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COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. Lead Agency Pinellas County Health Department Collaborators YWCA of Tampa Bay Family Service Centers, Inc. Funding By Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas, Inc. Healthy Start Federal Project. HISTORY.

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COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

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  1. COLLABORATIVE EFFORT Lead Agency Pinellas County Health Department Collaborators YWCA of Tampa Bay Family Service Centers, Inc. Funding By Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas, Inc. Healthy Start Federal Project

  2. HISTORY • The Father Services Program was established in 1997 in Pinellas County • National Healthy Start workshop with Baltimore Men’s Services Program • Multi-agency and multi-funding

  3. PROGRAM STAFF • 1 Program Coordinator • 1 Program Volunteer • 3 Family Development Specialists • Minimum H.S. Graduate • Experience in parenting education and practices • Ability to work in diverse populations • Excellent knowledge of community resources • Case management experience

  4. IMPACT OF ABSENTEE FATHERS The correlation between absent fathers and a variety of social ills and poor outcomes for children is clear

  5. NATIONAL STATISTICS • Five times more likely to be poor • Three times more likely to be involved in an out of wedlock pregnancy • 50% more likely to join a gang, drop out of school, commit crimes, and use illegal substances • 24 million children in America live absent their biological father • 40% of children living in fatherless households have not seen their father in over a year • 50% of children who do not live with their father have never set foot in their father’s home (national center for fathering)

  6. NATIONAL STATISTICS • Children from fatherless homes are twice as likely to be abused • remarriage is not the answer • 75% of teenage suicides occur in single parent homes (National Center for Fathering) FLORIDA STATISTICS • 51% of fatherless children in Florida are poor • 78% of all teens in Florida’s detention facilities • come from fatherless homes (85% nationally)

  7. ENGAGING FATHERS: BARRIERS AND STRATEGIES

  8. FATHER FEARS • Police • Child Support Enforcement • Lack of confidence or belief in others (men) • No historical services for fathers

  9. PROGRAM SERVICES • Parenting Education • Case Management • Individual Goal Setting • Discussion Groups • Advocacy • Rites of Passage Workshop • Referrals

  10. PROGRAM OBJECTIVE • Eighty percent (80%) of primary adults in the Father Services component will increase interaction with their child(ren) as measured by an increase of at least five (5) points on the Father Involvement Questionnaire.

  11. ELIGIBILITY • Male partner of a pregnant woman, or father of child(ren), receiving services from Pinellas County home visitation services (i.e. HFP, HS, FHS, DFF) Healthy Families Pinellas Healthy Start Federal Project Pinellas

  12. REFERRAL PROCESS • Initial discussion with the mother by the Family Support Worker • Father is referred for services, contacted within three days to explain services and invited to the program following Tool Box • Intake

  13. INTAKE • Demographics • Relationship • Parenting • Health • Education • Employment • Goals • Criminal History • Basic Needs

  14. FATHER INVOLVEMENT PLAN • Developed within the first 45 days • Small Steps Using the SMART system S = Specific M = Measurable A = Attainable R = Realistic T = Time Oriented • Reviewed every 6 months

  15. THE TOOL BOX(DISCUSSION GROUP) • Held twice per week (north & south county) • Meditation/Stress management tips • Alternating Curriculums • Dr. Dad = baby basics, home safety, sick child • Life Skills = What is a man? What is a father? relationships, health, prenatal and pediatric visits, community, budgeting, family cycles, substance abuse, anger management, other • Community Activities = condoms and candy, reading to children, father involvement, men’s health awareness.

  16. FIELD VISITS • Homes • Street Corners • Barber shops • “The Tree” • School • Work • Courts • Jail and Prisons Materials Used: lawn chairs, TVs, videos and handouts.

  17. RITES OF PASSAGE WORKSHOP • Two Day Camping Trip • Mirror Exercise • Meditation • The Fire • Open Discussion • Speakers • Pain • Developing a Positive Peer group

  18. GRADUATION • Held after 18 months • Families invited • Food and fun • Mayor & community leaders • Gifts & Certificates • Mentoring Invitation

  19. Support from agency leadership to include fathers in programs Ongoing leadership & front line training on father involvement. Funding issues (MCH) Establishing a father friendly atmosphere Included fathers on forms and in curriculums Fathers want to be included Fathers’ needs can vary from one enrollment class to another LESSONS LEARNED

  20. Claude M. Dharamraj, MD, MPH, Assistant Director Pinellas County Health Department 205 Dr. Martin Luther King Street North St. Petersburg, FL 33701 Tel: (727) 824 – 6931 Fax: (727) 820-4275 E-mail: claude_dharamraj@doh.state.fl.us Reggie Randolph, Sr. Father Services Program Coordinator Tel: (727) 824-6900 ext. 11296 Fax: (727) 820-4284 E-mail: reggie_randolph@doh.state.fl.us How to Contact the Father Services Program

  21. QUESTIONS & ANSWERS YOU NOW HOLD THE KEY

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