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Home > Family-Centered Practice > Family-Centered Casework Practice > Working With Families & Youth > Family Engagement & Involvement > Engaging & Involving Fathers and Paternal Family Members
Engaging & Involving Fathers and Paternal Family Members
The involvement of fathers and paternal family members is critical to a child's growth and development. Historically, child welfare agencies have not been effective in involving fathers in the family work that is needed to achieve safety, permanency, and well-being.
Increasingly, agencies are focusing on ways to engage and involve fathers and paternal family members, creating greater opportunities for them to be connected in a number of important ways that benefit their children.
Father Involvement in Child Welfare
North Carolina Division of Social Services and the Family and Children's Resource Program
Children's Services Practice Notes, 11(1), 2005
Examines ways that practitioners and their agencies can improve the way they work with fathers.
Fathers and Their Families: The Untapped Resource for Children Involved in the Child Welfare System (PDF - 64 KB)
American Humane
Child Protection Leader, September 2003
Focuses on the critical role of fathers in their children's development and how the Fatherhood Initiative leverages fathers' care and support.
Fathers in the Social Work Literature: Policy and Practice Implications
Strug & Wilmore-Schaeffer
Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 84(4), 2003
View Abstract
Examines how the social work literature describes fathers, especially noncustodial fathers. Notes gaps in information about fatherhood in this literature and discusses policy and practice issues.
Getting Noncustodial Dads Involved in the Lives of Foster Children
Urban Institute (2003)
This policy brief looks at the extent to which fathers are involved in the lives of their children in foster care and ways to increase their involvement.
The National Family Preservation Network
Provides training, tools, and resources, including a comprehensive fatherhood initiative, to help policymakers and practitioners build on a family's strengths and preserve family bonds so children can be protected and nurtured at home.
National Fatherhood Initiative
Dedicated to educating, equipping, and engaging the public so children can grow up with involved, responsible, and committed fathers.
Outreach to Birthfathers of Children in Out-of-Home Care
Franck
Child Welfare, 80(3), 2001
View Abstract
Discusses the nature and value of more specific outreach toward birth fathers of children in care, and the risk of ignoring men in the birth family system.
Study of Fathers' Involvement in Permanency Planning and Child Welfare Casework
The Urban Institute (2002)
Reviews available literature on noncustodial fathers and their relationships with children involved in the child welfare system.
What About the Dads? Child Welfare Agencies' Efforts to Identify, Locate, and Involve Nonresident Fathers
This study documents that nonresident fathers of children in foster care are not often involved in case planning efforts and nearly half are never contacted by the child welfare agency during their child's stay in foster care. By not reaching out to fathers, caseworkers may overlook potential social connections and resources that could help to achieve permanency for the child. A total of 1,222 local agency caseworkers were interviewed by phone about 1,958 specific cases between October 2004 and February 2005 to examine front-line practices related to nonresident fathers. Interviewers achieved an 83% response rate to the survey. Cases were ...
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