Current Projects

Parenting Quid Pro Quo

Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Survey (FFCWS), I examine the relationship between instrumental support (childcare, helping around the house, taking kids to appointments, etc.) and union dissolution among disadvantaged fathers. I test the moderating effects of father’s and mothers relative and absolute income, hours of employment, and union status (cohabiting vs married) to see whether instrumental support protects against separation in the context of little or no income provision and in less stable unions.

License Suspensions in New York State

With Professor Maureen Waller as lead author, we examine license suspensions in New York State. We find that suspensions for both the inability to pay a fine and the presumed unwillingness to appear in court are concentrated in poor, communities of color, punishing people with structural barriers to compliance, and increasing their risk of additional fines, job loss, legal debt, and incarceration.

Disconnected Men

Men who are not in school and are out of the labor force are often profoundly disconnected from core social institutions and roles, such as employers, marital partners, and children. Together with Laura Tach, we are seeking to better understand the predictors of men’s disconnection from the labor force, and its impact on their family lives.