Key Programmatic Elements of Father Engagement to Promote Self-Sufficiency (KEEP Fathers Engaged)

A range of programs within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) encourage state and local human services agencies to recognize fathers’ contributions to and desire to be involved in their children’s lives and facilitate ongoing economic contributions and family involvement. As family structures have become increasingly complex, there is a growing interest in developing full-family service models and an increasing need to identify and apply effective father engagement approaches across human services program areas. Programs focused primarily on serving fathers, such as programs funded by the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Program administered by HHS, have extensive experience engaging fathers while other program areas that may have historically been designed to serve mothers are more often now trying to also focus on father engagement. This brief identifies approaches that human services programs can and do take to engage fathers in programming.

Included in this posting are: 

• the issue brief; 
• the project description; and,
• two infographics.