Engaging Fathers in the Child Welfare System
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Transcript of Engaging Fathers in the Child Welfare System
PowerPoint Presentation
Engaging Fathers in the Child Welfare System
a caseworker toolkit1Alex Trebeck
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Fatherhood in Colorado
Colorado Fatherhood Council
Public Awareness Ad Campaign focusing on importance of fathers
Training Academies on Fatherhood
Ongoing technical assistance
Program Audit/Evaluation www.coloradodads.com
Internet-based Management Information System
Additional resources: National Fatherhood Initiative www.fatherhood.org & the Fatherhood Clearinghouse www.fatherhood.gov
3Colorado Dads
www.coloradodads.com 4Partnering with Child Support
Child Support has been working with dads for years
They have the tools to locate absent fathers
Our Child Support Office houses POP Program
Fathers Experiences/Child Support Video : http://vimeo.com/20719328
5Addressing Domestic Violence And Father Engagement
6What are the Concerns if DV is present or suspected?
If dad is the perpetrator: Children/mothers continue to be exposed to abuse
May seek access to mother who does not want contact
Abuse may be hidden dynamic
Inadequate resources to deal with DV & Parenting issues7I added this bullet to add a disclaimer since dad isn't always the perpetrator of abuse in DV cases. Feel free to adjust this slide however you see fit, but I think it is important to note somewhere so others interested in using the PowerPoint are given that reminder. Why engage a DV Batterer?
Enhance the safety and well being of children
Transform Dads contact with their children from negative to positive experience
How your children see you = CHANGE
8Again, you may want to write "Male DV Batterer" or something. Maybe even an asteric on the first slide about DV mentioning that not all DV is perpetrated by men, but for the sake of this presentation, that will be the focus.Something My Father Would Do
What does the story tell you about the effects of violence on children?
How do you think the cultures of the men affect their choices?
What does the story tell you about fatherhood and violence?
9Parenting and the DV Batterer
Emphasis on empathy
Child centered
Appropriate boundaries
Healthy discipline
10Research has shown that some mothers who have suffered abuse want their children to have safer and healthier contact with their fathers and positive involvement by a father figure can be very beneficial to childrens development (Family Violence Prevention Fund, 2006)
11Except in cases where children are terrified of the battering parent or have been abused by him directly, children tend to desire some degree of ongoing contact with their fathers (Bancroft and Silverman, 2002)
12The following slides are for Appendix Materials Activity Level Increases
Reduces Stress Related Ailments
Nurturing Side is Enhanced
Lower Risk for Clinical Depression
Job Satisfaction Improves
Cope Better With Daily Life
Life Expectancy Enhanced
Whats in it for DADS?
14Whats in it for the Children?Higher cognitive achievement
Reduced risk of child abuse or neglect
Enhanced coping skills
Lower risk for substance abuse
Lessened chance of teen pregnancy
Better relationships with others
Less chance of criminal behaviors
15Whats in it for Child Welfare? Length of placements are reduced
Reduces potential for future abuse/neglect
Reaching out to paternal family increases natural supports and protection of children
Fathers can help problem solve
Break cycle of child welfare involvement
Creates environment of trust and partnership
16Ring out the old Ring in the New
OLD EXPECTATION:
Multi-problem unemployed men are impossible to reach and not interested in taking responsibility for their children.
NEW EXPECTATION:
Multi-problem unemployed men can be reached and want to learn to take responsibility for their children.
17OLD EXPECTATION:
Low-income men who say they want to establish paternity just want to get back at the mother.
NEW EXPECTATION:
Low-income men who say they want to establish paternity want a chance to be fathers sometimes the fathers they never were or never had.
18OLD EXPECTATION:
Men and women cant raise children together if they are not living in the same household. The job should go to the mother.
NEW EXPECTATION:
Men and women can learn to co-parent, even if they are not living in the same household. This helps mother, father, and child.
19Male Help-Seeking Behaviors
Understanding Male SocializationSocially constructed ideas cultivate:
Emotional Conflict
Behavioral Problems
Emotional Pain which presents as stoic, firm, or detached
20Societal Factors
Expressing sadness, fear and frustration is considered to be un-masculine
Anger is an acceptable male emotion
Being physically strong
Ambition and competition
Economic success
Sexual conquests
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Barriers to Men Seeking Help
Admitting to problem
Difficulty in asking for help
Being perceived as weak
Fear of intimacy and vulnerability
Scarcity of treatment approaches for men
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxtUH_bHBxs
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Biological & Communication Differences between Men and WomenWomen communicate in a more straightforward manner than men, particularly when the subject of conversation has to do with relationships and feelings.
Men are more direct in their communication, such as when they are offering advice to others.
Women are more indirect when making requests. Often women will make the request sound more like a suggestion so they are not seen as being too bold.
When women listen to someone speak, they tend to make a lot of eye contact, whereas men might not look at the person who is speaking to them. Women also use cues designed to indicate that they are listening, such as saying things like "yeah" and "uh-huh." Men generally do not use a lot of these cues when they are listening to someone.
At birth, a boy's brain is bigger than a girl's brain.
Even though a man seems to have more brain cells, it is reported that women have more dendritic connections between brain cells.
Women are better in certain language abilities
Men are better in certain spatial abilities
Many men are sharply left-brain dominant, while women tend to be more evenly balanced between left and right-brain processing. Women are therefore thought to be slightly more intuitive, and sometimes better communicators. Men are often less socially adept, and are more task-oriented thinkers than females.
The father who would taste the essence of his fatherhood must turn back from the plane of his experience, take with him the fruits of his journey and begin again beside his child, marching step by step over the same old road.- Angelo Patri
24Wrap UpQuestions??
Thoughts??
Ideas??
Pure Loves like MagicTyler Osterhaus - Fathers and Daughtershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GJQ0PLuFyo
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Louise J. Kaplan
Fathers represent another way of looking at life - the possibility of an alternative dialogue.
26Many Thanks to