Northwest Ohio Fatherhood Connection - Preparing Fathers to Meet the Emotional, Psychological, Physical and Financial Needs of their Children

NWOFC utilizes three evidence-based practices: (1) Nurturing Fathers Program (NFP), the Marriage and Parenting Program (MA & PA), and EMPATH Mobility Mentoring and vocational services and supports. NFP is a 13 session/32.5 hour training course designed to teach parenting and nurturing skills to men. NFP is the primary workshop curriculum of focus in this study. Mobility Mentoring is a coaching model grounded in brain science that recognizes that partnering/coaching with a client is essential to gain the skills needed to preserve economic independence. Mobility Mentoring provides coaching across the five domains of family stability, health and well-being, education and training, financial management, and employment and career bring a comprehensive focus to the complexity of economic stability. Finally, NWOFC includes job-driven vocational services that are designed to improve participants’ knowledge, understanding, skills, and employability. This component of the program is focused at assisting the participants in improving their income levels by empowering the fathers to develop higher level job skills that lead to higher paying jobs. Typically, these services include workforce and job training services that assist individuals in entering and advancing in fields of manufacturing, transportation, distribution, healthcare, business services, and construction trades. This study employs random assignment to compare differences between individuals who receive vocational services as usual and those who complete a short-term job training program in a high-demand occupation as identified by labor market information from the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS, 2019).

2022-04-01

2024-04-01

Key dependent variables include: Co-parenting relationship, father-child relationship, employment status and stability, economic stability.

Co-parenting relationship = Scores assessed from nFORM entry and exit surveys: questions from parenting alliance domain section of the tool

Father-child relationship = Scores assessed from nFORM entry and exit surveys: questions from parenting engagement, parenting skills, and parenting efficacy section of the tool

Employment = improvement in employment status assessed via nFORM entry and exit surveys: questions about employment status and wages; Fatherhood Research and Practice Network Fathers’ Challenges Measure assessed employment challenges (pre and post); EMPath Mobility Bridge goal setting tool improvement in scores over time; Discharge summary: Yes/no questions re: employment status changes over the course of the program including whether or not participant reported achieving an improved position, wages, industry-recognized credential, completion of job training, and employment in field in which trained.

Economic stability = Improvement in economic stability assessed via nFORM entry and exit surveys: questions about economic stability; Fatherhood Research and Practice Network Fathers’ Challenges Measure assessed economic challenges (pre and post)

This research proposes an experimental study with a randomized pre-test/post-test design.

We will use random assignment to compare economic stability and vocational attainment outcomes between the intervention group receiving targeted short-term job training and the control/comparison group that is receiving vocational support services, as usual, to see if the intervention caused the changes in observed employment and economic stability outcomes.

Not available

Block randomization by computer using online tool: http://www.randomization.com

Randomized in blocks/units of 10 individuals; roughly 10 individuals makes up one cohort for enrollment

Yes

875 individuals; randomized in cohorts of 10

875 individuals

438 individuals = intervention/short-term vocational training
437 individuals = control/vocational services as usual

We used G*Power software to calculate power and effect size for our vocational outcomes (binary). The analysis was based on Exact - Proportions: Inequality, two dependent groups, two-tailed (McNemar test). The minimum sample size required for 80% power and a large effect size is 398. The minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes = .20; N = 112.