This guide is intended to help early years practitioners in the United Kingdom actively engage fathers in their child's well-being. It is meant to raise awareness amongst practitioners of the importance of including fathers in service delivery, the difficultness involved in doing so, and approaches to overcoming these challenges. The first part of the text explores a range of topics that contextualize the issue of father inclusion. Chapters provide an evidence-based rationale for working with fathers, an overview of the development of United Kingdom policy in relation to fathers and…
The Parents as Teachers Promoting Responsible Fatherhood project was designed to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of an adaptation of the Parents as Teachers model with low-income fathers as the primary target population. The project goal is to increase father involvement in Parents as Teachers services. Fathers who live with their children (residential fathers) who meet the income criteria (under 200% federal poverty level) were recruited toparticipate in a 12-week group meeting cycle lasting 3 months. During these 3 months, fathers also participated in home visits by Parents…
This report explores mentoring as a tool for supporting the successful reintegration of formerly incarcerated individuals within the context of a larger reentry strategy?in this case, the Ready4Work model. Ready4Work was a three-year national demonstration designed to address the needs of the growing ex-prisoner population and to test the capacity of community- and faith-based organizations to meet those needs. This report describes Ready4Work's mentoring component; it examines the extent to which mentoring was attractive to participants, the types of adults who volunteered to serve as…
In 1991, P/PV designed the Young Unwed Fathers Pilot Project to see if young, economically disadvantaged fathers would enter a program that provided job training, education, counseling and parenting services for up to 18 months, and if participation would lead to an increased capacity to support their children, both financially and developmentally. This report presents a detailed look at selected aspects of the lives of the young fathers before and during program participation, including their attitudes and relationships with the mothers of their children. It also evaluates employment and…
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Journal Article
Fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, and yet, they are rarely seen by child welfare. This invisibility exists whether or not fathers are deemed as risks or as assets to their families. Using an analysis of fundamental child welfare policies and practices and relevant literature, the paper examines how 'ghost' fathers are manufactured, and how this phenomenon affects families and professionals in child welfare. An analysis of gender, class, race and culture of child welfare discourses shows how these fathers are seen as deviant, dangerous,…
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To build a better understanding of the role that faith community liaisons (FCLs) play in the implementation of Charitable Choice within states and localities, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in 2007 funded a study titled, "The Role of State Faith Community Liaisons in Charitable Choice Implementation." The study focused in particular on FCLs' efforts to promote the states' implementation of Charitable Choice policies and regulations that govern how states and localities contract with faith-based…
Brief
Faith community liaisons--official contacts at the state or local level between government and faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs)--have been established in at least 36 states and in many localities as of 2008. Their work typically entails facilitating partnerships with and within the FBCO community, encouraging the organizational capacity of FBCOs, and educating both faith-based organizations and public agencies about the opportunities and requirements of the federal Charitable Choice and "equal treatment" provisions that sought to "level the playing field" for religious…
