About this toolkit

This toolkit is a resource to inform parent educators as they engage, recruit and retain fathers. It is funded by the Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Grant #90FR0080 from the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.

This grant provided five years of funding for father-focused group meetings to increase:

• father participation in Parents as Teachers
• fathers' knowledge of child development and parenting skills
• fathers' engagement in their children's lives

Partner sites

Partner sites from across the United States participated in this demonstration grant and contributed to this Toolkit:

• Allegheny Intermediate Unit, Homestead, Penn.
• Children’s Home Good Beginnings, Peoria, Ill.
• Social Advocates for Youth (SAY) / Our Kids Count, San Diego, Calif.
• Youth in Need, St. Louis, Mo.
• Youth in Need, Warrenton, Mo.

Who can benefit from the toolkit?

Anyone who provides services to fathers will find strategies and ideas to improve their practice and assess their agency’s performance.

• Learn how to gauge your agency’s father-friendliness.
• Discover how to encourage absent fathers to re-engage with their kids.
• Find strategies for discussing difficult issues, including domestic violence, military deployments, and economic instability.
• Learn to create synergy among your staff to support recruitment and retention of fathers and to strengthen communication with fathers.
• Learn how to talk with mothers about the important role of fathers in their children’s lives.