Focus on Fatherhood
Regional Activity
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 over 400 participants from throughout New England. The conference, now in its sixth year, features inspiring keynotes, workshops addressing important fathering issues, cutting edge and best practice models in fatherhood programming and service delivery, inspiring fatherhood moments, and numerous learning and networking opportunities. This year's conference participants included Head Start staff, early childhood educators, family service providers, parent educators, social workers, fatherhood program administrators, advocates, and almost 70 Dads interested in improving their fathering skills and learning more about the important role they play in their child's healthy development. Workshops included knowing what to expect your child can do and when, working with incarcerated dads and their families, integrating marriage support systems into fatherhood programs, fathers and the child welfare system, evaluation and outcome-based measures for fathering programs, effective partnerships to support fathers, leading fatherhood groups, child support 101, and working with dads of children with disabilities. A unique feature of this year's conference was a series of three video viewing sessions that were followed by facilitated discussions. Videos are valuable tools in our work to support and promote fathering, and each video was selected to help conference participants improve their knowledge base or skills in working with specific groups of dads.
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 7th 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, hands-on educational exhibits, fun activities, and over 30 information tables about local organizations and resources to help families and especially dads. 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 at the national level and in New England's Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The Regional Administrator for Region I is the co-chair for The Father Factor: National Head Start Institute on Father Involvement held in Dallas. Virtually all of the Region I's Head Start and Early Head Start programs have expanded their parent involvement component and now provide a specific focus on involving fathers in their child's Head Start experience. The Regional Office staff monitors a broad range of father involvement activities through special surveys as well as its regular monitoring activities, allowing us to identify promising practices and local staff who can provide leadership and technical assistance to their peers. Regional Head Start conferences and our Early Head Start Quality Conferences routinely feature workshops where local programs share their father involvement strategies and best practices. These conferences are also opportunities to share information about new services and model programs such as Boot Camp for New Dads, Just For Dads literacy program, and NFI's Doctor Dad program. The regionally developed Head Start Self-Assessment Tool Kit includes a subset of questions relating to father involvement activities. Programs report that the assessment is not only helpful in preparing for PRISM reviews, but 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 recently received 1115 demonstration project funding to provide a wide range of services, including healthy marriage education, to new, young 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.
State Activity
Massachusetts
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. Contact Beth Winik at (617) 626-4182.
Rhode Island
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 is
also planning to develop a brochure and educational video for children of
divorced or separated parents that specifically address the realities of
parental separation and offer suggestions for coping with a change in family
structure. Contact George Dimuro at (401) 458-5320.
New Hampshire
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.