The Dovetail Project
Researchers at the Crime Lab, the University of California Berkeley, and Cornell University evaluated The Dovetail Project, a program that offers parenting supports for young fathers on Chicago’s South and West sides.
Challenge
Children in single-parent homes are more likely to live in poverty, receive less schooling, and suffer abuse. Children are also more likely to reside in single-parent homes today than in years past. This challenge is particularly acute in areas like Chicago’s South and West sides, where poverty, non-employment, violence, and single-parent households are concentrated.
Opportunity
Over 11 weeks, The Dovetail Project seeks to help young Black men on Chicago’s South and West sides become more engaged fathers through training in legal and parental rights, life skills, and parenting skills. These young men, among the city’s most disadvantaged, are taught by older men residing in the same communities.
Project overview
The Dovetail Project works with disadvantaged young men in Chicago, aiming to improve their ability to be better fathers. The program recruits Black fathers between the ages of 17 and 24 with low educational attainment, low employment, low earnings, and high levels of interaction with the criminal justice system. The program targets fathers who are likely to be violent crime victims and have difficult relationships with the mothers of their children. The program includes an 11-week curriculum taught by older male mentors and focused on improving educational attainment, employment outcomes, and parenting skills.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Community-based Program to Increase Fatherhood Engagement
Pre-analysis plan of the Dovetail Project.
Researchers from the Crime Lab, the University of California Berkeley, and Cornell University are evaluating The Dovetail Project using a randomized controlled trial (RCT). The study examines outcomes for 493 study participants recruited over four cohorts spaced over two years, using survey-based measures of parental involvement, educational attainment, employment, and interactions with law enforcement, as well as administrative data on arrests and victimizations maintained by the Chicago Police Department.