Applying Whole Family Approaches in Responsible Fatherhood Programs.

Whole family approaches, also known as two-generation or multigeneration approaches, attend to the needs of parents or caregivers and their children simultaneously. The concept has mostly been applied to services for mothers and their children and has yet to be tested by responsible fatherhood programs. Although the ultimate goal of most fatherhood programs is to enhance child well-being, only a few programs focus directly on the needs of children. Whole family approaches that link services for fathers with services for their children and other family members could increase program impacts and strengthen outcomes for children and families.This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse brief describes the whole family program approach, provides a brief history of efforts to involve the whole family, and considers ways in which these approaches might be applied to the work of responsible fatherhood programs.