title: You can't put a dollar amount on presence: young, non-resident, low-income, African American fathers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of young, non-resident, low-income, African-American fathers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 6 men enrolled in the Omaha Healthy Start, Fathers for a Lifetime Program.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following themes were identified: (a) A Work in Progress: Fatherhood Investment; (b) A Little Island by Myself: Barriers to Fathering; (c) I'm Going to be There From Day One to Infinity: Presence; and (d) The Tomorrow Dad: Not Like my Dad. Barriers to fathering created resource-poor environments posing challenges to involvement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dispelling the myth of the "hit-and-run" father or the "package deal" remains a concern for fathers and their children. Nurses can develop early assessment strategies and interventions to help African American fathers with their parenting involvement. Fathers can be encouraged to attend community-based fathering programs to increase investment opportunities.
authors.affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center-College of Nursing, Lincoln, NE 68588-0220, USA. mofleck@unmc.edu
authors.forename: Margaret Ofe
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Fleck
authors.forename: Diane Brage
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Douglas A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Abbott
authors.forename: Allison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Reisbig
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D005220:Fathers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016487:Parenting; D011203:Poverty; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult