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According to research studies noted in the NRFC’s Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit, although the range and impact of responsible fatherhood programs has grown significantly in the U.S. over the last 30 years, programs have often “struggled to sustain their services through the ups and downs of funding cycles” and “those with the most longevity have had the benefit of dynamic and involved leadership, support from the local funding community, an effective program model, and an ability to form and maintain strong community partnerships.” 

Many of the fathers who participate in fatherhood programs may have experienced trauma. However, they are not always easy to identify, so it is important for programs to be “trauma-informed” to provide reliable and effective services for all fathers. This brief highlights the importance of a trauma-informed approach and offers tips and considerations for programs that serve fathers.

One of the goals of fatherhood programming is to improve the lives of children by enhancing fathers’ emotional and financial support and encouraging healthy family dynamics. Programs do this through a focus on child development and appropriate parenting skills, the value of fathers’ positive engagement with their children, and the provision of connections to social support systems for fathers. However, rural fatherhood programs may need to address these topics in unique and creative ways due to some of the practical challenges of providing services in rural areas.

Este conjunto incluye 21 hojas informativas escritas para ayudar a los proveedores de servicios a ofrecer orientación a los padres y cuidadores sobre asuntos específicos, al mismo tiempo que apoyan los factores conocidos de protección de las familias contra el riesgo del abuso y el abandono infantil. Cada hoja informativa de fácil lectura se enfoca en medidas concretas que los padres pueden tomar para cuidar más efectivamente de sus hijos y así fortalecer a sus familias. This set includes 21 tip sheets written to help service providers offer guidance to parents and caregivers on specific…

This webinar presented ideas, strategies and resources to use in working with dads to enhance their parenting knowledge and skills. Topics included: sharing strategies programs might use to show fathers the importance of early father-infant bonding; looking at ways to help fathers increase their understanding of child development and age-appropriate behavior; considering approaches to engage fathers in discussion about appropriate child discipline; and, providing examples of activities that two of your fellow grantees have used to help fathers with parenting knowledge and skills. (Author…

A big part of fatherhood work is helping fathers "tell their story" to themselves, their children and their partners. As John Badalament pointed out in our April webinar, it is important that fathers "be known" to their children. It is also important that your fatherhood program be known to the community, particularly to potential participants and funders. This webinar looked at ways to tell that story and included: capturing the right quantitative and qualitative data; how to interpret and describe that data for diverse audiences; examples of brochures and other written materials;…