2019 Fatherhood Summit

Lynn Johnson is the Trump Administration’s top human services official in charge of fostering the well-being of families, children, individuals, and communities. In this session, Assistant Secretary Johnson shared her vision for engaging in cross-sector efforts to influence and strengthen America’s cultural perspective on the essential role that fathers play in the lives of their children, families, communities, and society.

Many federal agencies engage with fathers and families at some level in their service provision. This session highlighted the government’s function as a catalyst to shape the American cultural perspective of the essential role of fathers in the family and in society.

This panel of federal agency officials discussed father engagement efforts within the context of each agency’s mission and goals. They described family-focused approaches that incorporate the perspective of fathers as equal contributors to healthy families and community stabilization.

Participants used the “Get FIREd Up” journal to identify learning goals that will enhance their abilities to support their organizations’ programs, and the fathers, families, and communities they serve. The learning goals identified through journaling were to guide participants on which Summit skills-building and breakout sessions to attend.

Addressing fathers’ employment needs is crucial in most fatherhood programs, but many dads face special challenges in finding work. This session began with a brief overview of how employment has been addressed in fatherhood programs through key demonstration projects such as Parents’ Fair Share. Next, the presenters described effective methods for providing employment services to a range of high-need fathers including noncustodial or nonresidential fathers, and fathers with criminal records, minimal education, or child support arrears. The presenters addressed common road blocks to engaging fathers in employment, and they will highlight a strategy to build effective partnerships between fatherhood programs and employers. Participants engaged in activities to help identify strengths and limitations in their current employment initiatives, and they will learn new approaches.

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.

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.

A father’s role is integral to his children’s social, emotional, and economic well-being, but several barriers may prevent successful co-parenting. Some of the challenges include high-conflict environments, the effects of incarceration, issues of domestic violence and substance misuse, and children in foster care or relative placements. Even when parents face such challenges, positive co-parenting is possible and can provide important benefits for children.

This session provided an overview of the obstacles, interventions, strategies, and benefits for coparenting across a variety of contexts, including single, married, and cohabiting parents. Presenters described how fathers can contribute to successful co-parenting. They presented topics that can be introduced to co-parents to improve their relationships and co-parenting principles that can be incorporated into parenting programs, all with the ultimate goal of supporting the co-parents’ children.

Participants had the chance to kick up their feet and feel a father’s heart beat in this session designed to inspire, challenge, and warm hearts. A “Dad Cave” format set the stage for an invigorating, insightful, and personal conversation with four ACF program fathers (and their kids) who shared both the challenges and triumphs of being a dad. They explored what matters most to them as fathers—for themselves, their children and families, and their communities. The panel described structured father engagement activities, such as parenting education and employment skills development. Panel members also discussed how communication skills training can build and strengthen healthy relationships, including father/child, couples, co-parent, workplace, and other social interactions. Participants learned how father focused programming can help kindle the hearts of fathers and children toward each other, and ultimately support society.

A boy crisis, fueled by dad deprivation, is expanding in the 63 largest developed nations. Research shows that on average, dad-deprived boys (and girls) do worse in every academic subject and in “failure to launch.” Dad-deprived boys are more likely to have poor mental health, abuse substances, and attempt suicide.

Dr. Farrell presented the case that dad-deprived boys experience both a “dad void” and a “purpose void.” He offered solutions in the spheres of family, school, and government. He also explored why addressing the boy crisis is key to the nation’s economic security and to building strong, healthy dads, families, and communities of tomorrow.

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.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nationally, about 80 percent of noncustodial parents (NCPs) are fathers. Programs often need guidance on how to meet the needs of NCPs. In 2018, the Administration for Children and Families released impact findings from Parents and Children Together (PACT), a rigorous study of four Responsible Fatherhood (RF) grantees funded from 2011-2015. This landmark research highlights fatherhood program approaches to engage fathers, encourage responsible parenting, and ultimately, improve outcomes for children.

Drawing upon the PACT study, the panel described strategies that demonstrated evidence of effectiveness. Presenters summarized the barriers fathers in the study faced and the approaches RF programs used to help overcome those barriers. Presenters also highlighted human services agencies that are pursuing innovative strategies to engage NCPs using Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds. Two program administrators shared their reflections on the needs of NCPs that warrant greater attention and what programs can do to improve their outcomes.

“Think big, act practically, and let your light shine” are key tenets of the Citizen Father Project, a program promoting leadership among fathers in the Minneapolis area. Developed through a partnership between a university and a fatherhood program, the Citizen Father Project forges relationships between fathers and professionals to build healthy families and communities. The project’s goal is to create community social change by addressing the problem of fathers not being positively involved in the lives of their children. Leaders draw upon parental resilience and collaborative social connections to bring about positive change.

This session featured video clips about the creation, philosophy, and work of the Citizen Father Project. Also, a panel of citizen fathers described how the project has provided them opportunities to develop as leaders and apply lessons they have learned to influence their broader community. Participants discussed this approach as a model for developing the leadership potential of highachieving fathers in other communities.

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 fatherhood programs and their partner organizations. Presenters discussed the findings, present promising practices, describe common challenges, and encourage reflection on how community organizations can do more to prevent violence in families. The session featured two representatives from federally-funded Responsible Fatherhood grantee organizations who will describe their intimate partner violence approaches and discuss their challenges and successes.

Children who do not have consistently-engaged fathers can experience profound economic, social, and emotional fall-out. For boys who have been rejected, abandoned, or abused by their fathers, feelings of anger can become overwhelming and lead to destructive behavioral patterns. These patterns may be compounded by negative stereotypes, aggression, and societal expectations of “manliness.”

From policy to practice, funding, and organizational founding, women play a pivotal role in the promotion of responsible fatherhood. John C. Maxwell defines a leader as “one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” This session features three women—dynamic fatherhood program leaders—who know, go, and show the way to effective father engagement, strong program implementation, and continuous quality improvement.

Good leaders possess qualities that are unrelated to gender: honesty and integrity, compassion and commitment, inspiration and empathy, competence and confidence. But given the predominance of women in the human services sector, what unique perspectives do female leaders bring to fatherhood services? What specific challenges do they face? What resources do they rely upon to achieve success?

These highly-respected panelists described why and how they lead fatherhood efforts and what differences they are making for fathers and families across the country.

This session will begin by asking each participant to visualize what might have been her or his dad’s joie de vivre, the glint in his eye. Participants will then consider the gap between their dad’s glint and his reality. Did he forfeit his dreams to do something that fulfilled him less but paid him more? Did “success” mean less time with his family?

While some dads address that dilemma with pride and a new glint, others may respond with fear, drug and alcohol abuse, affairs, or abandonment. This session explores a “Father’s Catch-22”: the expectation that a dad will love his family by being away from the love of his family, thus leaving him lonely.

Often, neither schools nor families prepare young men for the conflicting responsibilities of fatherhood. The presenter described the concept of “father warriors” by examining how schools and families can better prepare young men for a transition in purpose so they can become respected “fathers of tomorrow.” The session also explored public policy changes that could deepen father-child bonds.

Music brings people together, touching the heart and igniting the spirit. It is an essential part of many families’ lives, connecting generations and communities. This interactive session will harness the power of music—and innate ability—as participants collectively create a theme song for the National Fatherhood Summit.

Through the process of story and song, participants were invited to share common interests, goals, and concerns as they worked together turning ideas into lyrics and lyrics into an inspired, family-focused song about fanning the fatherhood fire!

Led by award-winning songwriters, this engaging session created new connections among attendees. Participants celebrated their common interests and share their fire for fatherhood through the experience of making music together.

This dynamic action planning session provided a forum for discussing individual and collaborative initiatives that can advance Family-focused and Interconnected services that cultivate Resilience and embrace the Essential role of fathers. This session included staggered time periods for participants to have lunch.

This session sounded the Summit’s rallying call to action. Participants heard about big ideas and tangible next steps that were shared during the action planning session. The Summit concluded with final remarks from Dr. Wade Horn, Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting and former Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. Dr. Horn expounded upon future prospects for fathers, their families, the organizations that support them, and the broader fatherhood field.