Fatherhood Summit Session
Family services programs are also in the business of serving fathers. How can they become more father friendly? This session drew on the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s (NRFC) Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from the Field and the shared experiences of participants. The workshop explored the most effective ways to recruit and engage fathers to improve outcomes for families and children.
Presenters focused on hiring, training, and supporting staff, conducting successful outreach and recruitment, and delivering effective services. The presenters also shared tips…
Fatherhood Summit Session
Success in fatherhood service provision goes beyond the use of a curriculum. It requires the ability to lead a team and to create and execute a programmatic vision. This session encouraged participants to assess their own leadership styles and evaluate their impact on programming. The session provided intentional leadership strategies to enhance programming. Presenters offered nine leadership principles that build trust and empower others in order to improve morale and productivity. They described how effective leadership builds program sustainability.
Fatherhood Summit Session
Substance abuse has a devastating effect on families, and it is especially challenging for low-income and minority fathers. This session addressed how practitioners can help fathers and families affected by the crisis.
The panel provided a backdrop review of the ever-evolving substance abuse prevention and treatment policies and practices in the U.S., as well as current trends and tensions in… Fatherhood Summit Session
The child support program plays an important role to help fathers gain access to resources they need to move their families toward self-sufficiency. In this session, state child support staff discussed how they can partner with fatherhood programs to better equip fathers to meet their child support obligations.
Presenters helped dispel myths and negative stereotypes about the child support program. They also described promotional strategies that can counter misleading information about the intent and goal of the child support program.
Presenters showed how child support staff can… Fatherhood Summit Session
Research links father involvement to better outcomes for children, even children in the child welfare system. When fathers are involved, their children have shorter lengths of stay in foster care and are more likely to be reunited with birth parents or placed with relatives. However, reviews of child welfare data indicate that child welfare agencies struggle to engage fathers and paternal relatives.
This session will begin with background on fathers with children in the child welfare system, using data from a major federal evaluation of fatherhood programs. Then, presenters will provide…
Fatherhood Summit Session
Research has shown that fathers returning to their families and communities after incarceration often face multiple challenges, including lack of housing or employment, large child support debt, and complicated family relationships. This discussion will explore a variety of ways in which fatherhood programming can help returning fathers and their families overcome these challenges.
The panel includes a researcher, two practitioners, and a program participant who will highlight strategies for providing reentry services and support for returning fathers. Based on Urban Institute research,…
Fatherhood Summit Session
For some families served by federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood programs, intimate partner violence can interfere with the achievement of program goals. In such families, fathers may behave violently or use coercion or control against their partners. They also may be victims or survivors of violence themselves.
This session summarized findings from the Preventing and Addressing Intimate Violence when Engaging Dads (PAIVED) study, which outlines possible approaches for federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood programs.
The PAIVED study team conducted a comprehensive review of several…
