Since 1997, child welfare services have been faced with new demands to engage fathers or develop father-inclusive services. This book emerges from work by the author as a researcher and educator over many years on the issues posed by this agenda for child welfare practitioners in a variety of contexts.In locating fathers, fathering and fatherhood within a historical and social landscape, the book addresses issues seldom taken up in practice settings. It explores diversity and complexity in fathering in different disciplines such as psychoanalysis, sociology and psychology and analyses…
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This updated edition explains what program evaluation is, why evaluation is important, how to conduct an evaluation and understand the results, how to report evaluation findings, and how to use evaluation results to improve programs that benefit children and families. (Author abstract)
Barriers to engaging fathers in child welfare practice are explored, as well as the dangers of adopting a practice model that uncritically embraces fathers. Perspectives from fathers are shared and practices are proposed that align with the following principles: acknowledge their existence, understand there are different ways to be a father, violence does not necessarily eliminate men from being involved as fathers, and understand the context. Discussion questions are included. 49 references.
Men on a Mission provides the first comprehensive study of men who work and volunteer with kids in a variety of public settings. This engaging book brings to life diverse histories and experiences of men who have worked as coaches, teachers, youth ministers, probation officers, Big Brothers, Boys & Girls Club staff, 4-H agents, and the like.Drawing on in-depth interviews with men between the ages of 19 and 65, ethnographic observations, and more than twenty years of research on fathers, William Marsiglio explores the many aspects of male mentorship of youth, including the motivating…
Designed to assist advocates for nonresident fathers in child welfare cases, this checklist provides tips for ensuring quality out-of-court advocacy for nonresident fathers. Strategies for advocates are explained and include: develop a good working attorney-client relationship with a father client, establish an open line of communication with the caseworker, and participate and prepare for child welfare staffing.
Designed to assist advocates for nonresident fathers in child welfare cases, this checklist explores ethical issues that should be considered when representing nonresident fathers. Advocates are urged to remember the appointment creates the attorney-client relationship, to competently represent a father client, to assess their options if contact with the client is lost, and to avoid representing multiple fathers or both parents in one case.
This chapter provides an overview of the findings about everyday living and child welfare service involvement from 18 life stories collected from fathers involved with one Children's Aid Society in southern Ontario. Results indicate fathers appreciated understanding and supportive service providers, useful assistance, and connecting to useful resources.
This chapter discusses the need for interventions that bring fathers and paternal family members to the table in child protection efforts, and shares a case study from Vermont that illustrates how restorative justice can be used in family group meetings to challenge totalizing characterizations of fathers and men and help social workers partner with families and collaboration with their professional colleagues to create balanced assessment’s and manage risks. 64 references.
This examination of Judeo-Christian faith-based initiatives promoting responsible fatherhood explores the basic values and assumptions of such interventions and the characteristics of several successful programs. A number of barriers and challenges exist to faith-based fatherhood programs focused on improving the father-child-family relationship. The basic assumption of such programs is that to be a good father a man must become a man of God, the authors explain, and scriptures provide many examples and moral lessons about the behavior and character of a good father. Evangelical Protestant…
This examination of fathers rights presents a series of legal tools for father advocates that can serve as an alternative to court litigation. Often fathers who are very involved with their children's lives find themselves relegated to the status of visitor after a contentious divorce, and feel the only way to gain greater access to the children is through the courts. The authors of this chapter suggest alternative strategies, but stress that the most important duty of newly divorced fathers to understand the rules of family law. Wage assignments and child support add-ons, such as health…
