The Real Dads Read program places little libraries in barbershops to encourage fathers to read to their children while they wait for a haircut. Fathers are able to share books in the barbershop and also take the books, which are intentionally chosen to be culturally relevant for African American families, home for free. Georgia State University received funding from the FRPN to examine barbers’ implementation of Real Dads Read in 21 barbershops located in Atlanta, Georgia. Findings from qualitative interviews demonstrate that barbers had varying degrees of knowledge about and buy-in to the…
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.
Research shows that children and families do better when fathers are involved. Kids exhibit better school performance, increased self-esteem and improved relationships with peers, while parents feel less stress when they support each other and co-parent. This toolkit is based on a programmatic review of fatherhood involvement efforts in early childhood programs and is a collection of the many tangible steps a WIC site can take to become more inclusive of men and dads. (Author introduction modified)
This report, written by Wilder Research, a division of Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, outlines how to monetize the economic returns and avoided costs of outcomes typically associated with responsible fatherhood programs, plus additional potential, two-generation, long-term child development and family well-being outcomes of father engagement. It makes a strong economic case for investing in comprehensive responsible fatherhood programs, which would include GED programming, job placement services, diversion services as an alternative to incarceration, parenting education with play and learn…
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,…
The purpose of this information memorandum (IM) is to strongly encourage all human service agencies including child welfare agencies, courts, offices of child support enforcement, offices of public assistance, offices of child care, Head Start programs and family and youth services programs to work together across governments to jointly create and maintain an environment that prioritizes father engagement as a critical factor in strengthening families and adopt approaches to enhance paternal involvement in all family support and child welfare related programs. (Author abstract)
Several parent training and support programs have been shown to improve parent–child relationships and otherparenting outcomes. However, relatively few are delivered specifically to fathers. The available evidence suggeststhat recruiting and retaining fathers in parenting programs is a challenge, and even less research has examined theeffectiveness of such programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand father engagement in a parentingsupport program, and also to understand whether a peer-support parenting program was effective at improvingoutcomes for fathers. (Author abstract)
Several parent training and support programs have been shown to improve parent–child relationships and otherparenting outcomes. However, relatively few are delivered specifically to fathers. The available evidence suggeststhat recruiting and retaining fathers in parenting programs is a challenge, and even less research has examined theeffectiveness of such programs. The purpose of this study was to better understand father engagement in a parentingsupport program, and also to understand whether a peer-support parenting program was effective at improvingoutcomes for fathers. (Author abstract)
The intent of the study was to compare the effects of the Circle Parents peer support network on fathers of young children receiving Head Start/Early Start services to fathers waitlisted for those services. 102 fathers were recruited to participate. Using randomization, fathers assigned to a “treatment group” were strongly encouraged to attend Circle of Parents group and received regular invitations and notifications of group meetings and activities for about a year. Fathers in the control group received usual services and were on a waitlist to join the group at the end of the study. (Author…
