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| Promoting Responsible Fatherhood | Federal Resource Site |
[Current Around the Regions]
[Links were valid as of 6/2005]
HHS and its Regional Offices are working to coordinate fatherhood activities throughout the states and have sponsored a variety of forums to bring together local public and private organizations and individuals to support fathers' involvement in their families and communities.
Additionally a growing number of states have state-wide fatherhood initiatives. Information on some of the private and public sector state-wide activities are provided for each region. Note that the designation “State of” or “Commonwealth of” means that the fatherhood initiative is a function of a State office or agency. State-wide initiatives without that designation have been initiated and implemented by the private sector. Such private initiatives are primarily funded through the private sector, but may also receive some state funding.
To find out what’s happening in the area of fatherhood, as it relates to HHS programs, initiatives, and responsibilities and other activities in each region, please contact the designated regional HHS staff. You can click on the map below or the list of HHS Regions to jump to a particular Region.
[ Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 3 | Region 4 | Region 5 | Region 6 | Region 7 | Region 8 | Region 9 | Region 10 ]
Regional web pages: Click on the Region name below to go to the Region’s web page.
Regional Directors: http://www.hhs.gov/iga/regions.html
State Child Support Offices: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.htm#exta
(Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
Hugh Galligan
Regional Administrator
Administration for Children and Families
John F. Kennedy Federal Building, Rm 2000
Government Center
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: 617-565-1020
Fax: 617-565-2493
As part of building an effective fatherhood strategy, Region I has developed strong partnerships with local, state and national fatherhood programs and organizations. Working with these partners, the Regional Office produces an annual Fathering Conference that is attended by Head Start staff, early childhood educators, state child support and child welfare staff, family service providers, parent educators, social workers, fatherhood program providers, advocates, and over 50 Dads from throughout New England. The conference features inspiring keynotes, workshops addressing important fathering issues, cutting edge and best practice models in fatherhood programming and service delivery, inspiring fatherhood moments, and networking opportunities. This year's conference, our seventh, was entitled “Fathers Count …Everywhere!” It featured keynote speakers and workshops in four arenas — dads and family & community, dads and the legal system, dads and education, and dads and health. Workshops included Head Start Father Involvement Building Blocks, working with incarcerated dads and their families, integrating marriage support systems into fatherhood programs, fathers and the child welfare system, how local faith communities support dads, becoming a father through adoption, shaken baby syndrome, men's health and mental health issues, understanding oral health, effective partnerships that support fathers, leading fatherhood groups, child support 101, and working with dads of children with disabilities.
The Regional Office also plays a key leadership role in producing a major Father's Day celebration for fathers and families called Dads Make A Difference. The free public event, now in its 8th year, takes place on the Boston Common, and draws a crowd of over 10,000 participants. The day's activities include onstage entertainment featuring magicians, comedy acts, and multi-cultural music and dance performances, as well as hands-on educational exhibits and activities, and over 30 information tables about local organizations and resources to help families and especially dads. This year's event will have two new tents — an infant-toddler tent with special activities, quiet corners, and changing tables, all sponsored by the Bright Horizons Foundation, and a "planning for success" tent that will provide information on financial literacy services, financial aid for college, and other financial services. The event also honors approximately 75 Super Dads. These fathers and father figures are nominated by children who write a 200-word essay explaining why their dad or other significant male is a Super Dad. The event has several local media sponsors, including radio, TV and print, as well as corporate supporters. For the last three years the event has been coordinated with a prostate cancer awareness walk. This idea for a celebratory Father's Day event is now replicated in several other New England communities in NH, CT and MA.
Region I continues to provide leadership and support for father and male involvement projects both nationally and Regionally. The Regional Administrator for Region I served as the co-chair for the immensely successful The Father Factor: National Head Start Institute on Father Involvement held in Dallas. He also produced the fatherhood segment of the Head Start Hispanic Institute in Albuquerque. Virtually all of Region I's Head Start and Early Head Start programs applied for the special HS funding to expand their parent involvement component and now provide a specific focus on involving fathers in their child's Head Start experience. The Regionally developed Head Start Self-Assessment Guide which includes a subset of questions relating to father involvement activities is now being used nationally. Programs report that the assessment helps grantees prepare for PRISM reviews and also helps to keep the importance of father involvement in full view for staff, parents and the local community.
Finally, all of the Region I states continue to provide a wide range of access and visitation services to address access and parenting needs of unwed, divorced, and separated parents. MA is implementing an 1115 demonstration project to provide a wide range of services, including healthy marriage education, to new dads and their families. The Regional Office remains engaged with state fatherhood initiatives, including serving on state task forces and participating in state fatherhood networks, as well as sharing information about available resources for fatherhood programs.
Access and Visitation. Massachusetts provides unwed parents with courses in parenting education and on how to proceed through the court system. The expected outcome is that parenting plans will be developed by and for noncustodial and custodial parents.
Access and Visitation. Rhode Island continues to provide court-based mediation programs and supervised visitation services that are scheduled to accommodate parents with traditional working hours. The Rhode Island Family Court developed a brochure and educational video for children of divorced or separated parents that specifically address the realities of parental separation and offers suggestions for coping with a change in family structure.
RIPIN, Rhode Island Parents and Information Network, has developed a statewide network of fatherhood program providers and advocates similar to the Fathers and Families Network developed by the Massachusetts Children's Trust Fund. The state DV Coalition is working with the statewide fatherhood network around cross training.
The NH Commission on the Status of Men was formed in October 2003. The first of its kind in the nation, the Commission holds monthly meetings to review and discuss issues that have an impact upon all men. Fatherhood was one of the first topics identified for review and discussion by the Commission.
Connecticut has developed a fatherhood program certification process and has certified five programs throughout the state. These programs, which include community as well as faith based organizations, provide a broad range of services to fathers and their families. Fathers who want to participate in CT's child support arrearage management program must participate in one of the certified fatherhood programs as a condition of eligibility.
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(New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands)
Mary Ann
Higgins
Regional Administrator
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
26 Federal Plaza, Room 4114
New York, NY 10278
Phone: 212-264-2890, ext. 103
Fax: 212-264-4881
As part of the Region II community education efforts the Region has continued to conduct extensive outreach efforts to educate communities and organizations about the programs, services and special initiatives sponsored by ACF.
The Office of Child
Support Enforcement has
developed an extensive collection of training materials for use during
training
and community activities. They include: a video tape for use in
training
community organizations that is extremely interactive and includes the
following vignettes: Child Support case hearing, group discussion of
Head Start
fathers and their experience with Child Support, and
a Presentation by the Director of the New
York City Child Support Court System. A Power Point Presentation
(English and
Spanish) about the Child Support Enforcement and its services and its
relationship to Fatherhood Initiatives has been developed for use
during
presentations in community organizations. A workshop titled "Why Should
Child Support be Part of Your Fatherhood Initiative" continues to be
presented
widely throughout Head Start Centers throughout
In partnership with
the City of
As part of our
special efforts to work with the
incarcerated community we have developed two workshops and established
solid
relationships with national organizations working with incarcerated
men. During
the last two years we have competed and have been selected to present
at the
National American Correctional Association and American Parole and
Probation
Association on the importance of child support arrears in the process
of
re-integration. We
have also conducted
major outreach efforts with major organizations working with the
incarcerated
population in the
In the area of Head Start we have been providing consultant services to about 57 Head Start programs in the Region. Expert consultants in the area of father involvement provided technical assistance to Early Head Start and Head Start grantees in the form of one-on-one technical assistance and cluster sessions. One-on-one technical assistance was provided to those grantees that were not able to participate in the cluster sessions. During the one-on-one meetings, a grantee had the opportunity to assess their existing father involvement efforts and to develop a strategic plan of action for father involvement. The fatherhood cluster session focused on the following: promoting the National Head Start Initiative for Father Involvement and providing Early Head Start and Head Start grantees with the Building Blocks for Father Involvement resources. The cluster sessions also explored grantees successes and challenges to promote father involvement and supported grantees as they develop plan of actions to support father involvement.
Head Start
Fatherhood Training: Numerous programs in
TANF. The
following are several Work First
WFNJ Step Parent Provision. In WFNJ, individuals who marry cash assistance recipients are not held financially responsible for the recipient's children. This promotes marriage and stabilizes families.
Develop/strengthen connections between children and incarcerated parent(s);
Provide a solid foundation for parents to assume emotional and financial responsibility /accountability for their children (through the provision of parenting skills training, supportive services, education and assistance with child support and paternity issues, and employment training and job placement assistance) and
Reduce recidivism
The Responsible Parenting Program was formally established through a Memorandum of Agreement between the Department of Corrections and the Department of Human Services. The MOA allows for the disposition of funds under the TANF Program for operational costs including contracts to service providers. Eligibility for the Responsible Parenting Program includes being:
The Responsible Parenting Program is designed to:
The Responsible Parenting Program services include:
Supporting
Two-Parent Families:
Access and
Visitation.
The federal grant for access and visitation is flexible
funding for programs to support and facilitate non-custodial parents'
access to
and visitation with their children through counseling, mediation,
education,
development of parenting plans and visitation enforcement through
supervised
visitation, therapeutic supervised visitation, monitored child exchange
and
monitored visitation.
Catholic
Charities of Buffalo
1581 Bailey Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14212
Access and Visitation Program
Contacts: Department Director, Ms. Tish Brady, 716-856-4494, or Program
Contact, Ms. Kathy Marsh, 716-896-6390
Serving: Erie County
Services: Counseling, Therapeutic Supervised Parent/Child Access,
Monitored
Child Exchange, Co-Parenting Group Education, Custody and Access
Mediation
Child
Care Coordinating Council of the North Country, Inc.
194 US Oval - P.O. Box 2640
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Family Connections Supervised Visitation Project
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Jamie Basiliere - 518-561-4999 or
Program
Contact, Ms. Dawn Gushlaw - 518-561-4999
Serving: Clinton, Essex and Franklin Counties
Services: Education, Development of Parenting Plans, Supervised
Visitation,
Monitored Child Exchange and Monitored Visitation
Dispute
Resolution Center of Orange & Putnam Counties
14 Scotchtown Avenue
Goshen, NY 10924
Effective Parenting Apart Project
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Roz Magidson - 845-294-8082 or Program
Contact, Ms. Nancy Kanan - 845-294-8082
Serving: Orange County
Services: Counseling, Mediation, Education, Development of Parenting
Plans,
Supervised Visitation and Monitored Child Exchange
Jewish
Board of Family and Children's Services
120 West 57th Street
New York, NY 10019
Supervised Visitation Program
Contact: Program Coordinator, Ms. Sheila Sawyer - 212-632-4601 or
Program
Contact, Ms. Carrie Edwards - 212-632-4616
Serving: Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens
Services: Counseling, Education, Development of Parenting Plans and
Supervised
Visitation
New
York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
161 William Street, 9th fl
New York, NY 10038
Supervised Visitation Program
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Mary Pulido - 212-233-5500 ext. 225 or
Program
Contacts, Ms. Danielle Weiss - 212-233-5500 ext. 227
Serving: All NYC boroughs
Services: Mediation, Counseling, Education, Supervised Visitation and
Monitored
Exchange
Osborne
Association
36-31 38th Street
Long Island City, NY 11101
Access and Visitation Program for Prison Families
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Elizabeth Gaynes - 718-707-2649 or
Program
Contact, Ms. Jennafer Tryck - 718-707-2600
Serving: Facilities include Sing Sing, Woodbourne, Shawangunk,
EMTC/Rikers
Island and Queensboro
Services: Mediation, Counseling, Education, Development of Parenting
Plans and
Supervised Visitation
St.
Catherine's Center for Children
40 North Main Avenue
Albany, NY 12203
Comprehensive Access and Visitation
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Helen Hayes - 518-453-6700 or Program
Contact,
Ms. Bonnie Stoliker - 518-453-6735
Serving: Albany County
Services: Counseling, Education, Mediation, Development of Parenting
Plans and
Supervised Visitation
Society
for the Protection and Care of Children
148 South Fitzhugh Street
Rochester, NY 14608
SPCC's Supervised Visitation Program
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Kelly Reed - 585-325-6101 or Program
Contact,
Ms. Laurie Valentine - 585-325-6101 ext 218
Serving: Monroe County
Services: Mediation, Counseling, Education, Development of Parenting
Plans,
Supervised Visitation, Monitored Visitation and Monitored Child
Exchange.
YWCA
of Dutchess County
50 Market Street, 2nd fl
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
YWCA Supervised Visitation Program
Contact: Executive Director, Ms. Ethel Paxton - 845-454-6770 or Program
Contact, Ms. Dianne Witter - 845-486-2540
Serving: Dutchess County
Services: Mediation, Counseling Education, Development of Parenting
Plans,
Supervised Visitation and Monitored Visitation
CSE
Employment Project:
In
STEP was implemented
in February 2002 as a pilot
project in
The success of STEP depends on the cooperation of Family Court and the active participation of the organizations providing services. Since the implementation of STEP, 5702 NCPs have been referred for interviews. Of that number, 4470 have participated. The income hourly rate earned in employment ranges from is $6.00 to $35.54. There are currently 22 programs providing job training and placement. Participation in this program has led to Increase in Compliance, Increase in Employment and Increase in collections.
Early Head
Start/Head Start:
Several fatherhood
cluster sessions were offered to Early Head Start and Head Start
programs in
For example, in the
Following the Fatherhood Initiative the Head Start Program of the Munipality of Isabela, has made an effort to involve the fathers in parenting their children. This initiative has taken place in the classroom, workshops and sports activities. The effort has had a positive impact in the classroom because more fathers have been participating as volunteers, with activities such as helping the teachers as storytellers as well as distributing to other fathers informational materials during basketball, softball and volleyball tournaments about what activities they can share with their children and how to become more effective fathers.
The
Family and Community Partnership Early Head
Start/Head Start cluster in
CSE. Asume Al Dia is a professional theatre group funded by IV-D that performs in prisons to reinforce responsible fatherhood. Audience consists of inmates with child support obligations (but open to anyone with interest.). The project is co-sponsored by IV-D and Dept. of Corrections.
The presentation uses props, backdrops, and music. Various scenes reinforce responsible fatherhood and explain the IV-D process. The presentation mixes information with light comedy. In addition to use of audience-appropriate language, wardrobe is based on inmate uniforms accessorized with wigs, hats, ties, glasses, etc, to establish bond between actors and audience. At the conclusion of each presentation, IV-D staff with laptops connected to the IV-D automated system is available to provide appropriate IV-D services to the audience. While the majority of service requests relate to modifications, all types of requests, including order establishment, have been provided. Hundreds of service requests have been received to date.
The goal is to reach inmates in all prisons. The presentation has also been conducted in an institution housing female inmates. Plans are to expand the outreach program by establishing an agreement with the Dept. of Corrections to provide basic IV-D information to all inmates at time of intake.
The
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(Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia)
Patrick J. Patterson, Region III Fatherhood
Lead
Department of Health and Human Services
Administration for Children and Families
150 S. Independence Mall West, Suite 864
Philadelphia, PA 19106-3499
Phone: 215-861-4019; ppatterson1 @ acf.hhs.gov
Fax: 215-861-4070
The Regional Program Manager for CSE served on a Fatherhood Panel at a conference sponsored by Philadelphia Fatherhood Practitioners Network at Community College during Spring 2004. Participation on the panel was in concert with the agency's support of activities relevant to sustaining healthy families and the significance of fathers' involvement in the developmental processes of their children. While there were several questions about the appropriate mechanisms for assuring that arrears are negotiated and bench warrants are not executed for ex-offenders with reentry plans for their communities and families, there was demonstrative expressions of emotions which suggested that many issues about familial relationships remain unresolved and require a private professionally staffed arena for exploration.
Access and Visitation. Delaware established five family visitation centers that serve the State's three counties. These centers are available for supervised visits between parents and children six days a week, including holidays. Family visitation centers facilitate opportunities for children to have safe and conflict-free access to both parents. They help to address custody and visitation issues in families with a history of domestic violence, child abuse, high conflict, etc. The centers offer a neutral drop-off and pick-up for off-site visitation with a non-custodial parent when the relationship between parents is too acrimonious for a cooperative pick-up/drop-off. Contact Jane Rattenni at (302) 255-9687; e-mail: jane.rattenni @ state.de.us.
Access and Visitation. The Child Support Services Division of the D.C. Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia (CSSD) uses Access and Visitation funding to support a Supervised Visitation Center that the D.C. Superior Court operates. This Center provides supervised visitation services to families in cases involving domestic violence. In conjunction with this project, CSSD also provides funding to the Children's Rights Council to supply similar services in the community to divorced, separated, and unwed parents, and to operate a hotline for parents with access and visitation problems. The hotline provides parents with information and service referrals to help them overcome obstacles to successful parenting.
CSE: Services to Incarcerated Parents — The Child Support Services Division of the D.C. Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia ("CSSD") is working to establish a program for noncustodial parents to request a suspension of their child support obligations after being sentenced to a period of incarceration. The arrears that incarcerated parents accumulate are often significant and difficult to collect. In addition, the debt accumulated during a period of incarceration can impede the parent's ability to re-enter society and gain lawful employment after being released. However, if the noncustodial parent does not request a reduction at the time of incarceration, there is no retroactive modification. By working with the D.C. Superior Court and the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA), the probation agency for the District, CSSD has developed a process by which parents subject to child support obligations who are sentenced to more than 30 days in jail are informed of the need to file a motion to suspend the support order and provided with the tools to do so.
TANF: The DC Fatherhood Initiative (DCFI) is currently in its third year of operation. The first year was used as a planning year, garnering support for the Initiative by bringing together the relevant District programs and agencies that offer supports and programs for male (fathers) residents. Program implementation commenced the second year and resulted in over 800 fathers receiving services from one (1) of the seven (7) non-profit, community-based agencies receiving D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS) sub-grants in TANF dollars. Service areas included job readiness training and placement assistance, life- and parenting-skills development, substance abuse intervention and treatment, housing assistance referrals, return offender guidance, and educational enhancements.
Outreach
The DCFI program implements a three-part strategy to meet the needs of
limited/non-English proficient clients. First, through bilingual staff
working
at one (1) of our seven (7) DCFI service provider sub grantees; second,
through
a partnership with bilingual case management staff working at the DHS
Strong
Families Program; and third, externally, through access to the DC
Language
Line, which has speakers available to serve residents in over 200
languages.
Additionally, District residents can access fatherhood/parenting services through contacting 'Answers, Please!,' the Department of Human Services' information and referral hotline that features user-friendly searches by name, location, address, operating hours, telephone numbers and/or eligibility criteria for over 1800 social service programs. This service can be accessed via the internet or by phone and operates seven (7) days a week, 24 hours a day.
Current Fiscal Year
So far in this third year of operation, 140 fathers have reconnected
with
their children; 134 previously incarcerated fathers have received
employment,
housing, health and educational assistance, and over 50 fathers have
obtained
sustainable employment. Additionally, twenty-five (25)
limited/non-English
speaking clients have been served to date (Twenty-four (24)
Spanish-speakers
and one (1) Amharic-speaker).
Future Plans
Fiscal Year 2006 activities include the placement of the $1.3 million
yearly
operating costs into the Agency's base-line budget and the release of a
new
round of sub-grantee awards to continue and expand upon current
successes
in fatherhood service delivery.
DCFI Contacts:
Ms. Joi Yeldell, Grants Administrator, DHS Office of Grants Management;
(202)
671-4402
Mr. David Ross, DCFI Program Manager, DHS Office of Grants Management;
(202)
671-4394
Access and Visitation Program: This program provides a mix of services through community-based organizations such as mediation, counseling, design of alternative custody arrangements, as well, as supervised and neutral drop-off and pickup sites. In some cases, these programs are used in conjunction with job services to provide comprehensive responsible fatherhood projects.
TANF/Child Welfare: Maryland's Young Fathers Responsible Fathers Programs (YFRF) is one of three father-focused initiatives in the State. The YFRP program provides services to custodial and noncustodial fathers such as parenting, education, family planning, GED instruction, job training, employment-search assistance, and self-esteem building. The program has five sites in five jurisdictions that serve young fathers, age 16 and up, who have one or more children and are at risk of becoming involved with the social service system. YFRF programs also encourage co-parenting for noncustodial fathers.
The target number of participants per year is 60. This number also includes some mothers.
The following are the outcomes of the program:
The data for FY 2005 will be forthcoming. They have requested assistance from DHR in obtaining the outcome data.
Frederick, Maryland
The fatherhood initiative includes a 2-hour weekly community-based
group
and the fathers having access to the services at the Family Support
Center.
Examples of discussion topics for the group include:
The goal is to serve 25 fathers per year. The outcomes of the program are as follows: 85% of participants will remain free of Child Protective Services (CPS) reports while receiving services; and 90% of participants will self-report enhanced family well-being on their Family Partnership Questionnaire. In the first two quarters of FFY 2005, 83% have reported enhanced family well-being. In the first quarter of FFY 2005, 100% of the participants remained free of CPS reports while receiving services.
Absent Parent Employment Program:
This program provides workforce development services to non-custodial
parents.
Studies support a strong link between father absence and juvenile delinquency, drug and alcohol abuse, violent crime, teenage pregnancy, and failure in school.
Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families acts as an advocate for fathers on behalf of children and families because children have a right to both the emotional and economical support of both parents. Likewise, Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families provides services to fathers complimentary to the State of Maryland's goal of welfare reform that promotes self-sufficiency, responsibility and accountability for all of Maryland's citizens. The programs offer fathers services in personal development, life skills, health and wellness, building relationships and employment development, all of which encourage fathers to be caregivers and nurturers to their children. This YFRF program, which is a national model for fatherhood intervention and education, has served more than 1400 men with case management and aftercare service referrals. Participants of this program have become actively involved in child rearing, have become employed, have paid child support on a regular basis, have increased their educational level and have become mentors to younger males.
Another program associated with Maryland's Initiative for Fathers and Families is the Access and Visitation Program. This program encourages non-custodial parents to have greater access to their children through programmed activities and services. The key operating philosophy in each of these programs is the greater the access a non-custodial parent has to his child, the more likely he is to support his children financially, emotionally and socially.
Services to Ex-Offenders. The Maryland Child Support Enforcement Administration (CSEA) is working with the Department of Corrections on a computer interface, which will identify non-custodial parents in state prisons, their expected release dates and specific locations, etc. This will enable CSEA to partner with competitive grantees providing services to ex-offenders coming back into the community. The plan is to identify which of these parents qualify for WtW funding due to a connection with a TANF child so that services can be offered both pre-release and post release. CSEA and the community partners will be seeking a federal grant to help set up a special unit within CSEA to provide case management services to these parents in order to handle their cases. The goal is to contribute to their success during transition into the community and not impede it by certain enforcement activities during reintegration.
(State of) Maryland Fatherhood Initiative
Keith Snipes is Deputy Director for Programs and can
be reached at
410-767-8477.
http://www.FatherhoodMD.org
(Commonwealth of) Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative:
The Department of Public Welfare's (DPW) Single Point of
Contact/Pregnant
and Parenting Youth program provides services to teen
fathers. Non-custodial
dads, ages 18-22, whose children are on welfare, can receive job
training,
parenting skills and help earn their GED. DPW is developing fatherhood
programs
at eight to 10 Family Centers around the State to provide non-custodial
fathers
with education and employment services, peer counseling, parenting and
life
skills training. The DPW uses its Access and Visitation grants to
enhance
the opportunity for personal contact between non-custodial fathers and
their
children. The Domestic Relations Section of the Courts administers the
funds
and awards funds through competitive bids to local organizations. The
goals
are to strengthen the relationship between non-custodial parents and
their
children, to increase child support payments, and to unify families.
Services
include mediation, counseling, education, development of parenting
plans,
and visitation services. Twenty-eight Private Industry Councils across
the
State use a portion of their Welfare-to-Work grants to offer
employment,
retention, advancement and training services for non-custodial parents.
The Department of Public Welfare also provides services to low-income custodial fathers in selected areas of the state. These individuals can receive job training, parenting skills and help earning their GED. Twenty-three Workforce Investment Areas across the State can opt to use a portion of their SPOC money for this purpose.
The Department of Public Welfare has established a pilot program in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to provide job training and placement services for unemployed and under-employed noncustodial parents. The program is a collaborative effort between the Department's Bureau of Employment and Training, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, local Title IV-D agencies, and a private contractor. The goal is to enhance the employability and earning potential of the noncustodial parents so they can fulfill their child support obligations.
The Department of Public Welfare has established a pilot program in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to provide job training and placement services for unemployed and under-employed non-custodial parents. The program is a collaborative effort between the Department's Bureau of Employment and Training, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, local Title IV-D agencies, and a private contractor. The goal is to enhance the employability and earning potential of the noncustodial parents so they can fulfill their child support obligations.
TANF: Pennsylvania has been providing intensive case management services, repeat pregnancy prevention, parenting and child development education, homework and tutoring assistance, and other supports that have enabled tens of thousands of expectant and parenting children to stay in school and receive their high school diploma or GED. These and other services have been offered through the Education Leading to Employment and Training (ELECT) Program.
The ELECT Program has been in existence for fifteen years. In that time, it was expanded to include:
EFI began in January 2000 as part of the Governor's Fatherhood Initiatives. It provides services to expectant, custodial and non-custodial fathers. In addition to all services provided through the ELECT Program, this initiative provides young fathers with the opportunity to be mentored by positive male role models who assist them in becoming responsible parents and contributing members of their communities. EFI also provides services such fatherhood support groups, anger management sessions, assistance with child support and custody issues, denial skills training and support in strengthening the bond between fathers and their children. In fiscal year 2003-04, it provided services to 633 fathers.
The EFW Initiative began in April 2000. This initiative extended ELECT services to expectant, custodial and non-custodial parents whose income was under 235 % FPIG and who were not receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families cash assistance benefits. In Fiscal year 2003-04, ELECT and EFW provided services to 2041 young parents. Approximately 78.1% of the seniors, participating in these initiatives, graduated or returned to school to complete their education.
In January 2001, the ELECT Program was again expanded to provide after school programming for at risk students in grades 4 through 12. This initiative, called ESW, is being piloted in four Local Education Agencies across the state. It provides after school programming, which assists children in reducing and eliminating risky behaviors, and in improving their school attendance and performance. It also provides homework assistance, recreation and sports activities, and age appropriate pregnancy prevention and denial skills training
In addition to helping young parents to remain in school and obtain their high school diploma, the ELECT Initiatives have been instrumental in assisting Pennsylvania in reducing out of wedlock pregnancies, strengthening the parent/child bond and promoting the formation of two-parent families.
CSE: Philadelphia County. The Networking for Jobs Program (NJP) is a Family Court initiative designed to provide access to job training and employment opportunities for those least able to obtain these services on their own. The main focus of NJP is to link unemployed, noncustodial parents (NCPs) with at least one child with an active TANF case with the resources they need to enable the NCP to become self-sufficient and better able to pay their support obligations. Although primarily aimed at NCPs with children on welfare, NJP also has limited resources available to non-welfare custodial and non-custodial parents. The Networking for Jobs Program provides parents with: coordinated, comprehensive job training; identification of jobs resources; job banks and information referral systems; assistance in job application and resume preparation; mentoring and support services; alternatives to criminal and delinquent behavior.
The objectives of the Networking for Jobs Program: Change Attitudes; Develop Marketable Jobs Skills; Enable Employment; Increase Amount and Regularity of Child Support Payments.
Pennsylvania Parenting Program Grant: The Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative is part of Pennsylvania's project of community building, which includes a number of initiatives aimed at empowering individuals and building communities at the grassroots level. The Pennsylvania Parenting Program (PPP) is a key component of the Pennsylvania Fatherhood Initiative. The goal of the PPP grant is threefold: 1) to strengthen the relationship between noncustodial parents and their children; 2) to increase child support payments; and 3) to unify families. The PPP Grant solicits organizations and agencies to propose projects designed to foster responsible parenting by developing and administering community-based parenting projects to support noncustodial parents. In the search for these types of organizations, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania focuses on programs that will be administered at the local level where there is a wealth of knowledge regarding the community and those that reside in or in close proximity of it. Eligible activities under the PPP Grant include, but are not limited to: visitation services (both monitored, supervised, therapeutic, and neutral drop-off and pickup); mediation (both voluntary and mandatory); counseling; education; enhancement of employment opportunities; development of parenting plans; life-skills training; peer mentoring; and development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.
| COUNTY/AGENCY | SERVICES OFFERED |
|---|---|
| Allegheny
County: Community Building Services |
Parenting education, job resources, service referrals, support groups, visitation services, mediation, and peer mentoring. |
| Allegheny
County: The Hill House Association |
Education, parenting services, mentoring, peer support, parent-child activities, counseling, and child support arrears subsidy. |
| Butler County: Family Pathways |
Assessments, mediation, anger management groups, supervised visitation, therapeutic reunification, parenting plan development, monitored exchanges, counseling, co-parenting education, and community awareness training. |
| Carbon County: Catholic Social Agency |
Therapeutic supervised visitation, counseling, and psycho-educational components. |
| Fayette County: Crime Victim Center of Fayette County, Fayette Community Action Agency |
Supervised visitation, counseling, parent education programs, Roller Coaster programs for children, neutral drop-off and pick-up, and support groups. |
| Huntingdon
County: Parents' Fair Share |
Parenting services, family relations services, employment and income support services. |
| Lawrence County: Family Pathways |
Assessments, mediation, support groups, counseling, therapeutic reunification, parenting plan development, and parenting education. |
| Lehigh County: Catholic Social Agency |
Therapeutic supervised visitation, counseling, and psycho-educational components. |
| Northampton
County: Catholic Social Agency |
Therapeutic supervised visitation, counseling, and psycho-educational components. |
| Schuylkill
County: Catholic Social Agency |
Therapeutic supervised visitation, counseling, and psycho-educational components. |
| York County: The Fathers Workshop of York County/Kids Now |
York County: The Fathers Workshop of York County/Kids Now Mediation, counseling, parenting education, employment assistance, legal assistance, and monthly activities to encourage access and visitation. |
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) has participated in the Federal Access and Visitation Grant Program since the program's inception in September of 1997. The focus and administration of the Pennsylvania Access and Visitation Grant Program will continue unchanged for the distribution of the Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2003 funding. The grant funds are available through county Domestic Relations Sections (DRSs) to courts, local public agencies, or nonprofit private entities. The local Title IV-D agencies (county Domestic Relations Sections) are encouraged to sponsor a joint initiative with the Access and Visitation Service providers.
The Access and Visitation Grant Program, with projects currently operating throughout the State, offers services to support, counsel, educate, and challenge noncustodial parents to assist them to become a strong and positive force in the lives of their children. Rather than focusing solely on the fact that children are dependent on their parents for financial and medical support, the programs acknowledge the important contributions that parents make to the emotional and psychological health of their children. Eligible activities include: mediation (both voluntary and mandatory), counseling, education, development of parenting plans, visitation enforcement (including monitoring, supervision, and neutral drop-off and pickup), and development of guidelines for visitation and alternative custody arrangements.
In September 2004, the DPW, Office of Income Maintenance, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, renewed access and visitation grants to seven community-based initiatives. The renewal funding of $333,852 was the FFY 2003 award to Pennsylvania. The seven projects were selected in September 2003 through a competitive request for proposal process. The following agencies will provide services through September 30, 2005:
| COUNTY/AGENCY | SERVICES OFFERED |
|---|---|
| Allegheny County: Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh |
Support groups, parenting education, parenting plan development, individual and group counseling, mediation services, and incentives. |
| Butler County: Butler County Family Pathways |
Assessments, conflict resolution, supervised visitation, therapeutic reunification, neutral or monitored exchanges, Court Report/Summary, and communications and co-parenting counseling. |
| Dauphin County: YWCA of Greater Harrisburg |
Supervised and monitored visitation, legal services, and therapeutic sessions. |
| Erie County: Erie Family Center |
Support groups, parenting classes and parenting plan development, assessments, SKIT Program, specialized counseling, and social activities for parent and child. Supervised, monitored, neutral drop-off/pickup visitation. |
| Fayette County: Crime Victims Center of Fayette County |
Education, counseling, legal aid. Supervised, monitored, and neutral drop-off/pickup, visitation. |
| Lackawanna County: Lackawanna County Department of Human Services/Scranton Area Family Center/EOTC |
Supervised and monitored visitation, parenting education and parenting plan development, counseling, and mediation. |
| Philadelphia County: Impact Services Corporation |
Videoconferencing between children and incarcerated fathers, and parenting education. |
PA Head/Fatherhood Activities:
Scranton-Lackawanna Human Development Agency
200 Adams Avenue
Scranton, PA 18503
Head Director: Sam Ceccacci
Telephone Number: 570-963-6633
E-mail: sceccacci @ headstartslhada.org
The grantee is implementing a three step system for involving families.
Community Action Southwest
150 West Beau Street, Suite 304
Washington, PA 15301
Head Start Director: Douglas Kovach
Telephone Number: (724) 222-9100 x-451
E-mail: dkovach @ caswg.org
The grantee will be using federal funds to supplement three specific fatherhood activities:
Danville Area School District
600 Walnut Street
Danville, PA 17821
Head Start Director: Susan Blake
Telephone Number: (570) 271-3268
E-mail: sblake @ danville.k12.pa.us
The grantee will provide training for HS staff in communicating, working with, and relating to fathers on a more mutually comfortable level; provide informational workshops for all HS parents; provide a workshop for fathers on reading, storytelling, and oral family history, using a professional storyteller; print new brochures geared to males; purchase books, magazine subscription, and training materials to be used for the activities stated; develop a lending library for fathers; and promote healthy relationships by providing for opportunities for couples to spend quality time together.
The grantee will ensure that all activities will educate, enhance, and empower fathers to have healthy relationships with their HS children and families. The HS and staff training will assist and enable staff and parents to further the program's commitment to father involvement.
Community Services for Children, Inc.
1520 Hanover Avenue, Allentown, PA 18109
Head Start Director/Executive Director: Ms. Patricia Levin
Telephone Number: (610) 437-6000
E-mail: Plevin @ cscinc.org
This grantee was one of the Early Head Start National Fatherhood Demonstration projects from 2000-2004. Over the three+ years of the Project, the program changed the orientation of the program to be fully inclusive of all fathers and as a result father participation in the program has significantly increased. All communications and record keeping systems were redesigned to include fathers. Policy Council implemented a Male Involvement Task Group. They created Father-Child Literacy building activities in the Family Library and also implemented them in the home.
The program currently works with their outreach and recruitment efforts to reach all fathers. A description of Head Start/Early Head Start on flyers, door hangers and posters includes language about fathers specifically. They are also doing Father-Friendly Environmental Assessments in each of the 28 classrooms, to assure that the materials, activities, and linguistic landscape in the classrooms is father friendly. Staff are receiving training in skills needed to allow them to comfortably reach out and communicate with men.
Huntingdon County Head Start
Head Start Director/Executive Director: Louise Ketner
Phone Number: 814.643.6800 x111.
E-mail: lketner @ hccadc.org
Huntingdon County Head Start Men's Group: Also known as M.U.S.C.L.E. (Men United in Support of Children's Lives and Education) the name was chosen by the men during the 02-03 program year. "Dads" refers to dads, step dads, grand dads, uncles or any male role model in a child's life. During the 2004-2005 program year, the agency held nine events and had a total attendance of 296 fathers with their children. The agency serves 242 families through Head Start and Early Head Start.
Columbia Sullivan Development Head Start Program
215 East 5th Street, P.O. Box 412
Head Start Director: Gail Menapace
Phone Number: (570) 784-8618
E-mail: ccdp @ epix.net
In an effort to involve more fathers and "father figures" in the lives of young children, the Columbia Sullivan Head Start program conducted and/or will be implementing the following activities:
Lycoming/Clinton Head Start Program
2138 Boyd Street
Williamsport, PA 177901
Head Start Director: Anne Doerr
Phone Number: (570) 326-0587
E-mail: amdoerr @ stepcorp.org
School District of Philadelphia Prekindergarten Head Start
Program
2120 Winter Street, Room 402
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Head Start Director: Jennifer Plumer-Davis
Phone Number: (215) 351-7060
E-mail: pludavis @ phila.k12.pa.us
The School District of Philadelphia Prekindergarten Head Start (PKHS) Program long recognized the importance of involving fathers and other male caregivers in the educational and emotional development of children and has worked aggressively to foster the active and meaningful participation of adult males in all aspects of program planning, design, implementation and management.
In 1992 the PKHS established the Fathers Advocating male Involvement in Lives of Youth (FAMILY) which encourages fathers and other male figures to participate in a broad array of program activities on a regular basis. PKHS FAMILY is lined with regional chapters of major youth development organizations, (e.g. Bid Brothers/Sisters, boys Scouts of America) and local institutions of higher learning within the city of Philadelphia. Recently, national fraternities have played an active role with PKHS in developing and conducting activities that have helped and will continue to enhance the role of fathers in their child's education and their family's prosperity and self-sufficiency.
Access and Visitation: Using a competitive process, Virginia awards sub-grants to non-profit and governmental organizations which provide services including mediation, parent education, development of parenting plans, neutral drop-off and pick up centers, and monitored/supervised visitation. These organizations serve never-married, separated and divorced parents in nearly all geographical areas of the state. Contact Bob Owen at 804-726-7434 or email: bob.owen @ dss.virginia.gov.
CSE: Virginia's Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) promotes the fatherhood movement through its 21 district offices largely as an information clearinghouse and referral source, and occasionally through community partnerships and cooperative agreements. DCSE staff make referrals to community resources, provide workshops at local fatherhood conferences and speak to targeted groups (e.g., incarcerated men, young fathers and fragile families). DCSE provides technical support and materials to fatherhood groups and service providers through joint projects that might include community campaigns and training.
For the latest information concerning Virginia DCSE's fatherhood initiatives, please visit: http://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/dcse/fatherhood.html
Virginia DCSE Contact: Peter Berinato, Fatherhood Coordinator, Management Services Unit. Phone: 804-726-7426 E-mail: peter.berinato @ dss.virginia.gov
Access and Visitation. West Virginia commissioned a statewide survey of noncustodial parents as a way to ascertain the barriers to child access and visitation. Summary results of the survey indicated that visitation might be easier to expedite if there were more educational resources available to noncustodial and custodial parents regarding visitation rights, in addition, to the opportunity for voluntarily negotiating a parenting agreement as an alternative to court. The need for supervised visitation and neutral drop-off and pick-up sites were also reported. Contact Susan Perry at (304) 558-0909.
Child Support and TANF: The West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE), WV Bureau for Children and Families (TANF), WV Bureau for Employment Programs (BEP), the Human Resource Development Foundation, and the Domestic Violence Coalition have formed a partnership to fund and support an initiative called Parents Work/Families Win. Parents Work/Families Win Program is operated by Human Resource Development Foundation and is designed to assist unemployed and/or under-employed individuals to obtain employment that will enable them to meet their child support obligations and develop strong, positive relationships with their children.
In September 2000, the West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) entered into a cooperative agreement with BEP and HRDF. This agreement allows the BCSE to provide a list of non-custodial parents who may be eligible for the program. Non-custodial parents must have a child who is eligible for TANF, Food Stamps, Medicaid, Social Security or Children's Health Insurance Program, and owe $500.00 or more in arrears to be eligible for the program. Eligible participants are offered assistance with employment, transportation, special needs, car repairs and insurance, professional licenses, counseling and relocation services if necessary. Parents Work/ Families Win actually kicked off in January 2001 and is now Statewide.
The initial goal was to serve fifty non-custodial parents. As of March 8, 2002, fifty-seven non-custodial parents were actually served. Ten of the fifty-seven exited (refused to participate) the program, one requested an extension due to extenuating circumstances, twenty-six are in training/seeking employment, twenty have obtained employment, and twenty-one paid child support averaging $129.92.
In addition to PWFW, BSCE is also working with New Connections, a local non-profit group, to provide paternity and child support education to young fathers in a friendly, non-threatening environment. These consultations are provided upon request. West Virginia has conducted sessions with young fathers, approximately once a quarter.
The WV Bureau for Child Support Enforcement signed a cooperative agreement with Northern Panhandle Workforce Investment Board, Inc. for Welfare to Work for non-custodial parents. This agreement covers Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler Counties. Right now, there are very limited restrictions on the non-custodial parents to be eligible for this program. BSCE is the referral agency, much in the same way that WV Works is the referral agency for TANF Welfare to Work candidates.
For more information regarding West Virginia's Fatherhood Initiatives, please contact Sue Buster, TANF Program Manger, at (304) 558-3796, or Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, at (304) 558-3780.
Teen Pregnancy Prevention: The West Virginia Bureau for Child Support Enforcement recently developed a video and curriculum "Get More", which was funded by an 1115 Demonstration Grant from the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement. The video and curriculum is targeted for students in grades 7 -12 to reduce the number of adolescents who become parents before they are physically, emotionally and financially ready. The overall goal of the project is to join forces with numerous public and private entities to reduce the number of out of wedlock births to teens by 1/3 by 2010. Other goals of the project are: (l) provide education about paternity, child support, adolescent pregnancy prevention and other realities of teen parenting; and (2) to expose 1,000 adolescents to paternity establishment and adolescent pregnancy prevention education annually. The Bureau for Child Support Enforcement (BCSE) collaborated with teen parents, Kanawha and Cabell County high schools, the State Department of Education's Office of Healthy Schools, and the Bureau for Public Health's Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Initiative and Abstinence Only Education Programs in an attempt to produce a well-rounded program. Educators were able to implement the curricula in the 2003-2004 school year. The videos were also distributed to more than fifty health education and physical education teachers at their annual convention in July 2004. As part of the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement's Hospital Paternity Affidavit Program, Get More was given to each of the 33 birthing centers in West Virginia. In addition, BSCE participated with Get More in the interdepartmental Conference on Healthy Marriages, led by the West Virginia IV-A agency, the Bureau for Families and Children and the WV University and WV State University extension services. Contact Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, Bureau for Child Support Enforcement at (304) 558-3780, for further information.
Fatherhood Day: A proclamation was signed by the Governor designating June 16, 2004 as Fatherhood Day in West Virginia. Each Bureau of Child Support Office around the State made banners to be displayed in Department of Health and Human Services offices during that week. Child support staff also set up booths at various locations in the community during the week to answer questions concerning establishment of paternity and support obligations. Notaries also were present at these sites to facilitate the signing of paternity affidavits. Contact Elizabeth Jordon, Outreach Coordinator, Bureau for Child Support Enforcement at (304) 558-3780.
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(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)
Robert Richie
Program Manager
Child Support and Developmental Disabilities
Administration for Children and Families
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW, Suite 4M60
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8909
Phone: 404-562-2958
Fax: 404-562-2985
Juan Gordon
Financial Operations Specialist
Head Start Branch
Administration for Children and Families
Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center
61 Forsyth Street, SW, Suite 4M60
Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8909
Phone: 404-562-2869
Fax: 404-562-2984
May 10-12, 2005, ACF Region IV hosted Framing the Future: A Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage Forum at the Winshape Retreat Center in Rome, Georgia. This discussion exploreed the challenges and opportunities in building a strong Fatherhood-Healthy Marriage partnership that can result in building stronger children, families and communities. Both the Fatherhood and Healthy Marriage Initiatives view improving child well-being as a mutual goal, and identifying efforts for collaboration may make a significant positive impact on the status of at-risk children throughout the nation and serve to educate and inform a wide spectrum of audiences.
Access and Visitation. The grant, administered by the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts (AOC), has provided divorce mediation and child issues and parenting plan mediation training for Judicial Volunteer Program coordinators in four judicial circuits in Alabama. This enables coordinators to train citizen volunteers to mediate visitation issues and to assist with development of visitation parenting plans with parents before they go to court. In an effort to work with the Alabama Fatherhood Initiative, the AOC has developed two workbooks, one for parents and one for children. Both workbooks are designed to encourage divorced or never-married parents and their children to work together to facilitate communication between them and to explain good ways to handle living apart. Contact David Williams of the AOC at (334) 242-0333.
TANF. The Alabama Fatherhood Initiative (AFI) is a statewide network of many agencies and organizations working together to provide programs and services to help non-custodial parents financially support their children and have greater and more constructive involvement in the lives of their children. A statewide Fatherhood Coordinator, funded with TANF dollars, is housed in the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) Family Assistance Division.
The Children's Trust Fund of Alabama, in partnership with the State Department of Human Resources, has funded 32 fatherhood programs throughout the State of Alabama. DHR funding comes from TANF. Programs continue to target several areas:
Upon seeing the need to provide more employment related and other supportive services to non-custodial parents (NCPs), DHR partnered with the Alabama College System to add short-term skills training to the existing Alabama Fatherhood Initiative. The goal of the AFI Skills Training Pilot Project is to help non-custodial fathers develop and maintain positive relationships with their children and to enhance their ability to support their children by providing counseling, education, training, and employment opportunities. The project is particularly interested in assisting underemployed and unemployed non-custodial fathers receive education and short-term skills training to obtain dependable jobs and to meet their child support obligations. The Chancellor of the Department of Postsecondary Education (DPE) selected several Alabama College System institutions to participate in the pilot program, currently operating at six sites. The DHR Fatherhood Coordinator and state staff in Child Support Enforcement, the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA), the AOC, Children's Trust Fund and the DPE worked together to develop the short-term skills training model.
The Alabama Fatherhood Resource Directory was first published to pull together information on all of the fatherhood programs across the State so that non-custodial parents can find the services they need in their local communities. http://www.dhr.state.al.us/large_docs/Fatherhood%20Directory.pdf.
Partnering with the Alabama Fatherhood Initiative and faith and community organizations, the National Initiative for Human Development was instrumental in convening the first Alabama Fatherhood Conference in June 2004. A state fatherhood conference is now an annual event in Alabama with the next conference scheduled for June 8 - 10, 2005. State Contact: Martha Cantrell at (256) 340-5996.
Child Support Enforcement: The Orlando, Florida, Child Support Enforcement office, working with the Orange County Corrections Department, the judiciary of the Ninth Judicial Circuit, Orange County Workforce Development, Orange County Probation, Orange County Legal Aid, Headstart, Healthy Families, DCF, and several community partners, implemented an educational and outreach project that targets incarcerated and formerly incarcerated non- custodial parents. The program is entitled Low-Income Non-custodial Parent Outreach Service (LINOS). The Orlando CSE Service Center has three designated staff members that meet weekly with the inmates. CSE staff had to gain the inmates trust to change the NCP's perception that CSE was interested only in putting them in jail. The Orlando CSE staff was very successful in making it clear to inmates that CSE was there to educate them about CS issues so they could make informed decisions when they left the jail environment. Only 20 inmates attended CSE's first session; currently more than 500 inmates have been provided general CS and LINOS information.
The LINOS brochure contains information on all the service providers and telephone numbers. The brochure and large LINOS posters are displayed in CSE service center lobbies, the courthouse, the jail, and many other community partners distribute the LINOS brochure and display the poster. CSE tracks enrollees in the LINOS program on payment history, scheduled appointments with community partners and job referral information. There is a designated DOR CSE LINOS liaison for NCPs to contact once released from jail. The LINOS program is a good example that improving relationships with NCPs, establishing strong community partner networks, and innovative actions result in a winning combination for all, especially for children and families.
Contact:
David Gillen
Revenue Service Center Manager
Florida Department of Revenue
Child Support Enforcement
400 West Robinson Street
Hurston South Tower, Suite S609
Orlando, FL 32801-1782
407-245-0103
The Florida Fatherhood Coalition will be sponsoring a conference (dates as yet undetermined) under Governor Bush's Fatherhood Initiative.
(State of) Georgia Fatherhood Initiative
Scott Stapleton, Manager
P.O. Box 1427
360 Bay Street, Suite 300
Augusta, Georgia 30903
Phone: 706-721-7139
Fax: 706-721-7151
Email: scottstapleton @ dhr.state.ga.us
Head Start and Child Support — In the last of four Parent-Mentor events in Region IV, NCFL and Head Start parents met in Atlanta for a great weekend of training and discussion of fatherhood ideas.
During the closing session on Sunday, remarks by several participants attested to the positive, effective efforts made. One father said, "A lot of times men don't feel like they can really talk or express themselves in groups like this. But I think we all opened up and connected this weekend. Our trainers made us feel like it was okay to be ourselves and they showed me how important I really am to my kids. I think we all realized we are in this together...we got to help each other out."
Another Dad said, "I am a changed man. I am going to be a better Dad now. You got to tell somebody up there who makes the decisions that we need more of this kind of stuff for parents. I am so glad I took this chance and gave it a try." Many similar comments assured that wonderful things happened and the hard work putting it together was worth the effort.
Sunflower Humphrey's Counties Progress, Inc. Fatherhood Initiative: Activities include Dad's Day with Kids; Boys to Men Fatherhood Conference; Character Building: What I Think About Me; Sporting Events; Breakfast with Dad; Art in a Suitcase (dad's and kids participate in art, music, poetry, dancing and other activities)
Yazoo City Community Action Agency Head Start:
Washingon County Head Start:
Western Carolina Head Start: A music teacher from Mexico has led a fatherhood group teaching fathers how to make instruments and has a singing group which performs informally. Other projects include nutrition and sessions on child abuse and sexual abuse of children by relatives, spousal abuse, death, depression, and homelessness.
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Fatherhood Initiative. The Sisters of Charity Foundation provides grant funds, technical assistance and other resources for community and faith-based groups, organizations and other non-profits whose efforts address the fundamental causes of poverty in South Carolina. The Foundation has embarked on a statewide Fatherhood Initiative to strengthen the role of fathers and fragile families in the state. They have information and resources available to the community on the importance of fathers in families, the impact of absent fathers, and other fatherhood programs.
The Sisters of Charity Foundation and SC Center for Fathers and Families currently fund 10 fatherhood programs at 12 sites in the state including community based, alternatives to incarceration, and prison based programs. A large proportion of funding for the fatherhood programs comes from the SC Department of Social Services (DSS), primarily TANF money. The SC Center for Fathers and Families was founded in 2002 by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina. Its mission is to develop and support a statewide infrastructure to strengthen relationships between fathers and families. The Center provides resources, leadership and education to fatherhood programs associated with the Fatherhood Initiative. The South Carolina Fatherhood Practitioners Network, Inc. was founded to foster communication, professional development, education, and collaboration among service providers. The Network has conducted several practitioner conferences in the State. For more information, contact Patricia Littlejohn at (803) 254-0230
Access and Visitation. The Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) has initiated a pilot project called Visitation Involvement Parenting (VIP), in which the CSED provides mediation services for the parents to establish a plan for access and visitation so that the child will have the benefit of both parents taking an active role in their life. The VIP Program also provides employment and training services for the non-custodial parent so that he/she can adequately provide financial support for the child and the VIP Program will provide instruction to both parents on how to request help from the Family Court to enforce the visitation order. This program is available in four counties. In order for the VIP Program to be available, both parents must live in one of the counties or the non-custodial parent must live in one of these counties and the custodial parent must agree to travel to the county where the non-custodial parent lives for any classes or mediation sessions. For more information contact Linda Cook at (803) 898-9350.
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(Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota,
Ohio, and Wisconsin)
Suzanne Krohn
HHS Acting Regional Director, Region V
233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 1300
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 353-5132
Fax: (312) 353-4144
Joyce A. Thomas
Regional Administrator, Administration for Children and Families,
Region
V
233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 353-4237
Fax: (312) 353-2204
Kay Willmoth
Director, Office of Family and Child Development
Administration for Children and Families, Region V
233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 353-4237
Fax: (312) 353-2204
Kathleen Penak
Team Liaison
Office of Family and Child Development
Administration for Children and Families, Region V
233 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 400
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone: (312) 353-3270
Fax: (312) 353-2629
E-mail: kpenak @ acf.hhs.gov
Office of Community Services
Elizabeth Hailey-Smith (ehailey-smith @ acf.hhs.gov)
Child Care, Developmental Disabilities, and
Collaboration
Hich Yamagata (hyamagata @ acf.hhs.gov)
Head Start
Terry Davis (tdavis @ acf.hhs.gov)
Child Support
Geneva Bishop (gbishop @ acf.hhs.gov)
Child Welfare
Constance Helene Miller (CHFMiller @ acf.hhs.gov)
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Gene Niewoehner (gneiwoehner @ acf.hhs.gov)
Runaway and Homeless Youth
Jenny Gardner (jgardner @ acf.hhs.gov)
Tribal
William Clair (wclair @ acf.hhs.gov)
Region five has a program-wide commitment to Father involvement. The Fatherhood Initiative is one of the top priorities for the Region V Administration for Children and Families (ACF). For this reason, Region V ACF has designed its fatherhood efforts to carry out identified objectives. The objectives include:
ACF Region V's commitment to the fatherhood initiative is illustrated by the following activities:
To help you Navigate the Following Region V Fatherhood Materials: the following list of links will take you right to these major topics. These topics illustrate Region V's on-going commitment to Fatherhood/Male Involvement:
Region V's funding for fatherhood has contributed to the development and enhancement of many Early Head Start and Head Start fatherhood/male involvement programs. One hundred grantees responded to the April 2002 Region V announcement of the Fatherhood Special Initiative (FSI). They applied for funds to develop projects to enhance the involvement of fathers/males in early literacy and language development of their children. The forty-nine awardees received a combined total of $1,684,764 to implement these projects in a one-year project period. In addition, five Region V grantees were among the 21 Federal Early Head Start programs that received three-year Fatherhood Demonstration grants. These programs concluded their demonstration projects on January 31, 2004, but many of the practices developed are still being replicated (see Fatherhood Review Section).
The Head Start Bureau announced new fatherhood funding opportunities on October 8, 2004. All Head Start grantees were eligible to apply for one-time funding to support efforts to institutionalize father involvement in Head Start programs and make father involvement an on-going commitment at all levels of program planning, design, and implementation. Funding allocations were based on each grantee's funded enrollment level. Grants were awarded to 191 of the 232 Head Start grantees in the region. Grantees' funding applications described the grantee's efforts in father involvement and explained how these funds will enhance and sustain father involvement.
Approaches in developing and enhancing fatherhood/male involvement programs have varied a great deal. Many of the FSI awardees utilized the "Father-Friendly Assessment Tool" and followed through to act on the results of the assessment. The agencies made a variety of efforts to make their sites friendlier. Some agencies used father-child photographs and appropriate posters and flyers, while other agencies provided reading materials that were geared towards the interests of fathers. Additionally, agencies implemented many father-child programs that included hands-on activities and carried literacy themes. Because these special initiatives focused on emergent literacy, agencies formed new partnerships with libraries, state extension offices, and literacy councils. New ideas, such as in-class reading by fathers, father home-reading suggestions, and the creation of incentives (book bags, activity lists) to increase reading, have become part of the programming in these agencies.
To capture "lessons learned" and recommendations for the future from the grantees that received FSI and EHS Demonstration funding, Region V initiated a review of the many fatherhood support activities developed and implemented under these grants. The review is entitled "Programs that Promote Father Involvement and Children's Early Literacy and Language Development." The report presents the best practices identified by the grantees, and identifies the advice that grantees would give to other Head Start agencies starting a fatherhood program. The report also summarizes recommendations, and lessons learned from the grantees. A brief listing of some of the unique best practices identified by grantees for building father-friendly sites include:
The Fatherhood Review contains many recommendations made by Early Head Start and Head Start FSI staff. Selected advice relevant to developing and sustaining a successful fatherhood program include:
Region V distributed the Fatherhood Review widely, beginning with dissemination of the report on the Region V Fatherhood Listserv, which has over 300 participants. As of May 1, 2005, ACF distributed more than 350 CD-ROMs and documents to over 250 grantees, Child Care Agencies, State Collaboration Offices, state and community partners and interested parties who requested copies. For more information and a copy of the review, please contact Kathleen Penak from ACF Region V at kpenak @ acf.hhs.gov.
The Region V Fatherhood Workgroup supports Region V's Fatherhood Initiative. Workgroup members from each ACF program area meet as a group quarterly and represent Region V at diverse fatherhood and family conferences, training events, and meetings. The members contribute information to the national Fatherhood Website, help the region promote father/male involvement and encourage the creation of father-friendly environments. Region V staff shares information on recent fatherhood conferences and new resources.
The Fatherhood Workgroup plays an important role in selecting capacity development workshop topics to enable Region V staff to keep abreast of current research and innovative programming. The workgroup wants to plan workshops that can inform their work, and that give participants information to disseminate to grantees and program partners.
On March 24, 2004, Region V launched the Region V ACF Fatherhood Listserv. Listserv participants share a commitment to fatherhood and male involvement efforts for the sake of the children and their families. The initial participants were Early Head Start and Head Start grantees including grantees that received the FSI grant, the Region V Early Head Start Demonstration grantees and ACF program partners who expressed interest in fatherhood topics. The listserv expanded within its first year to include more than 300 interested partners from Child Welfare, Runaway and Homeless Youth Services and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs, state agencies, and many community-based organizations. Listserv members receive grant information, recent research, new training materials, and announcements of upcoming events. They also exchange information and answer questions to help each other in the development or enhancement of fatherhood/male involvement efforts. They have assisted each other in searches for trainers on topics such as parenting classes for ex-felons, speakers for conference agendas and pertinent website sources.
To join the Fatherhood Listserv, send an e-mail to join-fatherhood @ lyris.acf.hhs.gov. By becoming a participant, you will obtain new information quickly, receive invitations to take part in Collaboration Network Conference Calls (more information on these calls follows), be able to provide your input on areas of interest, and ask for assistance from peers.
An important initiative for all ACF Region V staff involved the implementation of the Region V Fatherhood Strategic Plan for calendar year 2004, and the development of the Region V Fatherhood Strategic Plan for calendar year 2005. Region V Fatherhood Workgroup members solicited input from their colleagues and worked together to develop and implement the Region V Fatherhood Strategic Plans. Region V staff uses the strategic plans as guides to encourage father-friendly practices in all areas of program responsibilities and to promote and integrate father and male role model acceptance. Included in the strategic plans are the steps Region V staff members are taking to develop partnerships to enhance fatherhood and male involvement through outreach, dissemination of information, and implementation. The following are examples of implementation activities by program:
For more information on the Fatherhood Strategic Plan activities, please contact Kathleen Penak at kpenak @ acf.hhs.gov.