Skills and Strategies for Working with Fathers 2014

1. Skills and Strategies for
Working with Fathers
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Skills and Strategies for
Working with Fathers

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Today’s Learning Objectives
Explain the importance
of father involvement
and the impact of father
absence
Assess personal values
and how they influence
work with fathers
Explain how different
life situations of fathers
may impact their
involvement
Explain paternity
establishment and
legitimation processes
in Georgia
Identify strategies for
identifying and locating
non-residential fathers
Recognize different
barriers to father
involvement
1 2
3 4
5 6

4. 4
THE IMPORTANCE OF
FATHERS

5. 5
Activity:
Media Fathers
What makes a
“good” father?
1. Think of a male from television,
movies, books, or news that you
would like to have as a father.
Write the name on an index
card. Under the name, write why
you would like to have this
person as your father.
2. Think of a male from television,
movies, books, or news that they
would not want as a father
Write this name on the back of
the card. Under the name, write
why you would not want this
person as their father.
3. Share your two names and
reasons you would or would not
want this male as a father.

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24 million (1 out of 3
children) live absent their
biological father

7. Importance of Father Involvement
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 Healthy child development
 Gender identity
 Responsible sexuality
 Emotional and social commitment
 Financial security

8. 8
Negative Outcomes of Father
Absence
 Poverty
 Child maltreatment
 Delinquency
 Emotional and behavioral problems
 Rates of incarceration
 Teenage pregnancy
 Drug and alcohol abuse
 Low educational achievement

9. 9
Critical Father Roles
 Provider
 Protector
 Nurturer
 Teacher

10. 10
Protector and Provider
 The ability to provide and
protect is still connected
with the average man’s
sense of self and sense of
manhood.
 Feelings of inadequacy in
this role can influence
father involvement.

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Nurturer and Teacher
 May look different
in mothers and
fathers but father
nurturing is just as
important to a
child’s well-being
 Fathers serve as an
important guide to
the outside world.

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Self-Awareness and Work
with Men
Our values in the context of
relationships with men

13. Fathers in Different Situations
Marriage
Most often associated with
positive outcomes for children
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Maltreatment may be an
indication of problems in
the marital relationship

14. Fathers in Different Situations cont
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Cohabitating parents
A lot like marriage, but not exactly the
same, especially when children are
involved.
May mean less
commitment and stability

15. Fathers in Different Situations cont
Incarcerated fathers
May never have learned to be a good father
15
Most incarcerated men
are fathers, but most
have never been married
and weren’t living with their
children at the time of their
arrest.

16. Fathers in Different Situations cont
Multiple Fathers
Which man is “dad” in the eyes of the child?
Each one can
potentially help to keep
the child safe. The task
is to determine which
one will do it.
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17. Fathers in Different Situations cont
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Boyfriends
May not have same
emotional commitment as
a biological father
Poses a higher risk to children

18. Fathers in Different Situations cont
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Stepfathers
Research varies as to the risk
they pose to children.
Carefully assess the family
dynamics and the role the
stepfather plays in the family
system.

19. 19
Process for Working with Fathers
IDENTIFY
LOCATE
and
ENGAGE
INVOLVE

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PATERNITY,
LEGITIMATION, AND
DILIGENT SEARCH

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Father Definitions
 Biological Father: The man whose
sperm caused the baby to be
conceived.
 Putative or alleged father: A man
who someone claims is the biological
father of the baby.
 Presumed Father: A man who was
married to the baby’s mother at the
time of the baby’s birth, or shortly
thereafter.

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Father Definitions cont
 Legal Father: The man who:
a) Has legally adopted the child;
b) Was married to the biological mother of that
child at the time the child was conceived or was
born, unless such paternity was disproved by a
final order
c) Married the legal mother of the child shortly
after the child was born and recognized the child
as his own
d) Has legitimated the child by a final order

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Paternity vs. Legitimation
 Paternity: establishes that a man is the
biological father of a child, and
therefore has a duty to support the child
he has fathered.
 Legitimation: establishes a biological
father’s legal rights concerning a child
who was “born out of wedlock.”

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Paternity Establishment
 Both parents sign Voluntary Paternity
Acknowledgment form
 Legal determination of paternity
 Paternity testing available through OCSS if
father denies paternity
 Names the biological father, obligates the
biological father to pay child support, but
does not entitle the biological father to
visitation with the child.

25. 25
Legitimation
To legitimate a child in Georgia, the
biological father has two options:
(1) Administrative legitimation through
completion of the Voluntary Paternity
Acknowledgment, including the
Legitimation Section.
(2) File a petition for legitimation with the
court.

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Process for Working with Fathers
IDENTIFY
LOCATE
and
ENGAGE
INVOLVE

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IDENTIFYING AND
ADDRESSING BARRIERS
TO FATHER
INVOLVEMENT

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Barriers Vs.
Excuses
Generate a “Top Five
List” of the reasons
fathers give for being
absent, not being
involved, or not being
more involved in their
children’s lives.
Record your list on a
sheet of paper and
then decide if the
reason listed is a
Barrier or Excuse
Lack of involvement – are
there barriers or are we just
hearing excuses?

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Barriers to Father Involvement
 Case manager and systemic bias
 Overburdened case managers

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Barriers to Father Involvement
 Personal circumstances of the father
 Psychological pain

31. Barriers to Father Involvement
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cont
 Case manager’s reluctance to involve a
male perpetrator
 History of intimate partner violence

32. Barriers to Father Involvement cont
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 Not knowing he’s a dad
 Father has a new family to think about
 Remarriage of either parent

33. Barriers to Father Involvement
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cont
 Geographical distance
 Lack of finances

34. Barriers to Father Involvement cont
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 Lack of confidence in parenting skills
 Lack of appropriate male role models

35. Barriers to Father Involvement
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cont
 Frustration in dealing with legal system
and bureaucracies

36. ……for your attendance and participation!
36
Thank you……
This session brought to you by…….

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Skills and Strategies
for Working with Fathers

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Today’s Learning Objectives
Develop strategies for
addressing barriers to
father involvement
Develop strategies for
engaging mothers
around the issue of
father involvement
Decide how to identify,
locate and engage
fathers in different
situations
Identify opportunities for
involving fathers in the
assessment and case
planning processes
Identify formal and
informal support
services for fathers
Engage in purposeful
conversations with
fathers
1 2
3 4
5 6

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IDENTIFYING AND
ADDRESSING BARRIERS
TO FATHER
INVOLVEMENT

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Values Voting
Listen as each
statement is read.
Decide which option
best represents your
position on the
statement:
 Strongly Agree
 Agree
 Disagree
 Strongly Disagree
Our values about mothers,
fathers, co-parenting, and
relationships

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Mothers Gatekeeping
The father’s relationship with the mother
(or maternal grandmother) may be the
greatest determinant of successful father
involvement.

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Strategies for Enlisting
Mothers’ Support
Be aware of your approach
and the way you
communicate with mothers
about father involvement
 Alleviate fears
 Demonstrate
respect
 Be culturally
sensitive
 Tailor the
approach to fit
the family’s
situation

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Strategies for Enlisting Mothers’
Support
Explain:
 The importance of father
involvement
 Father has a legal right to
see his children (legal
father)
 Children have a right to
know their father

45. 45
Strategies for Enlisting Mothers’
Support cont
Listen:
 To what the mother is saying
about the father.
 To what the father is saying
about the mother
 For values/beliefs impacting the
mother’s willingness to involve
the father

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Strategies for Enlisting Mothers’
Support cont
Address safety concerns
of mother and child

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Strategies for Enlisting Mothers’
Support cont
Encourage mother to look beyond personal
issues with the father
 Lifetime benefits to the child
 Extra support for her during rough times

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement
Five categories for addressing the barriers to
father involvement.
Take actions that:
 Prevent
 Prepare
 Establish
 Involve
 Support

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement
Prevent
Prevent further child maltreatment and
emotional harm to children by
emphasizing to men their responsibility
as fathers.

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement cont
Prepare
Prepare fathers by helping them attain
the knowledge, skills, and financial
resources to adequately care for their
children.

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement cont
Establish
Help fathers firmly establish their
relationship with their children. This
includes the legal relationship and the
parenting relationship

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement cont
Involve
Involve fathers in the child’s life. Most
critically, involve the father in the case
process.

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Addressing Barriers to Father
Involvement cont
Support
Provide fathers with ongoing support
that will help them sustain beyond the
life of the DFCS case

54. 54
FATHER INVOLVEMENT:
ASSESSMENT, CASE
PLANNING AND SERVICES

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Factors Associated with
Fathers and Maltreatment
 Poverty, underemployment, or
unemployment
 Substance abuse
 Childhood history of abuse
 Low sense of self-worth

56. 56
Child Support Typology
Able & Willing To
Pay
Willing But Unable
To Pay
Able But Unwilling
To Pay
Unwilling And
Unable To Pay

57. 57
Fathers and Decision Making
Meetings
Fathers should be
engaged in the same
manner as mothers in
the planning and
decision making
process related to their
children. This includes
non-custodial, alleged
or putative fathers.

58. Fathers and the Confidentiality
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Issue
Do not allow
concerns about
confidentiality to
become and excuse
for not engaging
fathers!

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Father Friendly Services
 Value fathers and the role they play
 Address fathers’ needs
 Are supportive; not punitive
 Are respectful of gender differences in parenting
 Where possible, provide positive male role
models
 Provide services at times and locations that are
accessible to fathers
 Provide an environment that is inviting to fathers

60. 60
Case Managers as a Resource
For Fathers
Purposeful visits with fathers:
 Review of safety, permanency, and well-being
issues and case plan goals/activities
 Provide relevant resources
 Follow up – ask if he has accessed the
resources, what he thought about them,
additional ideas/resources he came up with,
changes made
 Share “messages fathers need to hear”

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PURPOSEFUL
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT
FATHERS

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Empathy
 Father’s perception: CPS is a threat to
me and my family. I am a failure
because I did not protect my children.
 Case Manager’s response: Demonstrate
empathy (the ability to perceive and
communicate with sensitivity the
feelings and experiences of another
person)

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Respect
 Father’s perception: I am being
disrespected by the case manager, “the
system.”
 Case manager’s response: Don’t provide
a reason (by your actions, words,
nonverbal communication, “attitude”)
for father to accurately conclude that he
is being disrespected.

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Genuineness
 Father’s perception: I don’t trust DFCS,
I don’t trust this case manager. This is
going to turn out badly for me.
 Case manager’s response: Be honest and
authentic. Be consistent with what you
say and do. Don’t give fathers a reason
to accurately conclude that you are
setting him up or “running a game” on
him.

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Conversation vs. Interview

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Communication with Male
Clients
 Acknowledge that it can be difficult for a
man to ask for and accept help
 Demonstrate expertise ---show that you
know something about men and have a
toolbox for working with them
 Send signals that you actually like men
 Don’t assume he’s good at talking about his
problems or that he knows what to expect
from conversations with you

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Communication with Male
Clients
 Understand that he may not know
specifically what to do in a certain
situation with his child or his child’s
mother
 Don’t assume he’s a stereotypical guy
 Don’t expect him to use feeling words
 Acknowledge that he is a father

68. ……for your attendance and participation!
68
Thank you……
This session brought to you by…….

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“This project was supported in part by the Governor’s Office for
Children and Families through the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Community Based Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(CFDA 93.590). Points of view or opinions stated in this
document are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily
represent the official position or policies of the Governor’s Office
for Children and Families or the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Community Based Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act
(CFDA 93.590)."