Parenting and Providing: The Impact of Parents' Fair Share on Paternal Involvement

摘要

The Parents Fair Share (PFS) Demonstration was a multi-site national project designed to test a new approach to child support enforcement (CSE) for low-income noncustodial parents. The demonstration phase of the program operated in seven sites Los Angeles, California; Jacksonville, Florida; Springfield, Massachusetts; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Trenton, New Jersey; Dayton, Ohio; and Memphis, Tennessee from 1994 to 1996. The demonstration operated within a random assignment design, dividing approximately 5,600 noncustodial parents evenly between a program group that received PFS services and a control group that did not. The demonstration was managed and evaluated by the Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC). For fathers1 who were behind in their child support payments because of unemployment, and whose children were receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), the program mandated participation in peer discussion groups, provided new employment and training opportunities, and instituted enhanced child support services. Through these services, the programs designers hoped to increase child support payments, improve the fathers employment and earnings, and increase the fathers involvement with their children.