for their children.

Responsible Fatherhood (RF) programming has grown out of research demonstrating the importance of father involvement in family life, specifically to reduce child poverty. RF programs funded by the Administration for Children and Families offer activities designed to increase non-resident fathers’ involvement with their children, improve social and economic outcomes for fathers and their families, and promote healthy couple and co-parenting relationships. To support development of future programs and guide research, Mathematica, as part of the Parents and Children Together (PACT) evaluation, explored how low-income fathers participating in four RF programs perceive and provide financial support for their children. The study integrated quantitative and qualitative analyses addresses:

• What amount and type of support do fathers participating in RF programs provide to their children? What are their attitudes toward providing this support?
• What are the impacts of the PACT RF programs on outcomes relevant to fathers’ financial support for their children and how do these impacts vary for select subgroups of fathers?

During the webinar, members of the PACT team described the work conducted to explore these questions and discuss findings. This webinar informed future efforts by RF programs by focusing on fathers’ experiences related to providing financial support for their children.