Providing After Prison: Nonresident Fathers’ Formal and Informal Contributions to Children

Abstract

Incarceration among young, minority, economically disadvantaged men is pervasive in the United States and can impair their employment prospects. Because many of these men are fathers, incarceration also has serious implications for their ability to support their children. This article investigates the associations between incarceration and nonresident fathers’ cash and in-kind contributions to their children’s household economy. It then examines whether policies intended to protect employment opportunities mitigate the potential costs of incarceration for nonresident fathers’ economic support of their children. Using longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and new state policy data, we find that paternal incarceration reduces formal and informal support and that some policies offset the incarceration penalty, but clear differences by fathers’ race emerge.