Strong Fathers Program

  

What is Strong Fathers?
It is a psychoeducational and skills-building group for men referred by child welfare and with a history of domestic violence. Its aim is to help men relate in safe and caring ways to their children, partners, and other family members. In group, the men learn about parenting techniques and have the opportunity to talk with other men about good ways of fathering and taking leadership in caring for their families. The program started in fall 2009 at Family Services of Forsyth County and was available to men in Forsyth, Stokes, and Davie counties. 

Why do Strong Fathers matter?

  • They provide time and support
  • They show children how to treat others with respect
  • They model non-violence
  • They show that they care about their children and want them and their mothers to be safe

Who provides the program?
Family Service Inc. in Winston-Salem delivers the program; the Center for Child and Family Health in Durham developed the curriculum (Ake III, Bauman, Briggs, & Starsoneck, 2009); and the Center for Family and Community Engagement at NC State University is evaluating its outcomes. The program is funded by the North Carolina Council for Women, and previously by the North Carolina Division of Social Services with a grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services (Family Violence Prevention and Services Act). Beginning in fall 2011, Durham County Department of Social Services is teaming with the Center for Child and Family Health to deliver the program.

What does the curriculum cover? 
The curriculum integrates parenting education with raising awareness of the impact of domestic violence on children and their mothers. The curriculum also addresses how the men’s childhood experiences affect how they relate to their children and their partners. The goal is for men to become strong fathers who work with the children’s mothers to promote positive child development.

Sample materials

How was the curriculum developed?
The curriculum draws upon other models that have been developed to reduce child maltreatment and intimate partner violence. Most notably, the curriculum has adapted, with permission, concepts, materials, and exercises from Fathering After Violence, developed by the Family Violence Prevention Fund (www.endabuse.org)  EVOLVE, developed by Fernando Mederos; and Caring Dads, developed by Katreena Scott, Karen Francis, Claire Crooks, and Tim Kelly (www.caringdadsprogram.com). Caring Dads was pilot tested at EMERGE, a batterer’s intervention program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the leadership of David Adams.

How is the program evaluated?
The curriculum includes exercises in which the men set goals for themselves, rate their own growth as fathers, and complete pre- and post-tests of their knowledge of child development. The evaluation seeks input from the group facilitators, the mothers of the children, the social workers, and other community partners. In addition, Social Services data are analyzed. For more on evaluation findings, see Program Findings.

Below is a list of partners who helped in the development, design, and evaluation of the Strong Fathers Program:

American Humane Association, Marie McCabe
Caring Dads Program, Katreena Scott
Emerge, David Adams
Evolve, Fernando Mederos
Futures Without Violence, Juan Areán Carlos and Lonna Davis
University of Arizona, Mary Koss​

For more information
Visit https://strongfathersprogram.org/ or contact Family Services, Inc’s Safe Relationships Division at 336.722.8173.

The men were pulled by their desire to be with their children and pushed by their demands on themselves to be better fathers and men.

- Pennell et al., "Family violence, fathers, and restoring personhood"

Findings:

Presentations:

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