Introduction | History of the Field
With an emphasis on positive father involvement in the lives of children, the responsible fatherhood field dates to at least the mid-1970s in the United States. At that time, more people were beginning to recognize that father absence had a substantial impact on child well-being. Early efforts sought to support young, primarily low-income men as they struggled with parenting and financial issues. In recent years, the responsible fatherhood field has expanded beyond its roots in employment and parenting services for low-income fathers to recognize the diverse needs of a wide array of fathers. Programs now include elements such as healthy marriage and co-parenting skills training, general fatherhood competency for all income levels, support for fathers involved with the child welfare and criminal justice systems, a focus on children’s education and literacy, awareness of the needs of fathers who have children with special needs, and attention to issues of domestic violence.
Planning A Program
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Acknowledgements
The Office of Family Assistance wishes to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contributions to the development of this toolkit:
- Affiliations current at time of contributions
- Stephen Hall Indiana Department of Corrections
- W.C. Hoecke Family Connections of South Carolina
- Joe Jones and James Worthy Center for Urban Families
- Patricia Littlejohn South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families
- Barry McIntosh Young Fathers of Santa Fe
- Fernando Mederos Massachusetts Department of Children and Families
- David Pate and Jacquelyn Boggess Center for Family Policy and Practice
- Al Pooley Native American Fathers and Families Association
- Rozario Slack Rozario Slack Enterprises
- Bobby Verdugo Consultant
- Pamela Wilson Consultant and Curriculum Developer
- Gardner Wiseheart Healthy Families San Angelo