1. DC Department of Behavioral Health
Engaging Fathers
Connecting Fathers in Children’s lives
DC Department of Behavioral Health
6th Annual Summit on Evidence-Based Programs for Children, Youth and Families
October 31, 2016 

2. Engaging Fathers
James Campbell, MSW, LICSW Cortez Scott, MSW, LICSW Ayize Ma’at MSW

3. Engaging Fathers
True or False?

4. Engaging Fathers
Children perform better in school when a Dad is involved in their lives?

5. TRUE National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections suggest that a father’s presence or involvement enriches children’s lives.

6. Engaging Fathers Performs better in school Stay out of trouble
Less likely to live in poverty
Less likely to become sexually active
Avoid pregnancy during pre teen/teen age years

7. Engaging Fathers
Why Is Father Involvement Important? Father involvement is undeniably important to children. Children with involved fathers display better cognitive outcomes; higher self-esteem and less depression as teenagers; greater academic achievement; lower levels of substance use; and higher levels of pro-social behaviors (National Fatherhood Initiative, 2007)
National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections 2007

8. Engaging fathers TRUE OR FALSE
Engaging fathers is the biggest gap in child welfare practice?

9. Engaging Fathers
TRUE In 2006, the Urban Institute published a report on child welfare agencies’ efforts to identify, locate, and involve NRFs in the child welfare process.

10. Engaging fathers
70% of caseworkers had received training on engaging fathers, and caseworkers who received training were more likely to report having located fathers.
However, while 88% of NRFs were identified by the agency, only 55% were contacted by a caseworker

11. Engaging Fathers Kids in care need extra support
Potential Resources include:
Nurturing children through a healthy relationship
Placement with father
Medical History information
Benefits, such as health insurance, survivor benefits, or child support
Relatives resources for guardianships

12. Engaging Fathers TRUE OR FALSE
Techniques for engaging fathers are the same as engaging Mothers?

13. Engaging fathers FALSE
Men and women interact, learn and seek help differently from one another. These differences should not cloud your objective assessment of the father’s interests and capacity to parent, or the child’s best interests. Men are often:

14. Engaging Fathers • Action-oriented • Future-focused
• Less likely to seek help
• Unlikely to dwell on emotions
• More likely to engage in physical play with
children
• Sensitive to power and respect issues

15. Engaging Fathers
How and when fathers want help: What the research says:

16. Engaging Fathers
• Job referrals • Vocational education • Job readiness • Parenting education • GED classes • Legal advice about paternity establishment and child support orders • Medical treatment • Mental health counseling • Relationship counseling • Child care assistance

17. Engaging Fathers TRUE OR FALSE
Nonresident fathers’ involvement with their children is associated with a higher likelihood of a reunification outcome.

18. Engaging Fathers
TRUE Nearly 45 percent of children whose nonresident fathers were classified as not involved with their children exited to adoption, compared with 34 percent of children whose nonresident fathers were involved
Adapted from information by Mark Kiselica, in Pilnik, L., & Kendall, J., Engaging noncustodial fathers in child welfare cases: A guide for children’s attorneys and lawyer guardians ad litem. Available at

19. Engaging Fathers
Children whose nonresident fathers were highly involved spent less time in foster care, on average, than children whose nonresident fathers were less involved. Average case length for children with highly involved nonresident fathers was 21.4 months, compared with 25.3 months
Adapted from information by Mark Kiselica, in Pilnik, L., & Kendall, J., Engaging noncustodial fathers in child welfare cases: A guide for children’s attorneys and lawyer guardians ad litem. Available at

20. Engaging Fathers
What do we need to involve fathers in case planning?

21. Engaging Fathers Identify fathers Locate fathers Contact fathers
Engage fathers
Support fathers
Stay in touch with fathers

22. National Center for Fathering, National PTA 2009:
Engaging Fathers
National Center for Fathering, National PTA 2009:
Over the last ten years, a number of key gains were made that show fathers have significantly increased their involvement with their children at school.

23. Engaging Fathers
Walking/taking their child to school 38% to 54% +16 percentage points Attending class events 28% to 35% +11 percentage points Visiting their child’s classroom 30% to 41% +11 percentage points Volunteering at their child’s school 20% to 28% + 8 percentage points

24. Engaging Fathers

26. Fatherhood Is...... Liberating Scary as hell Empowering
A gift from God
Challenging
Humbling
Rewarding
My reason

27. Black Children Need Their Father's
Tupac Shakur, the late rapper, once said:
“I know for a fact that had I had a father, I’d have some discipline. I’d have more confidence.”
“Your mother cannot calm you down the way a man can”
” Shakur said. “You need a man to teach you how to be a man.”

28. Black Father's Need Their Children
Provides a Sense of Purpose (patrol, control, mold)
Improved Physical Health (live long and prosper)
Improved Mental Health (grow up and self actualize)

29. Black Father's Aren't Present...Why?
unemployment;
imprisonment;
high death rates;
relational dysfunction

30. Black Fathers Are Present and Representing
Children under the age 5: Black Fathers prepared and/or ate meals more with their children vs their white and Hispanic counterparts
Children 5-18: Black Fathers took children to and from activities daily more compared to their white and Hispanic counterparts
Children 5-18: Black Fathers also helped their kids with homework more than their white and Hispanic counterparts

31. How Do We Bridge The Gap Shift perceptions Validate perspectives
Provide resources (education, employment, group reinforcement, accountability)

32. 3 Things You Can Do Change your language
Check your counter transference
Choose to help heal his brokenness

33. Question and Answer Discussion