Improving Father Involvement in Child Welfare Practice and Research: Conceptual Considerations from the Social Science Literature

Abstract

The positive benefits to children of their fathers' involvement in their lives have been well documented in the social science literature. This article reviews related child welfare literature and argues that several important concepts informing father involvement research in the social sciences—the significance of the parents' relationship, the potentially dangerous behaviors of fathers, and emerging trends in low-income families—need to be incorporated into work on father involvement in the child welfare context, in order to maximize the effectiveness of involvement efforts as well as the potential benefits to children. Implications for child welfare practice include the need for intensive involvement efforts, attention to fathers' progress in treatment, services to strengthen parental relationships and improve coparenting, and expansion of service eligibility to all those who play parental roles in children's lives. Implications for research include the need for studies examining the different kinds of fathers in child welfare households, how parental dynamics influence child and parent outcomes, and the influence fathers' problems may have in moderating the effects of their involvement on children.

Keywords::

• Fathers
• father involvement
• coparenting
• domestic violence
• fragile families

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Amy C. D'Andrade

Amy C. D'Andrade is an Associate Professor at the San Jose State University School of Social Work.

Nadia Sorkhabi

Nadia Sorkhabi is a Research Associate at the U.C. Berkeley Institute of Human Development and Associate Professor at the San Jose State University Department of Child & Adolescent Development.