The Testing Identified Elements for Success in Fatherhood Programs (Fatherhood TIES) project hopes to answer the question: What are the elements of fatherhood programs that lead to better outcomes for the fathers who take part in them? Fatherhood programs are designed to help fathers connect with their children, improve fathers’ relationships with their partner or co-parent, and empower fathers to achieve or improve financial stability. These programs usually offer workshops and case management services for fathers to provide, for example, parenting strategies to strengthen their relationships with their children, help finding a steady job, skills to enhance their relationships, and support dealing with other life or family challenges they might experience.
The Fatherhood TIES project, funded by the Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, will identify and test the “core components” of fatherhood programs. Core components are the essential functions, principles, and elements that are judged as being necessary to produce positive outcomes. The project will use this information to try to determine which core components are most effective at improving the lives of fathers who participate in fatherhood programs and their children.
MEF Associates is a subcontractor to MDRC on this project. MEF Associates is leading the project’s active engagement approach, which involves obtaining input on the project approach from fathers with lived expertise, fatherhood practitioners, subject matter experts, and federal partners.