How the Perspective of Fathers Contributes to Disproportionality:

A Real Discussion

Kilolo Brodie, MSW, Ph.D. California State University Stanislaus

Natasha Paddock, MSWRegional Director – Region C

National Association of Social Workers - California

1. Better understand the relationship between father involvement and disproportionality in child welfare

2. Examine the barriers to father involvement including institutional and social worker gender bias

3. Discuss the benefits of incorporating co-parenting as a method to improve parent communication

4. Advocate for culturally relevant practices and increase workers’ competence when working with fathers

The purpose of this webinar is to:

1. African American children are disproportionately represented in child welfare

2. African American children remain in foster care longer than their counterparts

3. Race + class = disproportionality (McRoy, 2008)

4. Little focus/considerations for fathers in CPS

5. Gender bias in child welfare

6. Mother’s inclusion or EXCLUSION fathers

7. Lack of research devoted to father involvement and gender bias

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Perceptions of Fathers:

1. Ineffective & unimportant parents (O’Donnell, 2001)

2. Breadwinners vs. social/emotional providers (Black et al., 1999)

3. Conditioned to believe if they cannot provide (financially), their presence is not warranted (Greif et al., 2011)

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:

Mothers as Gatekeepers of Fathers:

1. May/may not provide father(s)’ whereabouts

2. May/may not provide identifying information

3. General lack of communication about fathers & paternal relatives

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:

Transference (FATHERS):1.Negative thoughts/beliefs about child welfare2.Negative interactions/outcomes with women

Counter-transference (STAFF & SYSTEMS):3.Negative outcomes of relationships with men4.Unresolved issues between female workers and men/father figures5.Racial, social, educational, economic stereotypes6.Unintentional gender bias

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE:

Who is “the system”?

1. Family Systems Theory2. Empowerment Perspective3. Family-Centered

Perspective4. Co-parenting Model

THEORIES, MODELS & FRAMEWORK:

1. What are the experiences of fathers regarding their parenting? Experiences (IV) Parenting (DV)

2. How do fathers describe their interactions with social workers? Descriptions (IV) Experiences (DV)

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Research Design:

Exploratory/descriptive study Mixed methods – focus groups

and self-administered surveys 3 primary subject areas

o Fathering and co-parentingo Fatherhood involvement o Gender bias and social

workers

METHODOLOGY

Sampling Plan

• Nonprobability • Purposive • Targeted a mandated parenting class

for men RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES & TECHNIQUES• CBO in the Bay Area• Gift card incentives were offered

METHODOLOGY

Instrumentation:

33 Likert scale items Interview guide approach (focus

groups) 3 main categories

o Fathering and co-parentingo Fatherhood involvement o Gender bias and social workers

METHODOLOGY

Instrumentation:

Questions constructed with feedback from directors of CW orgs, CPS line workers, & social science researchers, in conjunction with a review of the literature, to determine the appropriateness of the tool.

Face validity was determined.

METHODOLOGY

Protection of Human Subjects:

University IRB compliance Informed consent procedures Focus group confidentiality

METHODOLOGY

Data Collection:

Surveys were administered first, followed by the focus group discussions

4 separate focus groups within one year

METHODOLOGY

METHODOLOGY

Quantitative Data Analysis:

Univariate analysis Descriptive statistics

Qualitative Data Analysis: Neuman, W. L. (2003). Social research methods:

qualitative and quantitative approaches. Boston: Pearson Education.

Displayed in tables

Sample

• 33 male respondents• All from racial minority backgrounds

Findings: DEMOGRAPHICS

African American Asian Latino Middle Eastern Pacific Islander Latino & African American

Findings: DEMOGRAPHICS

Findings: DEMOGRAPHICS

 Age Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative

Percent

20-25 7 23.3 23.3

26-30 6 20.0 43.3

31-35 5 16.7 60.0

36-40 5 16.7 76.7

51+ 3 10.0 86.7

under 20 2 6.7 93.3

46-50 2 6.7 100.0

Findings: DEMOGRAPHICS

Findings: FATHERING & CO-PARENTING  

What does co-parenting mean to you? Frequency Valid Percent

 

All responsibilities divided in half (50/50) 18 54.5

Parents agree 100% 6 18.2

Parents share joint legal and physical custody 3 9.1

Both parents sign legal paperwork & joint custody 2 6.1

All responsibilities are shared 50/50 & parents must agree 100% 1 3.0

All responsibilities are shared 50/50 & both parents sign legal paperwork 1 3.0

All responsibilities 50/50 and joint legal & physical custody 2 6.1

Total 33 100.0

Findings: FATHERING & CO-PARENTING

Findings: FATHERING & CO-PARENTING

Conflict About…

Never/ Very rarely

Some of the time

All/Most of the time

Where children live 57% 24% 18%

Father spends money 57% 15% 27%

Mother spends money 54% 21% 24%

Visitation 60% 15% 24%

Child support 69% 15% 15%

Findings: FATHERING & CO-PARENTING

How often do you & child’s mother…

Never/ Very rarely

Some of the time

All/Most of the time

Make important decisions together 22% 19% 59%

Discuss school progress 27% 14% 59%

Discuss discipline 22% 29% 48%

Findings: FATHERHOOD INVOLVEMENT

Findings: FATHERHOOD INVOLVEMENT

Findings: FATHERHOOD INVOLVEMENT

Always/Most of the time

Not very involved

Not involved at all

How involved are you in your children’s lives? 94% 3% 3%

How involved is your side of the family? 78% 19% 3%

Does your family support your child’s events? 87% 6% 6%

Never/ Very rarely

Some of the time

All/Most of the time

Felt treated w/ respect 52% 5% 42%

Felt valued 55% 15% 35%

SW saw me as important an factor in child’s life 31% 21% 47%

SW believed my role was for financial support 47% 12% 41%

Findings: GENDER BIAS & SOCIAL WORK

Findings: GENDER BIAS & SOCIAL WORK

SA A D SDNot Sure

SW treated me the same as the children’s mother

12% 17% 35% 0% 35%

SW didn’t want my input regarding the child’s case

5% 11% 22% 28% 33%

Findings: GENDER BIAS & SOCIAL WORK

 

Never 29%Very rarely 6%Some of the time 35%Most of the time 12%All of the time 17%

Female social worker included me in the case plan

Have you ever had a male social worker? (n=23) 87% = “No”

**Was your experience with male social workers

any different from working with female social

workers? (n=8) 0% = Very different 37% = Some difference/Not much difference 50% = Not sure

Findings: GENDER BIAS & SOCIAL WORK

If you’ve never had a male social worker, do you think it would have made any difference? (n=15)

7% = “Yes” 53% = “No”

Findings: GENDER BIAS & SOCIAL WORK

Findings: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS/CODING

Neuman’s 5-part plan:

Sorting & Classifying - Data were organized by each survey question

Open Coding - Assigned initial codes or labels to condensed data into categories; Themes/labels were created based on our 2 research questions, the literature review, and frequency of terms used by participants

Axial Coding – Organization of the themes; concentrated on process and conceptual categories

Findings: QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS/CODING

Neuman’s 5-part plan (cont.):

Selective Coding – Scanned the data again and reviewed the previously established codes; selected cases that illustrated major themes & concepts

Interpreting & Elaborating – Identified major themes and categories are related to the literature (existing knowledge base); noted comparisons and contrasts;

Offered explanations for the findings; working theory (explanations) were then formulated

QUALITATIVE THEME: “DYNAMICS”

[CPS] “is implosive…breaking you down from the inside” – the CW system

“CPS is like the police, like the enemy” “the courts are biased” – proponents of mothers

“it’s real Jim Crowish” – the CW system

“[Social workers] make it so mom will be the best parent [and the one] with services” – bias

Summary of the Findings SW gender did not matter Father self-identified as “active” and

“involved” (even though some fathers had court orders to stay away from their children)

High involvement of paternal relatives Many of the fathers reported being gainfully

employed with a skilled trade Overall, the fathers reported a positive co-

parenting experience

Limitations of the Study

• Survey Language• Sample size• Social desirability • Instrument not pretested

Implications for the Future of Child Welfare Research

Sampling more fathers of color- African American fathers

Operational definition of “active” and “involved”

The impact of gender (male) on child welfare case planning

Implications for the Future of Child Welfare Education

Title IV-E child welfare training projects

Social work education - GP, HBSE, research and field practicum

Paradigm shift - value placed on fathers

Implications for the Future of Child Welfare Practice

Legislation that supports low-income fathers and addresses barriers to father involvement (employment, housing, and child welfare visibility)

Collaboration of services (mental health, criminal justice, public social services, child welfare) that addresses inter-systemic issues concerning fathers

Mandated child welfare trainings that emphasizes cultural awareness of low income communities and best practices for engaging fathers

Tipping the Scales

Disproportionality Father Involvement• Family History• Extended Relatives• Resources

• American Humane Association. (2013). Fatherhood initiative. Retrieved from http://www.americanhumane.org/children/programs/fatherhood-initiative/

• Black, M. M., Dubowitz, H. Starr, Jr, R. H. (1999). African American fathers in low income, urban families: Development, behavior, and home environment of their three-year-old children. Child Development, 70(4), 967-978.

• California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC). (2013). Title IV-E child welfare training program. Retrieved from http://calswec.berkeley.edu/title-iv-e-child-welfare-training-program.

• Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2010, August). National quality improvement center on non-resident fathers and the child welfare system discretionary grant. Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/management/funding/funding_sources/qicnrf.cfm

• Coakley, T. M., (2008). Examining African American father’s involvement in permanency planning: An effort to reduce racial disproportionality in the child welfare system. Children and Youth Services Review, 30, 407-417.

References

References

• Coakley, T. M., (2013). The influence of father involvement on child welfare permanency outcomes: A secondary analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 174-182.

• Council on Social Work Education. (2012, August). Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (Educational Policy 2.3—Signature Pedagogy: Field Education). Retrieved from http://www.cswe.org/File.aspx?id=41861

• Curtis, C., Denby, R. (2011). African American children in the child welfare system: Requiem or reform. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 5, 111-137.

• English, D. J., Brummel, S., & Martens, P. (2009). Fatherhood in the Child Welfare System: Evaluation of a Pilot Project to Improve Father Involvement. Journal Of Public Child Welfare, 3(3), 213-234.

• Friere, P. (2002). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: The Continuum International Publishing Group, Inc.

• Greif, G. L., Jones, J. T., Worthy, J., White, E., Davis, W., & Pitchford, E. (2011). Working with urban, African American fathers: The importance of service provision, joining, accountability, the father-child relationship, and couples work. Journal of Family Social Work, 14(3), 247-261.

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