Transcript Slide 1

Improving the Well-Being of
Children
The Importance of Involved,
Responsible, and Committed Fathers
www.fatherhood.org
©
2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
Children Without Fathers in the Home
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Separation and Divorce
Remarriage
Cohabitation
Children Born Outside of Marriage
www.fatherhood.org
©
2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
The Facts of Father Absence
In 1960, 8 million children lived in
father-absent homes
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Today, over 24 million children
live in homes without their fathers
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30
1 out of 3
children
nationally live in
father-absent
homes
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 2 out of 3
African
American
children live in
father-absent
homes
www.fatherhood.org
25
20
15
10
5
0
1960
1970
1980
1990
1995
2000
2004
Proportion of Children in Father-Absent Homes
All data is from “The Living Arrangements of Children,” U.S. Census Bureau, 2005.
© 2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
The Effects of Father Absence
COSTS
Children of father-absent homes are:
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Five times more likely to live in
poverty
Three times more likely to fail in
school
Two times more likely to develop
emotional or behavioral problems
Two times more likely to abuse drugs
Two times more likely to be abused
and neglected
Two times more likely to become
involved in crime
Three times more likely to commit
suicide
www.fatherhood.org
BENEFITS
Studies show that children with
involved fathers display:
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better cognitive outcomes,
even as infants
higher self-esteem and less
depression as teenagers
higher grades, test scores,
and overall academic
achievement
lower levels of drug and
alcohol use
higher levels of empathy and
other pro-social behavior
All data is from Father Facts, 5th Edition, 2007.
© 2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
“What About the Dads?”
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88 % of non-resident fathers identified by
the child welfare agency.
55% of non-resident fathers contacted by
the caseworker
30% of non-resident fathers visited their
child
28% of non-resident fathers expressed an
interest in assuming custody of their child
www.fatherhood.org
©
2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
“Child Maltreatment 2005”
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17.7% of child victims of abuse, neglect or
abandonment came from single parent,
mother only households.
11.1 % of child victims came from married
parent households.
1.9 % of child victims came from single
parent, father only households.
www.fatherhood.org
©
2007 National Fatherhood Initiative
Quality Improvement Center on
Non-Resident Fathers and the
Child Welfare System
Myles Edwards, Ph.D.
March 13, 2008
Slide 7
QIC NRF is Operated by:
American Humane Association
American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law
National Fatherhood Initiative
A Project of the Children’s Bureau
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
Administration on Children and Families
US Department of Health and Human Services
2006-2011
Slide 8
Overall QIC-NRF Purpose
Improve child welfare outcomes by seeking
to involve non-resident fathers in their children’s
lives
Build knowledge base around non-resident
father engagement in child welfare cases
Child-centric approach
Slide 9
Phase I: A Comprehensive Assessment
Identification, discovery, discussion, and analysis of:
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knowledge gaps
unanswered questions, emerging issues
programmatic gaps and service barriers
need for experimentation and for evidence
already known research priorities, research challenges
family issues: child, dad, mom, paternal kin and relationships
impact of co-occurring problems and system requirements
challenges, successes and gaps across systems
workers’ issues, supervision, and training needs
administrative issues and local issues
practice, policy, and funding issues
community resources
cultural issues
legal issues
Slide 10
Phase I
Three Part Approach
♦ Needs Assessment and Gap Analysis
♦ Literature Review
♦ Research Focus
Purpose - Framework - Activities - Methods Opportunities - Challenges - Highlights Triangulation - Results
Slide 11
Phase I
♦ Research Focus
QIC and NAB Discernment on:
 Important characteristics of services for Non Resident Fathers and
their families
 Spotlight on promising directions
 Barriers that need to be addressed
 Ground-breaking cross-systems collaboration
 Utilization of untapped resources
 Direction for creating scientific evidence useful to the field
 Formative research across five years by QIC
 Summative research by sites
Slide 12
Phase I
♦ Framework for Assessment
Non Resident Father
Identification
Location
Contacting
Engagement
Inter-Agency Collaboration
 Consensus: QIC Team and First NAB
Meeting
 Supported by ACF Study
Slide 13
Group Results Summary
 Focus groups underscored the importance of
involving fathers from the beginning (i.e., at
birth)
 The largest obstacles to father involvement are
meaningful engagement of fathers and lack of
systemic collaboration
 Mothers are “gatekeepers” – Maternal
resistance due to conflict with father
 Fathers fear the child welfare system
Slide 14
Key Informant Summary
CW Agency Staff/Researchers
 Most stated that engagement was the most difficult of the 5 areas of focus,
followed by collaboration, identification, location, and contact.
 Finding and contacting NRFs is difficult, but can be facilitated by locator services, child
support enforcement, and caseworker tenacity. Engaging NRFs from the beginning and over
the long-term is most difficult due to child welfare biases and mothers as “Gatekeeper.”
Fatherhood Programs
 Overwhelmingly, engagement was the most difficult of the 5 areas of focus, followed
by collaboration, contact, identification, and location.
 collaborating with other organizations is complicated, but there is a growing number of
advocates for fathers with which to partner. Involving NRFs is most difficult because of
unemployment and poverty, conflicting priorities of funding resources, and inequitable
treatment of fathers by the child welfare system.
Legal/Judicial Professionals:
 Most stated that engagement was the most difficult of the 5 areas of focus.
 finding NRFs can be hard, but most are found eventually. Getting NRFs involved in the
court and case planning process is most difficult because of system, court, agency and father
driven barriers.
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Knowledge Development Model
 Formative Evaluations of Promising Interventions
 Pretesting promising interventions in Small Scale
Randomized Controlled Trials
 Test in Rigorously Designed
Randomized Controlled Trials
 Dissemination Assessments
Slide 16
Small Scale Randomized Control Trial
NRF QIC Research Design
Site Specific Father Recruitment
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Total Pool of NonResident Fathers in a
Site
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Fathers Offered Program
(N=128/year would be a
floor criterion for
knowledge building)
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50 % Accept (N= 64)
and are Randomly
Assigned to Group 1
or Group 2
50 % Decline (N= 64)
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Model Program Fathers (N=32) are
Group 1
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Measurement Only Control Group
Fathers (N=32) are Group 2
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Fathers who declined and who do not
engage with children are Group 3
Fathers who declined and who do
engage with children are Group 4
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Fathers Not Offered
Program
→ → → →
Fathers not offered opportunity who do
not engage with children are Group 5
Fathers not offered opportunity who do
engage with children are Group 6
Slide 17
Partners for Kids:
United Hands Make the Best Families
Responsible Fatherhood Project
March 12, 2008
CBCAP/PSSF Grantees Meeting
Funding for this project was provided by the US Dept. of HHS, ACYF, OFA, Grant No. 90FR0098
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Community Access Program
PROJECT GOAL
• To increase the capacity of local
community and/or faith-based home
visiting programs to provide education
and support groups that promote
responsible parenting among expectant
and new fathers of babies up to age 12
months.
OBJECTIVES
• Prepare local, community-based HV
programs to successfully engage &
help fathers become responsible
parents;
• Prepare expectant & new fathers to be
involved in the healthy development of
their children
Multi-Tiered Approach
Circle of Parents national office:
Leads and coordinates project
activities
Circle of Parents state and national networks:
Help the project connect to the needs of the local organizations.
Ensure local groups receive sufficient training and technical
assistance so that father education & support groups are:
a. implemented according to the model;
b. are operated effectively;
c. meet the needs of the families; and
d. are sustainable over time.
Local community & faith-based orgs:
Establish responsible fatherhood
programs
Each serve 50 dads/year
ROLES & EXPECTATIONS
Multi-Level Process
• National
• State
• Local
NATIONAL
• Provide grant oversight
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Issue & Award RFPs yearly – 5 years
Provide T & TA
Conduct Site Visits
Direct Evaluation Efforts
Create an Advisory Committee, including Circle orgs and
parent leaders, HFA and PAT
– Utilize Consultants
• National Center on Child Abuse Prevention Research/PCA
America
• Conscious Fathering Program/Parent Trust for Washington
Children
• National Fatherhood Initiative
• Dr. Leo Mesa/Reflections Wellness Center
STATE MEMBERS
Support implementation in 2 local sites
– Provide training in support group model
– Provide ongoing TA & Networking
– Provide materials
– Site visit
– Work with local sites on sustainability
Become more father-friendly
Collect local data
LOCAL HV PROGRAMS
Provide education & support services for
50 expectant and new dads
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Become more father-friendly program
Offer Conscious Fathering™ classes
Offer Circle of Parents support groups
Submit data reports to state member
Submit progress & financial to national
Seek resources to sustain fatherhood
Participate in evaluation
PROJECT OUTCOMES
• Organizations will become more fatherfriendly by increasing the number of
fathers involved in their program.
• Increase the father-child quality
interaction.
EVALUATION PROCESS
Program/site level:
- Self-Assessment
- Staff surveys, interviews or focus groups
- Data collection
Participant Level:
- Retrospective post-then-pre test
- Satisfaction (surveys and/or focus groups)
3/5/08
INITIAL STRATEGIES
• Staff Recruitment
– Fathers/males have been sought as ideal
candidates – but not easy (part-time, low
enthusiasm for babies, etc.)
– Helpful to recruit from other programs that
have involved fathers, such as Head Start
INITIAL STRATEGIES
• Site Preparation
– Leadership commitment
– ALL staff training leading to cultural shift
– Use of father-friendly check-up
– Inclusion of pictures, pamphlets, materials
for fathers on-site
– Domestic violence protocols
– Address learning styles of men
INITIAL STRATEGIES
• Recruitment and Engagement
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Widespread dissemination of flyers
Word of mouth
Marketing to moms
Father and FAMILY Kick-off events
Use of incentives e.g. tool box for Dads
Ongoing input from participants
Openness to activities outside of group meetings
Willingness / ability to address real-time issues
INITIAL STRATEGIES
• Leadership Development
– Advisory Councils
– Surveys
– Topic development
– Using “veteran” fathers as co-facilitators &
recruiters
LESSONS LEARNED
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Start-up time intensive
Hold CFP classes often and in a variety of locations
Flexible meeting times – conflicts with jobs
Curriculum back-up for support group sessions
Customize title of program to community
Follow-up phone calls
Narrow eligibility a challenge
When moms come….
One-year grants, Sustainability planning NOW
• Avoid H.S. football nights and, in rural areas, hunting season!
NATIONAL STAFF
Cynthia Savage, CEO
Dora Walker, Executive Assistant
Karen Schrader, Training & TA Manager
National Office:
500 No. Michigan, #200, Chicago, IL 60611
Tools, Techniques and Strategies
For Developing Quality
Fatherhood Services
©
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Mark Twain
“When I was a boy of
fourteen, my father was
so ignorant I could
hardly stand to have the
old man around. But
when I got to be twentyone, I was astonished at
how much he had
learned in seven years.”
©
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
NFI’s mission:
To improve the well-being of
children by increasing the
proportion of children growing
up with involved, responsible,
and committed fathers in their
lives.
©
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
The Father Friendly Check-Up™
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©
Diagnostic tool
Helps assess the degree to which your
organization’s operations encourage father
involvement in the activities and programs
offered by your organization.
Identifies areas for improvement in the
father friendliness of your organization.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Assessment Categories
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Leadership & organizational philosophy
Policies and Procedures
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Assessment Categories (Cont.)
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Program/service content
Program physical environment
Staff orientation and training
Social marketing strategies
Community service
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Leadership & Organizational Philosophy
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Attitudes, beliefs, and values held by the
leadership
How the organization approaches what it does
with and for clients and employees
Examples
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The leadership has developed a vision or mission
statement that includes serving fathers.
The leadership believes that a child welfare
organization’ services should be provided as much to
fathers as they are to mothers.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Policies and Procedures
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Written rules and guidelines that reflect leadership
and the organization’s philosophy
Examples
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The policies and procedures encourage men to balance
work and family life.
The policies and procedures include a clear expectation
that caseworkers and other staff will identify fathers
early in child welfare cases and continue to attempt to
identify them throughout the life of the case.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Program/Service Content
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Description of the ways in which leadership’s
philosophy and policies influence program content
Examples
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Organization provides programs and services that have
equal regard and respect for parenting approaches
typical of fathers and mothers.
Organization periodically surveys fathers to determine
their needs, concerns and interests related to the
organization’s child welfare work.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Physical Environment
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Description of the organization’s physical
environment which surrounds clients and
employees
Examples
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Environment exhibits positive portrayals of fathers/men
and children in photos, posters, and display materials.
Organization has male staff in positions where visitors
are likely to have initial visual or telephone contact (for
example, receptionist, security guard).
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Staff Orientation and Training
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Description of the organization’s efforts to orient
and train employees in order to influence day-today staff behavior
Examples
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Staff members have been trained on the best practices
of father involvement used by other organizations.
Staff members have been trained on the importance of
identifying, locating, and contacting fathers early in
child welfare cases and continuing these efforts
throughout the life of the case.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Social Marketing Strategies
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Description of the organization’s efforts to
positively influence public perceptions regarding
the value of the organization’s programs/services
Examples
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Organization develops marketing plans targeting fathers
that are clear, focused and feasible.
Employs male staff in marketing/outreach positions.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Community Service
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Description of the organization’s efforts to
promote responsible fatherhood in the
community in order to improve child wellbeing.
Examples
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Organization encourages other
agencies/organizations to work with fathers.
Organization periodically issues press releases
on its success in working with fathers.
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org
Margaret Mead
“The primary task of every
civilization is to teach the young men
to be fathers.”
©
2008 National Fatherhood Initiative
www.fatherhood.org