Employment Services for Noncustodial Parents: The Georgia Fatherhood Program

Employment Services forEmployment Services for Noncustodial Parents: Noncustodial Parents:

The Georgia Fatherhood ProgramThe Georgia Fatherhood Program

Theresa Ann Sipe, PhD

Stacey R. Bloomer, MS

Danielle E. Ruedt, MPH

Georgia implemented a pilot Fatherhood Program in 1996 and expanded to a statewide program in 1998. The program’s goals are to increase employment for noncustodial parents and thereby increase child support payments. Over 9,000 noncustodial parents have received services from the program thus far. The Georgia Fatherhood Program provides assessment, remedial and literacy education, GED preparation, values clarification concerning responsibility towards children and employment, life skills training, job skills training in a variety of employment fields, and job search assistance.

The main service provider is the Department of Technical and Adult Education with an existing network of 36 technical colleges across the state of Georgia. Data for over 3,112 participants in 2000 indicate that the noncustodial parents are mostly male and African-American with over half having a criminal history. Fifty-four percent of the participants gained employment and 45% are paying child support. Research with a two-group pretest/posttest design was conducted in 1999. Analyses indicate that the two groups were similar on demographics with the exception of education. Results and conclusions for the 1999 research are presented.

Demographics for 2000Demographics for 2000

31 Years mean age 92% Male 79% Black 74% Single 44% No high school education/GED

Data from DTAE Fatherhood Database for 2000 (n=3112)

Barriers for 2000Barriers for 2000

57% Criminal Record- 30% Felonies- 31% Probation or parole- 47% Jail time- 19% Jail time for failure to pay

support 31% No drivers license

Data from DTAE Fatherhood Database for 2000 (n=3112)

Outcomes for 2000Outcomes for 2000

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

EmployedPaying Support

Data from DTAE Fatherhood Web Page (Data from DTAE Fatherhood Web Page (nn=3112)=3112)

ResearchResearch

Components and Results

Two Group Pretest/Posttest Two Group Pretest/Posttest DesignDesign Participants recruited at

Orientation- Paid $25 at posttest

Non-participants recruited from Court system- Paid $10 at pretest and $25 at posttest

Six month interval between measurements

Data collected in 1999

Demographics and BarriersDemographics and Barriers

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Participants (n=76) Nonparticp. (n=47)

Employment StatusEmployment Status

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pretest Posttest

ParticipantsNon-participants

Employment StatusEmployment Status

Participants- 30%

employed on entry

- 66% employed 6 months later

Non-participants- 80%

employed at pretest

- 85% employed 6 months later

Statistically significant increase in numbers

employed for participants

WagesWages

$0.00

$2.00

$4.00

$6.00

$8.00

$10.00

$12.00

Pretest Posttest

P-EmployNon-participantsP-Unemploy

Wages – Unemployed on EntryWages – Unemployed on Entry

Participants(unemploy on

entry)- $0.00 on

entry- $9.75 at

posttest

Non-participants(employed)- $8.65 at

pretest- $9.87 at

posttestNo statistical difference between

the two groups 6 months later

Health Benefits for ChildrenHealth Benefits for Children

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Pretest Posttest

Participants Non-participants

Health Benefits for ChildrenHealth Benefits for Children

Participants- 7% benefits

on entry- 22% benefits

6 months later

Non-participants- 21% benefits

at pretest- 30% benefits

6 months laterStatistically significant

increase in health benefits for children for

participants

Conclusions for EmploymentConclusions for Employment

Enrollment in the GFP leads to higher levels of employment

Wages of participants are comparable to non-participants

Gains in health care for children

Basic Symptom Inventory Basic Symptom Inventory (BSI)(BSI)

Measure of Mental Health

Designed to reflect point-in-time patterns of psychological symptoms

Three Global Indices

BSI Global IndicesBSI Global Indices

Global Severity Index (GSI)- Global Measure of Mental

Health

Positive Symptom Total (PST)- Number of Symptoms Measure

Positive Symptom Distress Index (PSDI) - Intensity of Symptoms Measure

BSI – Fatherhood SampleBSI – Fatherhood Sample

Participants Non-participants

n % n %

Normal Diagnosis

47 66 34 76

Positive Diagnosis

23 32 11 24

Participants Participants (n=71) Non-participants Non-participants (n=45).

BSI – Fatherhood SampleBSI – Fatherhood Sample

Adult Normal Sample Participants

M SD M SD t

GSI .25 .24 .53 .61 3.82**

PST 10.06 8.35 16.06 13.15 3.84**

PSDI 1.27 .39 1.62 .80 3.69**

Normal Sample (n=361) Participants Participants (n=71). *p<.05. **p<.01. *p<.05. **p<.01.

BSI – Fatherhood SampleBSI – Fatherhood Sample

Adult Normal Sample Non-participants

M SD M SD t

GSI .25 .24 .46 .65 2.18*

PST 10.06 8.35 13.84 10.71 2.37*

PSDI 1.27 .39 1.61 .77 3.02*

Normal Sample (n=361) Non-participants Non-participants (n=45). *p<.05. **p<.01. *p<.05. **p<.01.

BSI – Intensity of Symptoms BSI – Intensity of Symptoms

(PSDI)(PSDI)

5454555556565757585859

Pretest Posttest

ParticipantsNon-participants

Conclusions for Mental HealthConclusions for Mental Health

One quarter or more of both groups were defined as a positive case on the BSI.

Both groups tested significantly different from a normal, non-patient population.

Both groups experienced an increase in the level of intensity of symptoms.

ContactsContacts

Theresa Ann Sipe- tsipe@gsu.edu

Danielle Ruedt– druedt@gsu.edu

Stacey Bloomer– sbloomer@gsu.edu

Georgia Fatherhood Hotline

1-888-4 FATHER fatherhood_cse@dhr.state.ga.us

Support for this study was provided by State of Georgia

Department of Human Resources contract 427-930-2243.