[Press Release] National Fatherhood Initiative® Celebrates Impact of Multi-Sector Partnerships in Strengthening Father Engagement Across New York State

National Fatherhood Initiative® Celebrates Impact of Multi-Sector Partnerships in Strengthening Father Engagement Across New York State

Projects and initiatives reach thousands of fathers and families; prioritize father inclusion in programs and services.

GERMANTOWN, Md. — November 2, 2026 — National Fatherhood Initiative®, the nation’s leading fatherhood organization, highlights the success of multiple projects implemented across government, corrections, education, and community-based organizations to advance father involvement in New York State. These collaborations demonstrate the impact of making fatherhood programming and proactive father-inclusion practices accessible across the systems that serve families.

In New York City, National Fatherhood Initiative® is working with the Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) on two initiatives using ProFathering15™, its interactive online program designed to strengthen fathers’ skills in fathering, parenting, and healthy relationships. Through the first initiative, DYCD plans to enroll 6,400 fathers in ProFathering15™ over four years to complement provider-led fatherhood services. In a separate initiative, DYCD will introduce ProFathering15™ at the Rikers Island facility, with plans to enroll 100 fathers over the next three years.

At the state level, National Fatherhood Initiative® partnered with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) to administer its Father-Readiness Network Assessment™ across 54 OCFS partner organizations. The Father-Readiness Network Assessment™ measures an organization’s level of father inclusion and provides a customized report with analysis and recommendations for improvement. OCFS partner organizations are using their individual assessment results to develop strategies that strengthen their father-inclusive practices and better engage the fathers they serve.

National Fatherhood Initiative® also maintains a longstanding partnership with Chautauqua Opportunities, Inc., Chautauqua County’s nonprofit community action agency. Through its Dads Always Determined to Succeed (DADS) program, the agency delivers National Fatherhood Initiative®’s 24:7 Dad®, the nation’s most widely used evidence-based fatherhood curriculum. The program equips fathers with the awareness, knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to become the fathers their children need.

Working within New York’s education system, National Fatherhood Initiative® delivered several father-inclusion trainings for the New York State Education Department’s Eastern Region Community Schools Technical Assistance Center. Additionally, National Fatherhood Initiative® collaborated with an elementary school in eastern New York to implement a customized Father-Friendly Action Plan™, establishing short- and long-term goals to help the school build a more father-inclusive culture.

“Our partnerships across New York State reflect a shared commitment to strengthening families by supporting fathers and helping organizations better engage them,” said Christopher Brown, president of National Fatherhood Initiative®. “These organizations trusted National Fatherhood Initiative® to deliver our proven approaches to help them effectively reach and serve fathers, transform staff attitudes, and build father inclusion into their systems. And for that, we are grateful.”

“As the program specialist supporting ProFathering15™ implementation, I work closely with providers after their initial training to help them navigate and understand the online curriculum and determine how to incorporate ProFathering15™ into their existing fatherhood services,” said Claudio Salcedo, fatherhood program specialist for the DYCD Community Action Program. “Seeing nearly 200 fathers complete ProFathering15™, and many complete it within one week, showed me that the curriculum can be a valuable and flexible learning tool when providers have the support they need to facilitate it successfully. The first year of implementation established a strong foundation for expanding ProFathering15™ and continuing to strengthen learning opportunities for fathers participating in the DYCD Fatherhood Initiative.”

Positive father involvement is associated with better outcomes on nearly every measure of child well-being. Including fathers in programs and services strengthens families, supports healthier communities, and improves child outcomes. National Fatherhood Initiative® empowers human service organizations and communities to unlock the transformative power of involved fatherhood by championing city and statewide fatherhood initiatives and providing life-changing fatherhood programs, training, and comprehensive resources.

For more information about National Fatherhood Initiative®, visit fatherhood.org.

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About National Fatherhood Initiative®

National Fatherhood Initiative® was founded in 1994 to reverse our nation’s destructive trend toward father absence. Today, more than 18 million American children, or 1 in 4, live in homes without a biological, step, or adoptive father. Yet, the fact remains that millions of families interact with human-service organizations every year that are primarily mother-focused. Therefore, National Fatherhood Initiative®’s mission is to increase father involvement by equipping human service organizations and communities with the father engagement training, programs, and resources they need to be father inclusive. Our vision is that all human service organizations and communities are proactively father inclusive so that every child has an involved, responsible, and committed father.

For more information on National Fatherhood Initiative®, visit www.fatherhood.org.

Media Contacts

Maggie Spain, Spearca Communications, 405-812-0685, maggie@spearcadenver.com

Melissa Byers, National Fatherhood Initiative®, 240-912-1273, mbyers@fatherhood.org