National Fatherhood Initiative’s mission is to improve the well being of children by increasing the proportion of children growing up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers. We accomplish our mission through:
- Educating and inspiring all Americans, especially fathers, through public awareness campaigns, research, and other resources.
- Equipping and developing leaders of national, state, and community fatherhood initiatives through curricula, training, and technical assistance.
- Engaging every sector of society through strategic alliances and partnerships.
Or, as we like to say, Educating, Equipping and Engaging.
EDUCATING
To date, National Fatherhood Initiative’s public service announcements (PSAs), produced in partnership
with the Ad Council, have garnered over $450 million in donated media. Over
the life of the campaign, the
ads have
generated more than 250,000 requests for information, technical assistance,
and resource materials.
National Fatherhood Initiative's latest PSA release is a series of television PSAs called "Moments." The three "Moments" spots show that the simple moments that dads
share with their children are of great importance.
National Fatherhood Initiative's current print advertisement, “Instructions,” received
two second place and one first place prizes from The Detroit News and Detroit
Free Press for creativity, concept, and execution. "Instructions" has gotten
placements
in O, The Oprah Magazine, Parade, Fortune, and has been placed
in several
other nationally distributed publications.
In addition to op-ed pieces in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Philadelphia Inquirer,
and many other regional and local newspapers, National Fatherhood Initiative has also appeared on FOXNews
Channel, BET, and four times on the Oprah Winfrey Show.
After a powerful first show entitled, “The Secret Thoughts of Fathers,” National Fatherhood Initiative
President Roland Warren was invited back to participate in Oprah’s follow-up
show. The nation heard testimonies of couples whose lives had changed dramatically
because of what they had learned about responsible fatherhood from the first
show. A marriage on the brink of divorce was saved. Couples began communicating
more deeply about their children and their concerns. But more than this,
story after story showed how children’s
lives were being saved from the terrible consequences of father absence.
Roland was also invited to moderate a roundtable discussion on husbands and
fathers that was published in O, The Oprah Magazine. Such exposure
is instrumental in reaching sectors of society that will be instrumental
in creating a society-wide movement to confront father absence.
A project that continues to have a great impact on our culture is
National Fatherhood Initiative’s “Golden
Dads” campaign.
This campaign allows National Fatherhood Initiative to recognize“every
day” dads on the streets of several major U.S. cities. Fathers
spotted spending quality time with their children in the Golden Dad cities
are approached on the spot and given an award package containing various
prizes
and practical
tools to increase father involvement.
In 2005, the Golden Dads campaign was held in more than 25 locations across
the country, awarding 10,000 dads. Dads will be awarded with samplers from
the new album as well as prizes to help them be better dads.
The Golden Dads campaign is key in generating public awareness of responsible
fatherhood. It has received press coverage on several national television
networks and programs including the ‘E!’ Network and Entertainment Tonight.
Our efforts to educate the public continue to expand through
both electronic and print media. National Fatherhood Initiative’s “Dad E-mail” is a weekly email
service that includes news and information relevant to fatherhood issues,
advice for fathers to “sharpen” their
fathering skills, as well as regular updates of National Fatherhood Initiative events, conferences,
and fatherhood forums. The list has grown from 2,500 recipients in 2001
to over 12,000 in 2005.
The National Fatherhood Initiative website (www.fatherhood.org) continues to be an extremely
effective tool for reaching out to individual fathers, organizations,
and public policy leaders.
National Fatherhood Initiative recently redesigned the site to be more useful for our three main
constituencies. Now, the site includes:
Daily updates of the most recent news on fatherhood
Articles and research
Training information
“Fatherly advice”
On-line bookstore of all National Fatherhood Initiative resources
Membership opportunities
The public policy section of the site will be a helpful
resource to government leaders and their staff who are seeking information
on the importance of responsible fatherhood. This is part of a broader effort
National Fatherhood Initiative is making to re-engage policy leaders.
EQUIPPING
National Fatherhood Initiative Offers the Most Comprehensive Selection of Fatherhood Resources
FatherSOURCE is responsible for administering National Fatherhood Initiative’s curricula
and workshops to reach fathers as well assisting local organizations in starting
and operating an effective fatherhood programs. FatherSOURCE is also the center
of educational material distribution and all technical assistance.
Although educating America and reaching large numbers of fathers and families
through our broader public education efforts is important, this work must be
complimented and reinforced through a strategy to equip fathers with the tools
and information they need to be responsible players in the lives of their children.
Again, since effectuating a positive change in behavior is the only way to
win this battle, a large part of our responsibility is to give fathers the
tools they need to change.
In order to reach fathers at this micro-level, National Fatherhood Initiative is incorporating a grassroots
strategy that will involve fathers in programs or support groups within their
own communities. Through use of our “Community Starter Kit” – National Fatherhood Initiative has already
seen a shift in the total number of fatherhood programs that exist. Currently,
well over 2,500 fatherhood programs exist and there are as many, if not more,
that have incorporated a fatherhood component to work they were already doing
in their community.
National Fatherhood Initiative has also enhanced and expanded its curricula to reach fathers in very specialized sections of society as outlined below. Click here to see a list and read about National Fatherhood Initiative's programs.
National Fatherhood Initiative is proud to be serving our troops on the front lines with our Military Fathers Program.
Deployment and the rigors of military life cause military families to experience
high rates of stress, divorce, and severe disconnect with their children. Through
our Deployed Fathers and Families™ (DFF) guide, National Fatherhood Initiative is seeking to educate
families about ways they can stay connected and strong during deployment.
This guide teaches active and reserve military units and their families how to prepare for and adjust to the changes associated with father absence due to deployment. The program is designed to work with military personnel and their families during three distinct stages of service:
As they prepare for deployment.
While they are serving.
When they return home upon the completion of a mission.
The DFF guide teaches military fathers how to plan and prepare for the everyday
decisions and the unexpected changes that will arise during their absence.
This includes communication skills to use during deployment and ease the transition
upon the father’s return. In conjunction with this program, at the end of March 2003, National Fatherhood Initiative began its “Drop
Dad a Line” e-mail campaign. This project gives children the opportunity to
send their military father an e-mail message that can also be posted on National Fatherhood Initiative’s
website for the public to see. The unique aspect of this project is that when
he retrieves his message from the National Fatherhood Initiative website, he can click on a link that
directs him to our “Tips for Deployed Dads.” These
tips suggest ways to stay connected with their families while they
are deployed. By adding this feature, National Fatherhood Initiative is able not only to facilitate communication
between children and their fathers but also to encourage Deployed Dads to stay
connected with their children.
InsideOut Dad is National Fatherhood Initiative’s incarcerated fathers program. Correctional facilities’ staff,
parole officers and volunteer leaders are trained in the curriculum and then
train inmates to lead the small groups.
Inmates are taught communication skills and fathering techniques to foster a positive father-child relationship both while the father is in prison and upon his release. One unique attribute of the program is that it is peer-led. In other words, inmates who have gone through the program lead other inmates as mentors in the process of learning to re-connect with their children.
Because a majority of prisoners were raised in fatherless homes, this program is vital to stopping the cycle of intergenerational crime. Preliminary evaluations have found that fathers who are re-connected to their children while they are in prison are less likely to be re-incarcerated after their release.
Read more
about InsideOut Dad.
Research shows that fathers are most open to information and practical skill
building before their first child is born. Data equally shows that fathers
who are engaged in their children’s lives when the child is an infant are the
most likely to continue to stay involved in the lives of their children later
on.
Therefore, National Fatherhood Initiative designed a curriculum especially for new or “expectant” fathers of all backgrounds - from teen fathers to suburban dads-to-be. Designed by a physician and a registered nurse, Doctor Dad™ is
a unique workshop taught by certified healthcare professionals.
This curriculum gives fathers the health and safety tips for providing the daily care that their infants and toddlers require. Fathers learn strategies to:
- improve their childcare practices
- create a safe home, and
- help form positive relationships with their children
- They also learn basic medical knowledge, ensuring that they can handle the majority of medical situations that may arise. Topics covered include: child development, nursing a sick child, home safety, and common childhood ailments.
Doctor Dad™ has been accredited by Pennsylvania State University as a
course for non-credit or continuing education units (CEUs) and National Fatherhood Initiative is also
in the process of field-testing the curriculum with independent medical evaluators
to prepare for its complete review.
Click to read more about Doctor Dad.
Workshops are designed to build the skills of community-based organizations in delivering fatherhood programming through topics such as:
Social Marketing – Father Friendly Check-up™
Starting a Fatherhood Group – Community Starter Kit©
Ways to Raise™ (teaching groups how to raise their own funding
more effectively)
Outcomes Based Evaluations (providing groups with the tools they need to measure their success)
Policy Leaders
Another sector of society that National Fatherhood Initiative continues to work with is government. National Fatherhood Initiative is currently working with four bi-partisan task forces:
Bi-Partisan Task Force of U.S. Senators
Bi-Partisan Task Force of U.S. Representatives.
National Fatherhood Initiative staff ensures that task force members are updated and informed on the problem of father absence. These legislators also seek the counsel of National Fatherhood Initiative as they work to promote involved, responsible and committed fatherhood through legislation and in their states and cities.
ENGAGING
The National Fatherhood Initiative engages all sectors of society through strategic alliances and partnerships. National Fatherhood Initiative has partnered with organizations such as The Salvation Army, 100 Black Men of America, YMCA, Boeing, Boy Scouts of America, Head Start, and FranklinCovey to carry the message of responsible fatherhood to a diverse audience.
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