Basic Fatherhood Training Curriculum Package.

In 2000 the National Family Preservation Network (NFPN) conducted a nationwide search for resources and curricula on father involvement in the child welfare system. Finding none, NFPN developed the first-of-its-kind Fatherhood Training Curriculum.

This specially designed curriculum points out that everyone working in the child welfare system, from administrators and supervisors to frontline workers and clerical staff, plays an important role in making the agency father inclusive.

In 2005 NFPN completed a three year project funded by the Stuart Foundation to motivate and train social workers to engage and involve fathers in the child welfare system in their children's lives. The research component of the project found that, with training and encouragement, social workers were more likely to view fathers as a resource, involve fathers in the case plan, and involve the father's extended family in case planning and in the child's life.

The Fatherhood Training Curriculum is used nationwide. NFPN has a Fatherhood Training Curriculum Package consisting of the 70-page manual, training script for four hours of training, PowerPoint presentation, a 40-minute video, and a Resource and Reference Guide for workers that includes: an assessment tool for father involvement; activities for dads and their children; a message for moms, including the benefits of a father's involvement in the child's life; tips for engaging fathers; and protective factors for father involvement. (Author abstract)