Spotlight: Fatherhood

State legislators have oversight and funding responsibility for state child welfare systems. One key goal is to improve outcomes for children and families. Recent research indicates that if a father is involved in his child's welfare system placement, it can have a positive effect on the child. Under a national initiative looking at fatherhood involvement in the child welfare system and in partnership with the American Bar Association and the Center on Children and the Law, NCSL identified state statutes relevant to fatherhood and child welfare.

These are summaries of statutory provisions and 2009 legislation that relate to these specific isues:

• Non-Resident Father Notification, Identification and Engagement in Child Welfare
• Putative Father Registries
• Definitions of “Parent” and related variations in Child Welfare
• Putative Father Registries 2009 Introduced Legislation
• Identification and Notification of Non-Resident Fathers 2009 Legislation