IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/cysrev/v31y2009i9p1010-1018.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for children in foster care

Author

Listed:
  • Malm, Karin E.
  • Zielewski, Erica H.

Abstract

Over the past decade an interest in fathers and their contributions to family stability and children's healthy development has heightened the attention paid within the child welfare field to identifying, locating, and involving fathers. The article presents findings from analyses of data on nonresident fathers and child welfare case outcomes for foster children. Using data available from a telephone survey of child welfare caseworkers, together with administrative data on case outcomes, a positive association between nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for foster children is shown. The sample of foster children with nonresident fathers who provided financial support, nonfinancial support, or both types of supports, were far more likely to experience a reunification outcome than children whose fathers did not provide these supports. The findings demonstrate associations between support and reunification but cannot demonstrate causality given the cross-sectional nature of the dataset. More research is needed to better understand the nature of nonresident father support in the lives of foster children, and the quantity and quality of interactions between mothers, nonresident fathers, and their children.

Suggested Citation

  • Malm, Karin E. & Zielewski, Erica H., 2009. "Nonresident father support and reunification outcomes for children in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(9), pages 1010-1018, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:9:p:1010-1018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190-7409(09)00113-3
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lenna Nepomnyaschy, 2005. "Child Support and Father-Child Contact: Leveraging Panel Data to Establish a Causal Path," Working Papers 941, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    2. repec:pri:crcwel:wp05-05-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Johnson, Waldo E., 2001. "Paternal involvement among unwed fathers," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6-7), pages 513-536.
    4. Coakley, Tanya M., 2008. "Examining African American fathers' involvement in permanency planning: An effort to reduce racial disproportionality in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 407-417, April.
    5. Virginia W. Knox, 1996. "The Effects of Child Support Payments on Developmental Outcomes for Elementary School-Age Children," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(4), pages 816-840.
    6. Hayward, R. Anna & DePanfilis, Diane, 2007. "Foster children with an incarcerated parent: Predictors of reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1320-1334, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fischer, Sierra & Harris, Elizabeth & Smith, Hailey S. & Polivka, Rachel J., 2020. "Family visit coaching: Improvement in parenting skills through coached visitation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    2. Landers, Ashley L. & Danes, Sharon M. & Harstad, Jane & White Hawk, Sandy, 2017. "Finding their way home: Factors associated with reunification for American Indian and White adults," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 359-364.
    3. Haight, Wendy & Marshall, Jane & Woolman, Joanna, 2015. "The Child Protection Clinic: A mixed method evaluation of parent legal representation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 7-17.
    4. Gibson, Stephen M. & Cryer-Coupet, Qiana R. & Knox, Jerica L. & Field, Kimberly, 2020. "Father involvement in kinship care: A risk and resilience perspective," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    5. Van Holen, Frank & Belenger, Laurence & Carlier, Elke & Potoms, Babette & Vanderfaeillie, Johan, 2018. "Short-term family foster care in Flanders: An exploratory study into the factors associated with family reunification decisions," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 699-708.
    6. Brewsaugh, Katrina & Masyn, Katherine E. & Salloum, Alison, 2018. "Child welfare workers' sexism and beliefs about father involvement," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 132-144.
    7. Landers, Ashley L. & Danes, Sharon M., 2016. "Forgotten children: A critical review of the reunification of American Indian children in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 137-147.
    8. Brewsaugh, Katrina & Strozier, Anne, 2016. "Fathers in child welfare: What do social work textbooks teach our students?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 34-41.
    9. Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Borms, Dorien & Teunissen, M.S.L. & Gypen, Laura & Van Holen, Frank, 2023. "Reasons used by Flemish foster care workers in family reunification decision making," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    10. Goemans, Anouk & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Damen, Harm & Pijnenburg, Huub & Van Holen, Frank, 2016. "Reunification of foster children: Factors associated with reunification outcomes in Flanders and the Netherlands," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 284-292.
    11. D'Andrade, Amy C., 2017. "Does fathers' involvement in services affect mothers' likelihood of reunification with children placed in foster care?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 5-9.
    12. Zanoni, Lee & Warburton, Wayne & Bussey, Kay & McMaugh, Anne, 2013. "Fathers as ‘core business’ in child welfare practice and research: An interdisciplinary review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1055-1070.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Steven Garasky & Susan Stewart & Craig Gundersen & Brenda Lohman, 2010. "Toward a Fuller Understanding of Nonresident Father Involvement: An Examination of Child Support, In-Kind Support, and Visitation," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 29(3), pages 363-393, June.
    2. Chien-Chung Huang, 2001. "The Impact of Child Support Enforcement on Nonmarital and Marital Births: Does It Differ by Racial and Age Groups?," JCPR Working Papers 246, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    3. LaFave, Daniel & Thomas, Duncan, 2017. "Extended families and child well-being," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 52-65.
    4. Morton, Cory M. & Ocasio, Kerrie & Simmel, Cassandra, 2011. "A critique of methods used to describe the overrepresentation of African Americans in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1538-1542, September.
    5. Ozturk, Orgul & Chyi, hau, 2006. "The Effects of Single Mothers' Welfare Participation and Work Decisions on Children's Attainments," MPRA Paper 10110, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.
    6. Hébert, Sophie T. & Esposito, Tonino & Hélie, Sonia, 2018. "How short-term placements affect placement trajectories: A propensity-weighted analysis of re-entry into care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 117-124.
    7. Barr, Rachel & Brito, Natalie & Zocca, Jaclyn & Reina, Samantha & Rodriguez, Jennifer & Shauffer, Carole, 2011. "The Baby Elmo Program: Improving teen father-child interactions within juvenile justice facilities," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1555-1562, September.
    8. Reagan A. Baughman, 2017. "The impact of child support on child health," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 69-91, March.
    9. Welch, Vicki & Jones, Christine & Stalker, Kirsten & Stewart, Alasdair, 2015. "Permanence for disabled children and young people through foster care and adoption: A selective review of international literature," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 137-146.
    10. Maureen R. Waller, 2009. "Family Man in the Other America: New Opportunities, Motivations, and Supports for Paternal Caregiving," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 624(1), pages 156-176, July.
    11. Kristin Mammen, 2020. "Children’s Gender and Investments from Nonresident Fathers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 332-349, June.
    12. Lindsey Rose Bullinger, 2021. "Child Support and the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 42-77, January.
    13. Sara McLanahan, 2009. "Fragile Families and the Reproduction of Poverty," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 621(1), pages 111-131, January.
    14. Yampolskaya, Svetlana & Callejas, Linda M., 2020. "The effect of child mental health service use on child safety and permanency in substance misusing families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    15. Garfinkel, Irwin & McLanahan, Sara S. & Tienda, Marta & Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, 2001. "Fragile families and welfare reform: An introduction," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 277-301.
    16. Garfinkel, Irwin & McLanahan, Sara S. & Tienda, Marta & Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne, 2001. "Fragile families and welfare reform part II," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(6-7), pages 453-456.
    17. Hau Chyi, 2013. "The Effects of Single Mothers’Welfare Participation and Work Decisions on Children’s Attainments," Working Papers 2013-10-14, Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics (WISE), Xiamen University.
    18. Kim, Yeongmin & Chung, Yiyoon, 2020. "Child support receipt among divorced mothers in Korea: Changes after the 2007 policy reform," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    19. Finster, Heather P. & Norwalk, Kate E., 2021. "Characteristics, experiences, and mental health of children who re-enter foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    20. Goemans, Anouk & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Damen, Harm & Pijnenburg, Huub & Van Holen, Frank, 2016. "Reunification of foster children: Factors associated with reunification outcomes in Flanders and the Netherlands," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 284-292.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:31:y:2009:i:9:p:1010-1018. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/childyouth .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.