Fathers' Support Center New Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood Family Formation Program (NPFF) Impact Evaluation Plan

NCT ID: NCT03413709

Last Updated: 2018-01-29

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

700 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2016-07-01

Study Completion Date

2020-09-30

Brief Summary

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The Fathers' Support Center, in partnership with the Brown School Evaluation Center at Washington University in St. Louis, seeks to evaluate the impact of their New Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood Family Formation Program (NPFF). The investigators are most interested in quantifying the added benefit of parenting, father-child engagement, and father well-being curriculum compared to course content containing 80 hour economic stability material only. The impact evaluation will answer four key outcome and implementation specific questions using a mixed methods approach. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups (full program or 80 hour economic stability curriculum only) and tracked for the duration of the program. The impact evaluation tools include a set of validated instruments and will be administered to participants at baseline and again at three and twelve months after completion of the program. Performance measurement data will also be included in our analysis. Investigators hypothesize that participation in the full program will have a greater effect on key outcomes than the economic stability curriculum, a similar number of families will be reached by each condition, and that there will be minimal variability in retention rates across groups.

Detailed Description

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Research Questions

The Brown School Evaluation Center at Washington University in St. Louis will conduct the local impact evaluation. The local evaluation seeks to answer four primary questions pertaining to the implementation and outcomes of the Family Formation Program (FFP) (an integrated approach of responsible parenting, economic stability and mobility, and healthy relationships):

Outcome Q1: Does the participation of fathers in the comprehensive Family Formation Program have greater effect on family functioning, father and child outcomes, and father economic stability and mobility compared to fathers receiving the 80 hour economic stability services only (i.e., job readiness and employment skills)?

Implementation Q2: How many families were reached by each of the conditions and was there variability in retention rates of fathers across conditions?

Implementation Q3: Did fathers in the treatment and comparison conditions find the intervention to be acceptable and appropriate?

Implementation Q4: What barriers and benefits exist to successful implementation of father focused family support programs?

Background Fatherhood programs originally had a narrow focus on financial stability and support, but have recently evolved to also emphasize healthy relationships, parenting skills, and father involvement. Despite significant state and federal funding for fatherhood programs, few have undergone rigorous evaluation to examine their effectiveness. This evaluation will determine the added benefit of content on parenting, father-child engagement, and father well-being over and above content on economic stability and mobility, in relation to family functioning, child well-being, and economic stability. This will also further build the evidence supporting one particular comprehensive intervention, FFP, as a means to improve outcomes for children and families through intervening with fathers.

Relation to program logic model The primary research question of this impact evaluation will examine the effect of the FFP on short- and long-term outcomes as described in the FFP logic model

Short-term outcomes assessed by the impact evaluation will include:

1. improved parenting and co-parenting skills;
2. increased father-child engagement;
3. increased financial responsibility of fathers; and
4. progress towards greater economic stability.

The impact evaluation will also examine the FFP long-term outcomes of improved family functioning (through changes in father and child well-being; co-parenting relationship quality, and the father-child relationship) and increased economic stability and mobility.

Hypothesis:

Investigators believe that the FFP will have a greater effect on family functioning, father and child outcomes, and father economic stability compared to fathers in the comparison group because members of the treatment group will be receiving a more comprehensive range of services. Investigators anticipate that fathers will equally participate in both programs because both will provide meaningful information and opportunities to build their skill sets.

Conditions

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Parenting

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Treatment Group (n=350)

The sample for the treatment group for the impact evaluation will only include fathers who are receiving the full 240 hour Family Formation Program (and not the abbreviated 80 hour program). The treatment group will receive FSC's Family Formation Program, which is a six week, 240 hour program implementing a set of curricula focusing on responsible parenting, healthy relationships,and economic stability and mobility. In addition, participants will receive case management and a variety of employment, legal and support services for up to one year following the completion of the curriculum.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Family Formation Program

Intervention Type OTHER

The sample for the treatment group for the impact evaluation will only include fathers who are receiving the full 240 hour FFP program (and not the abbreviated 80 hour program). The treatment group will receive FSC's Family Formation Program, which is a six week, 240 hour program implementing a set of curricula focusing on responsible parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability and mobility.

Comparison Group (n=350)

The sample comparison group will receive only the abbreviated 80 hour program. Which consist of economic stability and mobility only. These participants will receive employment case management and legal services for up to one year following the completion of the curriculum.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Family Formation Program

The sample for the treatment group for the impact evaluation will only include fathers who are receiving the full 240 hour FFP program (and not the abbreviated 80 hour program). The treatment group will receive FSC's Family Formation Program, which is a six week, 240 hour program implementing a set of curricula focusing on responsible parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability and mobility.

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

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Economic Stability Health Relationships Responsible Parenting

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* being a father (biological or step) with at least one child 16 years old or younger

Exclusion Criteria

* no presence of a restraining order from mother or child
* is not currently incarcerated
* is not homeless
Minimum Eligible Age

16 Years

Eligible Sex

MALE

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Washington University School of Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Fathers' Support Center, St. Louis

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Cheri Tillis

Project Director

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Jonathan Green

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

Washington University, Human Research Protection Office

Locations

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Fathers Support Center, St. Louis INC.

St Louis, Missouri, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Sarah Bobmeyer, MSW

Role: CONTACT

314-935-3723

Cheri D Tillis, MS

Role: CONTACT

314-333-4170 ext. 107

Facility Contacts

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Cheri D Tillis, MS

Role: primary

314-333-4170 ext. 107

Destini N Goodwin

Role: backup

314-333-4170 ext. 108

References

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Kohl PL, Krauss MJ, King C, Cheng SY, Fowler P, Goodwin DN, Tillis CD, Sullivan H, Sorg A, Mueller NB. The impact of responsible fatherhood programs on parenting, psychological well-being, and financial outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. Fam Process. 2022 Sep;61(3):1097-1115. doi: 10.1111/famp.12752. Epub 2022 Jan 5.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34988991 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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201605068

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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