MEDIA CONTACTS:

Maggie Spain                                                                                    Henry Randolph

Spearca Communications                                                                 Temple University
405.812.0685, maggie@spearcadenver.com                                   215.204.3706,
henry.randolph@temple.edu
            
TWELVE STATES SELECTED TO RECEIVE FUNDING TO BETTER ENGAGE FATHERS IN
PROGRAMS AND POLICIES

Grants funded by the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network promote adoption of holistic
policies and services to improve father involvement.
 
DENVER – January 31, 2019 – Today, the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network (FRPN)
announced that it has selected 12 states to each receive $10,000 state planning mini grants.
The projects will run from February 1 – September 30, 2019. Grantees include:

CO Families First Colorado

CT State of Connecticut, Department of Social Services
KY Lexington Leadership Foundation
MI University of Michigan, School of Social Work
MN Minnesota Fathers and Families Network
NC North Carolina State University, School of Social Work
PA The Strong Families Commission

RI Parent Support Network of Rhode Island

SC South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families
TX University of Texas at Austin, Child & Family Research
Partnership
WA Washington State Department of Social and Health Services,
Economic Services Administration (ESA), Office of the
Assistant Secretary
WY Wyoming Children’s Trust Fund
 
According to 2016 U.S. Census Bureau data, 23 percent of U.S. children under the age of 18
live in single-mother households. Nonresidental fathers can play an important role in their
children’s lives, influencing many positive outcomes such as academic achievement, high
school graduation, lower rates of aggression and delinquency, improved behavioral adjustment
and overall well-being. 

The purpose of the FRPN-funding is to enhance father inclusion, with an emphasis on

nonresidential fathers, in state programs and policies dealing with children and
families. Grantees will involve a wide array of stakeholders, including administrators in key state
agencies such as child support and child welfare, to conduct planning activities aimed at
improving father involvement and generating more reliable funding for community-based
fatherhood programs. The awards will help to support strategic planning efforts, interagency
convenings and data collection activities designed to produce system change.
 
FRPN Co-Directors Jessica Pearson, Ph.D., and Jay Fagan, Ph.D., will provide grantees with
technical assistance and conduct an evaluation to gauge the elements of effective planning
efforts.
 
“Programs and policies developed by states frequently influence levels of father involvement,”
said Dr. Pearson, FRPN co-director. “This funding serves as an opportunity to look at how
human services agencies treat fathers, educate stakeholders on the important role fathers have
in their children’s lives, reduce barriers to paternal engagement and develop ways to fund
fatherhood services.”
 
The FRPN is a six-year project (2013-2019) awarded to the Temple University School of Social
Work and the Center for Policy Research, located in Denver, by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research
and Evaluation (#90PR0006). Its purpose is to build the evidence base in the fatherhood field,
disseminate research findings on fatherhood programs and promote the use of research-based
practices by fatherhood programs.  

For more information on the FRPN, please visit www.frpn.org.