Evaluation of AVANCE Fathers in Action/Padres Activos Fatherhood Program

The Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) will be conducting the "local" evaluation of AVANCE's Fathers in Action/Padres Activos (FA/PA) fatherhood program. AVANCE is a non-profit organization that has served low-income families and children since its founding in 1973. AVANCE sites have been providing fatherhood services for some time, but the programming offered has varied across sites and no rigorous evaluation of the programs has been completed. Through a federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood grant, AVANCE aims to create one fatherhood curriculum to be used across their sites: Fathers in Action/Padres Activos (FA/PA).

The purpose of the study is to advance the field of knowledge in the area of fatherhood programing by providing rigorous evidence on the impact of a comprehensive fatherhood program on enhancing a father's ability to be involved with and parent his child, in addition to providing more information on the selective characteristics of fathers who choose to participate in fatherhood programs. The study will seek to answer the following research questions: (1) What are the demographic and relationship characteristics of fathers who choose to participate in the Fathers in Action/Padres Actívos (FA/PA) program, and how do these characteristics compare to the fathers associated with mothers and children in other AVANCE programs?; (2) Does the FA/PA program positively impact parenting and co-parenting, father engagement and involvement, and healthy relationship?; (3) Are the program impacts similar for low-income fathers across regions (Houston v. the Rio Grande Valley), race/ethnicity (African American v. Hispanic), and coresidential status (nonresident v. resident)?; and (4) What are the factors that enhance or impede the successful implementation of the FA/PA program?