Mediate Michigan

Half of all U.S. children won’t live with their father for part of their childhood. But just because “non-resident” dads don’t live with their kids doesn’t mean they’re not involved with them.

“There are fathers that are very involved. There are some that are not. We have this image of the non-resident dad, and for some, that’s the deadbeat dad,” says Valarie King, a sociologist and demographer at Pennsylvania State University who just completed work on a five-year grant studying non-resident fathers.

Decades ago, non-resident fathers were largely divorced, but King and other researchers say many non-resident dads today were in a non-marital relationship that didn’t last. Divorced fathers have been shown to be more involved, on average, than those who were never married to the child’s mother, King says.

Such research findings (some yet unpublished) — along with changing attitudes and custody laws — are creating a new picture of today’s non-resident dads.

via Dads who don’t live with their kids find ways to be involved – USATODAY.com.