Multi-site Family Study of Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering

Multi-site Family Study of Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering

Prepared for: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

This project is available on the Internet at: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/08/MFS-IP/ and https://aspe.hhs.gov/evaluation-marriage-and-family-strengthening-grants-incarcerated-and-reentering-fathers-and-their-partners

Funded by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) and the Office of Family Assistance (OFA), the Multi-site Family Study of Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MSF-IP) explored the effectiveness of relationship and family-strengthening programming in correctional settings.

Implementation Study: Annual site visits entailing in-depth interviews and program observations were conducted with all 12 grantee programs through fall 2010. The implementation evaluation comprehensively documented program context, program design, target population and participants served, key challenges and strategies, and program sustainability.

Impact Study: From December 2008 through August 2011, couples participating in MFS-IP programming and a set of similar couples not participating in programming were enrolled in the national impact study conducted in five of the grantee program sites. Study couples completed up to four longitudinal, in-person interviews that collected information about relationship quality, family stability, and reentry outcomes.

Qualitative Study: A small qualitative study was added in 2014, in which in-depth interviews were conducted with about 60 impact study couples to capture detailed information about the families’ experiences during the male partner’s reentry.

Predictive Analytic Models: Using the impact study sample of more than 1,482 couples (from the 1,991 men who did baseline interviews), a series of analyses were conducted to examine the trajectories of individual and family relationships and behaviors before, during, and after release from incarceration.

Public Use Data Set: Containing information on 1482 couples and an additional 509 men from the baseline and follow-up surveys, a public use data set is available at the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) data center at the University of Michigan .

(The initial project title was the EVALUATION OF THE MARRIAGE AND FAMILY STRENGTHENING GRANTS FOR INCARCERATED AND REENTERING FATHERS AND THEIR PARTNERS)

Available Publications

• Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering:  Program Impacts Technical Report. This report presents findings on the impact of couples-based family strengthening services in four prison-based programs from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP) and discusses the implications for policy, programs, and future research. December 2016.

• About the Public-Use Dataset from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP).This document briefly describes the public-use dataset from the Multi-site Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering. December 2016.

• Earnings and Child Support Participation Among Reentering Fathers. This brief presents findings on pre- and post-incarceration wages and child support participation in the five impact sites of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP). September 2017.

• Predictors of Reentry Success.  This brief examines reentry success among MFS-IP participants using a common measure of recidivism and measures of success in other areas, including employment, drug use, and two dimensions of family relationship quality that are very rarely examined in reentry studies: financial support for children and intimate/coparenting relationship quality. December 2016.

• Impact of Couples-Based Family Strengthening Services for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners. This brief summarizes findings on the impact of couples-based family strengthening services in four prison-based programs from the Multi-Site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP) and discusses the implications for policy, programs, and future research. August 2016.

• Intimate Partner Violence Experiences During Men’s Reentry from Prison. This descriptive brief presents findings on intimate partner violence experiences during men’s reentry from prison from the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP).  The analysis examines IPV prevalence by gender, assesses congruence in IPV reports within couples (or the extent to which survey responses from both members of the couple agreed), and compares IPV prevalence rates by relationship status and by how much time had passed since the male partner’s release. August 2016.

• Parenting And Partnership When Fathers Return from Prison: Findings from Qualitative Analysis. This brief presents findings on family life during and after a father’s incarceration based on qualitative interviews conducted as part of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP).  Qualitative and mixed-method analysis of pre- and post-release interview data from 170 participants suggest the need for more robust policy and programmatic supports for this population. July 2016.

• Change in Couple Relationships Before, During, and After Incarceration. This brief examines changes in several aspects of couple relationships prior to, during, and after the male partner’s incarceration.  The associations identified regarding couples’ experiences as they navigated incarceration in state prison and the male partner’s subsequent reentry into the community have implications for future research and policy. April 2016.

• Change in Father-Child Relationships Before, During and After Incarceration. This brief examines several aspects of fathers’ relationships with their children before, during, and after incarceration.  It offers a set of particularly salient policy relevant findings emphasizing the importance of policies and programs that facilitate father-child contact during incarceration. March 2016.

• The Experiences of Families During A Father’s Incarceration:  Descriptive Findings from Baseline Data Collection for the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering-- Report Summary. This summary describes highlights of the report on the experiences of 1,482 incarcerated fathers and their intimate or coparenting partners based on in-depth interviews in five states collected at the beginning of the impact evaluation component of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP). November 2015.

• The Experiences of Families During A Father’s Incarceration:  Descriptive Findings from Baseline Data Collection for the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering.  This report describes the experiences of 1,482 incarcerated fathers and their intimate or coparenting partners based on in-depth interviews in five states (Indiana, Ohio, Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York), collected at the beginning of the  impact evaluation component of the Multi-site Family Study on Incarceration, Parenting and Partnering (MFS-IP). November 2015.

• The Implementation of Family Strengthening Programs for Families Affected by Incarceration.  This report presents detailed implementation findings from the MFS-IP evaluation. The report provides information on program design, organizational partnerships, recruitment and participation, program components, service delivery strategies, post-funding sustainability and key lessons from the field operations. April 2015.

• Five Years Later: Final Implementation Lessons from the Evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and Their Partners.   This research brief provides information on characteristics associated with implementation success, defined as features of MFS-IP sites that brought their program plans to full scale, delivered services with minimal interruption, or developed innovations that would help subsequent efforts succeed. May 2013.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and their Parents, Research Brief #7.   Addressing Domestic Violence in Family Strengthening Programs for Couples Affected by Incarceration This brief discusses the strategies grantees used to address domestic violence in the MFS-IP programs and describes the baseline findings on the prevalence of domestic violence among study couples prior to incarceration. March 2013.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers and their Parents, Research Brief #6.  Strategies for Building Healthy Relationship Skills Among Couples Affected by Incarceration This brief describes implementation findings from the evaluation of MFS-IP and documents approaches to teaching relationship skills among incarcerated and reentering fathers and their families.  March 2012.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Fathers and their Partners, Research Brief #5.  Parenting from Prison:  Innovative Programs to Support Incarcerated and Reentering Fathers This brief describes implementation findings from the evaluation of the MFS-IP and documents innovative parenting supports provided to incarcerated and reentering fathers and their families.  April 2010.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Fathers and their Partners, Research Brief #4.  Bringing Partners into the Picture:  Family-Strengthening Programming for Incarcerated Fathers This brief describes the work of MFS-IP grantees in delivering programming to the partners of incarcerated fathers.  The brief documents services offered to partners, challenges encountered in enrolling and serving partners, and solutions grantees employed to meet these challenges.  August 2009.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Fathers and their Partners, Research Brief #3.  Strengthening the Couple and Family Relationships of Fathers Behind Bars:  The Promise and Perils of Corrections-Based Programming This brief describes the work of MFS-IP grantees in delivering programming in correctional facilities.  The brief documents challenges faced by grantees, including logistical barriers, recruitment problems, and challenges retaining incarcerated fathers in programming.  August 2009.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Fathers and Their Partners, Program Overview and Evaluation Summary, Research Brief #2.  Program Models of MFS-IP Grantees This research brief describes the context in which MFS-IP grantees are operating, the populations served by the programs, and the program models in use among the grantees.  December 2008.

• The National Evaluation of the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Fathers and Their Partners, Program Overview and Evaluation Summary, Research Brief #1.  Program Overview and Evaluation Summary This research brief describes the Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage, and Family Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated and Re-Entering Partners.  It also provides an overview of the implementation and impact evaluation for these grants. March 2008.

• Incarceration and the Family:  A Review of Research and Promising Approaches for Serving Fathers and Families. The resource document provides an overview of the extant literature on the effect of incarceration on the incarcerated individual, his partner, children and the family unit as a whole.  It examines existing programs and lays out promising practice approaches.  September 2008.