Map and Track
State Initiatives to Encourage Responsible Fatherhood, 1999 Edition

The Changing View of Fatherhood

In 1997, the National Center for Children in Poverty Map and Track: State Initiatives to Encourage Responsible Fatherhood. At that time, every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico had at least one policy or program initiative to promote and encourage responsible fatherhood. It is now two years later. Evidence from the larger society suggests that there is a cultural change in the way fathers are viewed and view themselves. The people expressing the new view vary widely, from rappers who sing about the joys and responsibilities of fatherhood to employees of corporations who admit to struggling to balance work and family life. Given these larger social changes, this edition of Map and Track Fathers explores how the states are responding.