Study Details | Pathways to Work

90071-Study of Fathers Adv

Study quality: Low

Low

Reason for the rating: This study received a low study quality rating because it is a quasi-experimental design that does not adjust estimated impacts for potentially important differences between the intervention and comparison groups.

Intervention: Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT)

Population and employment barriers:

Parenting (Parents)

Services provided:

Case management, Job placement, Job readiness, Job search assistance, Legal assistance

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Quasi-experimental design

Study group formation:

The authors used a quasi-experimental design. Participants were recruited to participate in FACT through walk-ins, word-of-mouth referrals, recruitment at county shelters, and staff presentations at meetings for individuals who were recently incarcerated. Parents living in Contra Costa County (California) who had at least one minor child and had a low to moderate income were eligible for FACT services. Program staff referred prospective participants whom they deemed to be not a good fit for FACT to receive other services in the community. The intervention group was formed by identifying and including 379 FACT participants, who enrolled between July 2016 and September 2019 and had an open child support case at the time of enrollment. The comparison group was formed by drawing from Department of Child Support Services administrative data to find individuals who made up a matched comparison group based on age, sex, race, how many children they had, whether parents were custodial or noncustodial, number of days they had a Department of Child Support Services child support case open, and whether they ever had more than one child support case opened. The authors used a coarsened exact matching procedure in which they matched three comparison group members to every intervention group member, for a total of 927 parents in the comparison group and 209 parents in the intervention group.

Time period of study:

Participants enrolled between July 2016 and September 2019. Authors examined outcomes for six months after enrollment.

Pathways only reports results from studies with a study quality rating of high or moderate.

Sample characteristics

Age

Mean age

39 years

Sex

Female	38%
Male	62%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	66%
White, not Hispanic	15%
Hispanic or Latino of any race	17%
Unknown, not reported, or other	3%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Family status

Parents	100%
Noncustodial parents	58%

Participant employment and public benefit status

Were employed	43%
Were unemployed	57%
Public benefits recipients	9%
Had low incomes	100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

Rubicon Programs

Intervention services:

The Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT) program provided services to parents with low incomes in Contra Costa County, CA. Program staff provided services intended to help participants enhance their financial mobility and obtain employment. Services included reviewing resumes, helping with job applications, and offering financial literacy workshops. Individuals were offered intensive case management focused on building transformational relationships and establishing an empowerment plan with individual goals. Program staff also provided workshops on healthy relationships, parenting, and economic stability. Participants could access subsidized employment or transitional employment, therapy sessions, and legal assistance. Participants could also receive supportive services such as transportation assistance, work clothing, and referrals to outside services such as housing assistance or health services.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

Comparison group members were individuals who had an open child support case between January 2016 and September 2019 and who would have been eligible for FACT but did not participate in it.

Study publications

Cramer, Lindsey, Paige Thompson, and Bryce Peterson (2020). Impact evaluation of the Fathers Advancing Community Together program in Contra Costa County, California, Washington, DC: Urban Institute. Available at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ofa/Rubicon_Impact_Report.pdf.

Peterson, Bryce E., Lindsey Cramer, and Paige S. Thompson. Employment and child support outcomes among noncustodial fathers: An evaluation of the Fathers Advancing Community Together program. Family Process, (61)3:1116-1133, doi: 10.1111/famp.12753. Epub 2022

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

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Study of Fathers Advancing Community Together (FACT)