Father Friendly Check-Up Case Studies:
Community Action, Inc. (Beloit, WI)

Leadership Development

• Identified a training to attend offered by the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families Advocacy Camp to further build leadership around father involvement.
• Developed materials and presentations (with photos and video) for and conduct father-friendly presentations to agency leadership and department staff.
• Researched funding opportunities for fatherhood programs and services, including fundraising options. Evaluated current funding resources and opportunities for sustainability. Developed a case statement (including return on investment data.

Organizational Development

Policies, Procedures, and Processes

• Completed program policies and procedures reviewed including an administrative review of the program addressing policies, procedures, and contract requirements to ensure father friendliness.

Staff Development and Training

• Completed staff reviews and incorporated capacity-building components to ensure focus and performance are tied to completion of tasks.
• Identified the need to add staff to the fatherhood initiative as a result of developing and revising program materials.
• Staff created a schedule that includes weekly time to review and implement fatherhood resources based on research of best practices. Staff continually reviews their progress on this tactic.
• Created and trained staff and interns on a process to collect information on initiative participants that included a “dashboard” tool that focuses on measuring program goals identified by fathers.
• Attended trainings and conferences to identify additional tools and information related to the family, domestic violence prevention, and child well-being that could be used within the initiative. These trainings dealing with challenging clients, providing case management, and addressing effects of trauma on participants.
• Implemented an Employee Assistance Program with a community service provider to further support staff in their work within this challenging environment.

Physical Environment

• Created a father-friendly environment and upgraded technology for reporting, data collection, furniture, computer resources, and fatherhood resource development. To expand and enhance programming, the agency’s board of directors entered into a lease agreement that improved access to programs and services including the fatherhood initiative. The location change provided the opportunity for onsite child care, a computer lab, and multiple classrooms. These changes facilitated a monthly opportunity for parenting programs, employment opportunities (resume development, interviewing, job leads, and applications), and other community/agency informational presentations.

Program Development

• Determined needs within the initiative to increase father-friendly awareness. Implemented an evaluation process to address the needs and increase awareness. Each participant in the initiative completes a program evaluation. Staff meets weekly to evaluate the initiative’s effectiveness.
• Expanded staff to provide fatherhood services. In addition to a coordinator, added a program manager, employer/system advocate, and career/education specialist.
• Conducted a community needs assessment to inform the initiative that increased knowledge about the status and needs of families and children.
• Secured funding for a Transitional Jobs Demonstration grant through the Wisconsin Dept. of Children and Families. Community Action was awarded $737,725 to provide employment opportunities with a focus on non-custodial/non-residential dads. This resource provides an opportunity for dads to become financially stable for the benefit of their children and future hope.
• Reviewed and evaluated fatherhood curricula and other curricula that could be used with fathers to address their needs. Selected 24/7 Dad™ for fatherhood and Tackling the Tough Skills to address employability skills. Added other NFI curricula and resources including: Dadventures™, The 7 Habits of a 24/7Dad™, Why Knot?™, When Duct Tape Won’t Work™, and Understanding Domestic Violence™.
• Integrated a DVD series provided by the county to address domestic violence among initiative participants and integrated a county program to address child welfare and family issues among initiative participants.
• Expanded already established partnership with Staples as a local employer of program participants.
• Reviewed current materials for initiative promotion/marketing with marketing staff of the agency.

Community Engagement

• Created an alliance with the state of Wisconsin and Milwaukee-area fatherhood programs working on promoting responsible fatherhood in Milwaukee.
• Developed two additional significant alliances: African American Infant Mortality Coalition and the Pathways Collaborative. Members include graduates of the fatherhood initiative.
• Identified current partnerships, type of partnerships, gaps in partnerships, a process to contact potential partners, and marketing materials to engage partners. Included employers and “industry clusters” as partners. Primarily focused on building partnerships in manufacturing, warehousing, business services, and hospitality clusters.
• In collaboration with the agency’s marketing department, held a Fatherhood Summit in Beloit at the Rotary Center. The primary outcome was identification of a need to develop a community-wide mentoring effort. The summit resulted in further work toward implementing mentoring through local community and faith-based organizations.
• The Fatherhood Program Coordinator was recognized by the media for his efforts in the county as “a community member who matters.” The program also received recognition by the City of Beloit for efforts related to assisting fathers’ secure housing stability.