PARTNERS FOR KIDS - Circle of Parents

PARTNER FOR KIDS: UNITED HANDS MAKE THE BEST FAMILIES

PARTNERS FOR KIDS

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Partners for Kids:

United Hands Make

the Best Families and

Circle of Parents

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Inside this issue:

Involving Fathers 1-3

Meet the Grantees

4

Dads & Toddlers 4

Dads of Douglas County

5

Circle of Parents 6

By Karen Schrader

Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin is a non-profit, human services agency that strives to protect, heal and care for the children and families of Northeast Wisconsin. The agency offers more than 30 programs that support the people of their communities during challenges and transitions in their lives.

Parent Connection (PC), one of Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin’s programs, is a primary prevention program that provides parent education and support to families in the Fox Valley. PC received and successfully implemented the Circle of Parents’ Partners for Kids’ Responsible Fatherhood grant in 2007/2008, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. PC offered Conscious Fathering classes (Baby Basics) and Circle of Parents groups for fathers (Dads Unlimited). Fatherhood

services began in the Menasha Parents as Teachers (PAT) home visiting program in the first year, expanded to Oshkosh (PAT) the 2nd year and to Green Bay the 3rd year. In the 3rd year the grant expanded to include Healthy Families, another nationally recognized home visiting program that works with at-risk families.

During the 3 grant years Parent Connection served 259 expectant or fathers of babies 0-1 year; 139 fathers of children over 1 year; 8 mothers and 7 other adult caregivers. Almost 80% of the fathers were married; 47% were 29 years or younger and 78% were Caucasian. Grantees were expected to serve 50 expectant or fathers of babies 0-1 per grant year. Parent Connection exceeded that goal by 42% during the 3 years.

Continued on page 2.

Involving Fathers Successfully: Lessons Learned

December 2010 Page 1 Volume I Issue 3

Paul Vidas,

Menasha

Instructor

As one of our very successful grantees, we asked Parent Connection Program Manager, Andrea Alpert-Buss, to share their expertise with us. Why are they so successful?

How long did it take to get a Dads Unlimited group going in Menasha (year 1)? Oshkosh (year 2)? And Green Bay (year 3)?

We received the grant in July of 2007 and hired and trained our first facilitator (Paul Vidas) to run the Baby Basics class in the Menasha area. We then hired another male facilitator (Gary Van Lankvelt) in 2008 to run a monthly Dads and Kids group. We spent time training our new male staff and the rest of Parent Connection, as well as locating space, designing fliers, brochures and developing marketing strategies. We were able to place our class information on a Hospital’s web site for registrations. We offered Baby Basics Classes (Conscious Fathering™) beginning January of 2008. The first class had zero participation. The first year we averaged 3 men per class. We have offered monthly classes since December of 2008 and in the last quarter of 2010 class participation is averaging 12 men and several women. The Dads and Kids group (Circle of Parents) started in January of 2008 and averaged around 5 fathers and 6 children per session.

The second year that we received the grant, we expanded our programming to Oshkosh. We hired a part time coordinator (Beth Rodewald) to implement programming and do report writing. The classes were delayed due to the Oshkosh Fatherhood Facilitator resigning before his first class. We needed to start the process over. Once we hired the fatherhood facilitator (Ted Balser) for Oshkosh, the programs started happening. We replicated what we had done in Menasha so the process went fast, but marketing efforts took some time for the new geographic location.

The third year we received the grant, we expanded to the Brown County Healthy Families program. We trained their current fatherhood facilitator (Terry Wolgram) and replicated all efforts that we did in years one and two. This program achieved success quickly.

If there were differences, what were those differences? How did you approach those differences to be successful?

The successful programs were ones that had other staff within the offices that were committed to fatherhood programming. Also there needed to be strong support from hospitals and other family support programs in that community for referrals.

Timing of classes and groups was important. We saw a significant increase in participation in Menasha when we switched from a Saturday morning to a weekday evening.

Location is also very important. When we offered the classes and/or groups in Family Resource Centers or hospitals, attendance was greater than when held in other community based agencies, i.e., YMCA, library.

Was it different offering the Dads Unlimited group within the Parents as Teachers programs from working within the Healthy Families program? If so, what different approaches did you have to take?

Brown County Healthy Families did not market to everyone. They only targeted the clientele that they serve which is families at risk. They offered the Baby Basics classes when they had a group that was committed to participating. Also, many of these dads were not living with the mother of the baby. Outreach methods needed to be purposeful and directed.

Continued on page 3.

Involving Fathers Successfully: Lessons Learned Continued from page 1

Page 2 Volume I Issue 3


Fatherhood is more than a program or initiative. It is necessary.



Continued from page 2

your Dads Unlimited groups related to becoming more father-friendly? It was training that we received from the national office of Circle of Parents that prompted us to become more father-friendly. Once we were aware of what we needed to do, we made some changes in programming and attitudes. We still need to remind ourselves periodically of our commitment to being a father-friendly program.

What part do your parent educators or home visitors play in recruiting fathers to the group? They share program information with dads and moms in home visits about the monthly groups. Some of the home visitors might help to participate in a Dads and Kids group to encourage their “dads” to show up. We have other events that we make sure are father- friendly or for dads. Home visitors help to plan those events and are present during the event.

What’s the retention rate for the Dads Unlimited groups? What’s the average group size? We have a core group of 5 dads that attend the Dads and Kids group in Menasha. The average size for Baby Basics is 10 men and 2 women. In our Oshkosh Dads and Kids group, it is 7 men and their children.

What are 3 pieces of advice you’d give to someone that wants to start a Circle of Parents group for fathers? Make sure you have the right staff person to

facilitate. Have all your staff be vested in the Fatherhood Program. Do not manage the program as a “silo”.

Give a lot of thought to the day, time and location of the event.

Design recruitment strategies to target dads who you wish to serve.

Be flexible, flexible, flexible!!!

For Parents as Teachers, the outreach is universal. We could post information in papers, hospital web sites, newsletters, etc. The groups were diverse which made for some interesting classes. We did have the ability to provide the classes to selected groups, such as teen parents if need be.

What do you think were the keys to your success in recruiting fathers into your Dads Unlimited groups? How much of a factor was the facilitator in the

group’s success? Men are key. Experience with children and child development and an easy going personality are important. I found that the age of the man did not matter.

How often do the groups meet? In Menasha and Oshkosh the Baby Basics class met monthly. Healthy Families organized classes when they got a group of dads who were interested. The Dads and Kids group met monthly. In Menasha, the group decided to meet twice a month after it was established.

When? We tried all different time frames from Saturdays to week nights. The week nights had the best attendance.

Who decided? Initially it was the availability of the facilitator and the space. As the program progressed, groups were added on request of the dads.

How do fathers demonstrate responsibility/leadership for the groups? In Menasha, some of the fathers facilitated the Dads and Kids group when the staff person was on vacation. They also helped mentor other dads within the group.

If you focused on a topic in the Dads and Kids group, what were some of the most popular topics? Dads liked sessions that had an activity associated with it, i.e. Sports Theme, Gift Making for Mom, Bubble Palooza, Cooking with Dad.

What, in particular, do you think influenced

When a father gives to his

son, both laugh; when a son

gives to his father, both cry.

William Shakespeare

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/williamsha118143.html

FLORIDA: The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida/Prevent Child Abuse Florida Healthy Families Hendry/Glades Healthy Families Pinellas

NORTH CAROLINA: Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina Albemarle Smart Start Partnership

SOUTH DAKOTA: Volunteers of America-Dakotas Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board Youth and Family Services

KANSAS: Kansas Children’s Service League Healthy Families Douglas County Rice County Parents as Teachers Healthy Families Johnson & Healthy Families Wyandotte Counties

WASHINGTON: Parent Trust for Washington Children Children’s Home Society of Washington/Southwest Region KITSAP Community Resources Early Head Start

Meet the 2010/2011 Partners for Kids: United Hands Make the Best Families Local and State Grantees



Time Together By Bernie Dorsey

Why are some dads hesitant to spend time alone with their toddler?

The most common responses from dads are “I don’t know what to do”, “I can’t do anything right” or “I don’t have the time”. With the exception of not enough time, these are all linked directly to confidence. Peel away the reasons for a father’s hesitancy and it becomes more apparent that somewhere along the line he’s been convinced that what naturally seems right for him and his toddler is not. It’s hard to spend time alone with baby if there is pressure to make the most of the time. We dads are the play guys, the interactive parent, the let’s see how hard we can make them laugh parent. Some would have us believe this has no value in a child’s healthy development. On the contrary what we are learning is that the father’s interactions with baby are irreplaceable parts of baby’s development and that it makes the fathers feel pretty good too. If a dad feels useless around his toddler the very first thing he needs to do is learn, independently, what it is he needs to feel comfortable. We dads need to step up and learn the skills that build our confidence and we need to take the incentive in doing so. Is it helping on baby’s developing skills, how to provide appropriate stimulation for baby or how to keep baby safe? There is a wealth of information about how to provide for baby. Maybe the most important thing for dad to know is that usually what instinctively feels right has tremendous benefit too, so get in there and trust your instincts.

Bernie Dorsey is the Founder/Coordinator of Conscious Fathering™, a program of Parent Trust for Washington Children. Parent Trust is the Washington state Circle of Parents Network member. Bernie can be contacted at [email protected].

2010/2011 Grantees - 3 Day Project Training - Chicago Il

mailto:[email protected]

Dads of Douglas County



Healthy Families (HF) Douglas County, a program of the Kansas Children’s Service League, is a home visiting program serving at-risk families. In 2009/2010 HF Douglas received one of the Partners for Kids Responsible Fatherhood awards from Circle of Parents. They have been successful in receiving a second year of funding for 2010/2011. HF Douglas partnered with the local Parents as Teachers home visiting program and United Way’s Success by Six to provide Conscious Fathering™ classes and Circle of Parents groups for expecting and fathers of babies 0-1 year.

The Dads of Douglas County Advisory Group was established to help provide guidance to the project. The Advisory Group is comprised of fathers and a wide spectrum

Charlie Bryan with daughter Bella, 12 months, at

their first Daddy and Me Play Group. Charlie

went on to become the facilitator of the Daddy

and Me Play Group. The Daddy and Me Play

Group is a combination of Circle of Parents and

Parents as Teachers groups.

of community leaders committed to educating their community about the importance of fathers. The Advisory Group, along with other community sponsors, hosted “Dads Days” events last year in June and are currently planning for the 2011 “Dads Days”.

Here’s what they shared as Lessons Learned after their first year of funding:

Take the time to recruit dads face to face (community events, festivals, grocery stores, etc.)

Have a variety of types of recruitment strategies (face to face, newspaper, online, Facebook, newsletters)

Get INPUT from DADS!

Dad and his baby girl attending one

of the Dads Days workshops

Dads Days Baby Shower Winners and their

children.

Photo by Kevin Anderson/WellCommons

Rich Minder, instructor for Conscious Fathering,

teaching burping to an expecting father.

education to new and expectant fathers. Parents as Teachers, Nurse-Family Partnership, Healthy Families America, Early Head Start and/or Healthy Start programs in 13 states received $50,000 each to begin services to expecting and new fathers. The project is being implemented in partnership with the National Fatherhood Initiative, the Conscious Fathering Program™ of Parent Trust for Washington Children, Prevent Child Abuse America and Leslie Starsoneck, a domestic violence expert. Through June 2010, 1,939 expecting or fathers of infants, 1,173 fathers of children between 1 year and 5 years, 901 mothers and 120 other caregivers have been served through 540 Conscious Fathering classes and 468 Circle of Parents groups for fathers.

Circle of Parents® is a national network of statewide non-profit organizations and parent leaders that are dedicated to using the mutual self-help support group model as a means of preventing child abuse and neglect and strengthening families. Circle of Parents offers anyone in a parenting role the opportunity to participate in weekly group meetings with other parents to exchange ideas, share information, develop and practice new parenting skills, learn about community resources, and give and receive support. Groups are parent-led with the support of a trained group facilitator, are conducted in a confidential and nonjudgmental manner, are free of charge and provide developmentally-appropriate children’s programs or child care concurrent with the parent group meetings. Developing leadership on the individual, family, community and societal levels, as desired by parent participants, is a central theme of the Circle of parents model.

In 2006 Circle of Parents received a grant from the Office of Family Assistance to implement a comprehensive training, technical assistance and community access project to aid local home visiting programs in the provision of support and


Partners for Kids: United Hands Make the Best Families Responsible Fatherhood Community Access Program, funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance - Grant No. 90FR0098, CFDA#93.086. These services are available to all eligible persons regardless of race, gender, age, disability or religion. This grant was awarded to Circle of Parents, 2100 So. Marshall Blvd., Unit 305, Chicago, IL 60623. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the United States Department of Health & Human Services, Administration of Children & Families and/or Office of Family Assistance.

National Staff

Cynthia Savage

CEO

773-257-0111 ext.137

773-277-0715 (fax)

[email protected]

Dora Walker

Executive Assistant

773-257-0111 ext. 146

773-227-0715 (fax)

[email protected]

Karen Schrader

Training and Technical

Assistance Manager

336-224-1616

336-506-6764 (fax)

[email protected]

Circle of Parents

2100 S. Marshall Blvd.

#305

Chicago, IL. 60623

www.circleofparents.org

www.circleofparents.org

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PARTNERS FOR KIDS - Circle of Parents