The role of fathers has recently received increased attention
from academics, the government, and private foundations.
Fatherlessness is not only viewed as a cause of child poverty,
but has also been shown to affect child development and
children's prospects for academic and labor market success.
There is also a perceived link between fatherlessness and social
problems such as youth violence, domestic violence, and teen
child bearing. The seriousness of father absence has prompted
the federal government and organizations such as the Ford
Foundation to begin funding programs that promote responsible
fatherhood. There is, however, a paucity of evaluation
information on the effectiveness of these programs. The
increased interest in programs that promote responsible
fatherhood and the limited information currently available on
the services provided and effectiveness of these programs has
generated interest in the systematic evaluation of responsible
fatherhood programs. For this reason, the Office of the Assistan