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Parents' Fair Share

An Effective Practice

Description

The Parents' Fair Share (PFS) demonstration program, implemented from 1994 through 1996 (with an initial pilot phase from 1992 to 1994), was a national demonstration project authorized by the Family Support Act of 1988. The PFS program was designed as an alternative to standard child support enforcement. The program offered services in four areas: employment and training, modified child-support enforcement, peer support, and voluntary mediation services with the custodial parent.

Goal / Mission

The goals of the program included helping unemployed, noncustodial parents (primarily fathers) to secure employment, pay child support, and participate more fully and responsibly as parents.

Results / Accomplishments

Noncustodial parents in the PFS program, who were almost exclusively fathers, were significantly more likely to pay child support than were noncustodial parents in the control group. Additionally, the PFS program had no significant effects on employment rates and earnings for the full sample of noncustodial fathers, although it did increase earnings for the least employable men.

About this Promising Practice

Organization(s)
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
Primary Contact
Cynthia Miller
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
16 East 34th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 532-3200
cynthia.miller@mdrc.org
Topics
Community / Social Environment
Economy / Employment
Organization(s)
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation
Source
Promising Practices Network
Date of publication
Jan 2007
For more details
http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?prog...
Target Audience
Families

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Related Content for: Parents' Fair Share

An Effective Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

  1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success and/or promise in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.
  2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures of improvement in outcome of interest (i.e. increase in voter registration, not just delivery of voter registration drive) and/ or the outcome measure is increased or improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant.