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This research derives from the most recent wave of a longitudinal study of nearly 500 families in urban Philadelphia neighborhoods collected over a 9-year time span. Earlier findings revealed remarkable continuity in success trajectories from early to mid-adolescence despite hazards imposed by poor neighborhoods, low economic standing, and poor schooling opportunities. Despite this stability, qualitative interviews with the adolescents suggested a flattening scope of success and an increasing scope of failure and risk during the transition to adulthood for minority men. This paper describes the association between the youths' performance in 1991 and their socioeconomic standing in 1999 for different race and gender subgroups. Findings from logistic regressions support the premonition of a growing racial divergence for minority men. The findings also suggest that early and late adolescent attributes do not mediate the effect of race on early adult success. The research highlights the role of individual characteristics, the family, and peers in the transition to adulthood and suggests that minority men are the group most likely to be off track in early adulthood and that public school attendance is the strongest predictor of their performance. (Contains 47 references, 4 tables, and 4 figures.) (SM)

This report explores the circumstances and opinions of 71 parents from Baltimore, Maryland), Grand Rapids (Michigan), and New York City who were interviewed as part of a project aimed at increasing the employment opportunities and earnings of disadvantaged fathers, and the amount of the fathers' child support payments. This project, the Parents' Fair Share Demonstration (PFS), uses a combination of job training, personal support, and incentives to provide opportunities for out-of-work fathers whose children receive public assistance to better fulfill their parental roles, especially their role as provider. The PFS project grew out of a provision of the Family Support Act of 1988, which authorized a small-scale effort to help noncustodial parents who are unable to pay child support because they are unemployed. The overall purpose of the interviews of parents was to learn what noncustodial parents think about their roles and responsibilities, and about the public institutions that enforce child support obligations. The document has three main sections which report on the interviews in the three cities. Each section includes an explanation of the interview methodology, excerpts from the interviews, and a discussion of the implications of the parents' attitudes for PFS. An appendix provides a brief explanation of the background and goals of the PFS project. (MDM)