Evaluation of the Fathers Advancing Communities Together (FACT) Program

NCT03143439 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: 09226-000-00
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 520
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The Urban Institute-a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization-is partnering with Rubicon Programs to conduct a rigorous evaluation of its Fathers Advancing Communities Together (FACT) program. FACT is a multi-faceted program designed to deliver responsible parenting, healthy relationships, and economic stability services on a voluntary basis to low-income fathers in Contra Costa County, California. Urban's evaluation comprised of three key components: The implementation evaluation will describe FACT program activities and services, including communication and coordination across partners, service delivery mechanisms, and whether and how participants and their families received comprehensive services. Urban will identify a logic model for the program and assess the barriers to and facilitators of program performance. The implementation evaluation will draw from interviews with program staff, partners, and stakeholders, as well as field observations, program and administrative data, and focus groups with FACT participants and their families. The outcome evaluation will build on the implementation evaluation to determine whether specific program components, their frequency, and their duration, are related to outcomes. Urban will conduct surveys of program participants at the time of their enrollment into the program and one year following their enrollment to explore how participants' self-reported attitudes on various domains are associated with economic self-sufficiency and family functioning. Urban will also use program and administrative data collected by Rubicon and its partners, specifically Rubicon's case management database, to assess participant outcomes. The impact evaluation will assess to what extent participation in the FACT program is associated with improved outcomes as compared to similarly situated individuals who did not participate in the program. Urban will work with Rubicon's partners to identify individuals living in Contra Costa County who were eligible to participate in the program but, for whatever reason, did not do so. Once a comparison group of fathers has been established, Urban will use individual-level outcome data to determine whether the FACT program has an impact on economic self-sufficiency and family functioning.

Conditions

Responsible Fatherhood Programming

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Increases in child support payment modifications

  The outcome is a dichotomous measure of whether the individual had any child support modifications between enrollment and 6-months post enrollment (1 = Yes; 0 = No).

  6 months

• Increases in monthly child support payment amounts

  This outcome is a semi-continuous measure indicating the average dollar amount of monthly child support payments between enrollment and 6-months post enrollment in dollars

  6 months

• Increases in employment

  This outcome is a dichotomous measure of whether the individual was employed at any point between enrollment and 6-months post enrollment (1 = Yes; 0 = No).

  6 months

• Increases in receipt of public assistance

  This outcome is a dichotomous measure of whether an individual was on any public assistance (e.g., TANF and SNAP) at any point between enrollment and 6-months post enrollment (1 = Yes; 0 = No).

  6 months

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Court orders

  6 months

• Amount of court orders

  6 months

• Arrear

  6 months

• Arrear balance

  6 monhts

• Months on public assistance

  6 months

Other Outcomes (1)

• Improvement in fathers' attitudes and perceptions of economic self-sufficiency, relationships, and parenting as measured by participant-level surveys, program data, and administrative data.

  One year (baseline and one-year follow up)

Study Arms (2)

Program group

The program group will be comprised of all individuals who enrolled in the FACT program from July 2016 through September 2019 and have active child support cases with the Contra Costa County Department of Child Support Services.

Behavioral: Fathers Advancing Communities Together (FACT) program

Comparison group

The comparison group will be comprised of individuals with active child support cases with the Contra Costa County Department of Child Support Services who are demographically comparable to the treatment group (i.e., FACT fathers with active child support cases), yet did not participate in or receive FACT services.

Interventions

Fathers Advancing Communities Together (FACT) program BEHAVIORAL

The FACT program offers fathers and their families responsible parenting, healthy relationship, and economic stability services and activities.

Program group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 45 Years
• Sex: all
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population will include all FACT participants enrolled from July 2016 through September 2019. An individual is eligible to enroll in FACT if the individual is a parent with a child under 18, classified as having low income, lives in Contra Costa County, and is interested in services to enhance financial mobility. The participant survey will be administered to a sub-sample of approximately 200-250 FACT participants enrolled from March 2017 to March 2019. The sub-sample for the impact evaluation will be FACT participants with an active child support case.

You may qualify if:

• An individual is eligible for the impact evaluation if the individual is a FACT participant and is a parent with an open child support case in Contra Costa County, CA during the time of their enrollment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Urban Institute: lead
• Rubicon Programs: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Rubicon Programs

Richmond, California, 94804, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Lindsey Cramer

  Urban Institute

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Bryce Peterson, PhD

  Urban Institute

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Associate

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 30, 2017
• First Posted: May 8, 2017
• Study Start: July 1, 2016
• Primary Completion: September 30, 2019
• Study Completion: September 1, 2020
• Last Updated: October 1, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-09

Locations

US (1)