Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Every father taking responsibility for their child’s 

intellectual, emotional and financial well-being.

June 2012

Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Every father taking responsibility for his child’s 

intellectual, emotional, and financial well-being.

June 2012
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

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Introduction

“I came to understand the importance of fatherhood through its absence—both in my life 

and in the lives of others. I came to understand that the hole a man leaves when he 

abandons his responsibility to his children is one that no government can fill. We can do 

everything possible to provide good jobs and good schools and safe streets for our kids, 

but it will never be enough to fully make up the difference.” 

– President Barack Obama, June 19, 2009 

Being a dad is one of the most important jobs a man can have. The greatest advantage a 

child can have is the love and support of a strong and stable family and the research clearly 

indicates the benefits to children who have two actively engaged parents.1

Families of all shapes and sizes love and provide for the needs of their children, 

including families headed by grandparents, same sex couples, and single parents. And 

in families of all types responsible parenting remains a crucial part of ensuring a child’s 

well-being. The President has often described the “hole a man leaves when he abandons 

his responsibility to his children [as] one that no government can fill.” And while millions of 

single-mother households across the country are doing whatever it takes to provide for 

their families, we know that without a father doing his part it can be a struggle to meet the 

many obligations parents face. 

Responsible fathering means taking responsibility for a child’s intellectual, emotional, and

financial well-being. This requires being present in a child’s life, actively contributing to a 

child’s healthy development, sharing economic responsibilities, and cooperating with a 

child’s mother in addressing the full range of a child’s and family’s needs.

Today, however, one out of every three children in America – over 24 million in total –

lives in a home without their biological father present.2 And data show that low-income 

men from communities of color are significantly more likely to be nonresident fathers 

than resident fathers.

3 Roughly one out of every three Hispanic children and more than 

half of African-American children grow up in homes without their fathers present.4

The presence and involvement of a child’s parents protects children from a number of 

vulnerabilities. More engaged fathers—whether living with or apart from their children—can 

help foster a child’s healthy physical, emotional, and social development.5 While evidence 

shows that children benefit most from the involvement of resident fathers, research has also 

highlighted the positive effect that nonresident fathers can have on their children’s lives.6

The choice to be an active, engaged parent is influenced by factors in the family and the 

community. For example, it can be especially hard for fathers who are trying to do the 

right thing to maintain their dignity and motivation in the face of unemployment or

underemployment.7In addition, fathering is influenced by culture, which must support and 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

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reinforce messages and behaviors that lead to fathers taking active roles in the healthy 

development of their children.8 This requires deliberate actions and messages by the 

public and private sector, as well individuals in communities and homes across the

country. These, and other complex factors, contribute to the way fathers choose to 

engage with their children.9 

As the father of two girls, 

President Obama knows 

firsthand the power of fathers 

being present in the lives of 

their children and families. As a 

man who grew up without a 

father present in his life, he also

knows the pain created when a

father chooses to leave his 

children behind and the

powerful role mentors and other 

adults play in filling that void.

Soon after taking office, the Obama Administration began leading forums across the 

country to discuss how we, as a country, can work together to promote responsible 

fatherhood through personal and community responsibility. In 2010, the President asked 

that an interagency working group begin finding ways to encourage activities and policy 

developments that promote responsible fatherhood. Since then, the Responsible 

Fatherhood Working Group has coordinated policy, programmatic activities, and 

engagement efforts on fatherhood across federal agencies. 

In June 2010, the President Obama took a major step in his longstanding agenda on 

fatherhood by launching the Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. This Initiative is an 

ongoing national effort to promote responsible fatherhood and encourage positive role 

models through partnerships with fatherhood and family-serving groups around the 

country. While this effort aims to encourage dads to support their own children, it also 

recognizes the important role that mentors and role models can also play in supporting 

children and families. Finally, the President’s FY 2013 budget offers new investments to 

improve the Child Support Enforcement Program, sustain funding for Healthy Marriage

and Responsible Fatherhood grants, and promote strong family relationships. 

A summary of the Obama Administration’s notable accomplishments and upcoming 

actions begins on page six. 
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Mission, Goals, and Strategy

President Obama launched the interagency 

Responsible Fatherhood Working Group in order 

to advance responsible fatherhood and stable 

families through enhanced coordination and 

collaboration across federal agencies. Led by the 

White House Office of Faith-based and 

Neighborhood Partnerships, the Office of Public 

Engagement, and the Domestic Policy Council, the 

overarching goal of this interagency effort is to 

encourage fathers to take responsibility for the 

intellectual, emotional and financial well-being of 

their children. 

The Obama Administration seeks to accomplish 

five goals through coordination of federal efforts:

 Promote and create positive opportunities for fathers to engage in the intellectual, 

emotional and financial well-being of their children. 

 Support and sustain stable and healthy environments for children and parents, 

particularly by strengthening the economic stability of low-income fathers and 

supporting healthy relationships between parents.

 Strengthen and solidify relationships among fathers, children, and families early in a 

child’s life.

 Support and encourage disconnected fathers to reconnect with their children and 

families.

 Promote the identification and use of evidence-based practices, as well as fostering

high-quality research on fathers and fathering to support policy and program development.

The Obama Administration is using three strategies to accomplish these goals:

 Implement policies and activities that promote healthy, ongoing relationships among 

fathers, families, and children.

 Use the Administration’s convening power to coordinate communication and highimpact engagement efforts that promote a positive culture shift around fatherhood.

 Pursue public-private partnerships that leverage outside resources to further promote 

positive outcomes for fathers and their children. 
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To this end, the Responsible Fatherhood Working Group serves to enhance 

communication and collaboration across government entities in order to explore policy and 

public engagement opportunities that advance our mission.

Eleven federal partners are involved in this work:

 U.S. Department of Agriculture

 U.S. Department of Commerce

 U.S. Department of Education

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

 U.S. Department of Labor

 U.S. Department of Justice

 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

 Corporation for National and Community Service

 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

 Office of National Drug Control Policy
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At-A-Glance

Below is a snapshot of the Obama Administration’s record in promoting and 

strengthening fatherhood over the last three years, as well as upcoming efforts that the

Administration will take in the coming months to build upon our record.

The Administration’s Record

 The President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative. In 2010, President Obama 

launched a multifaceted initiative to encourage fathers to become better parents and

inspire partners to promote responsible fatherhood across the country. The effort 

launched with a revamped National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, the 

President joining dads from across the country in a fatherhood pledge, and a series 

of public forums and roundtables to catalyze a new dialogue on fatherhood in local 

communities. 

 Fatherhood Buzz. Through the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, the 

Department of Health and Human Services launched the 2012 Fatherhood Buzz 

Barber Shop Tour, a new initiative designed to reach out to dads with positive information through their barbers and barber shops in eight major cities. Each quarter, 

selected barbershops will feature a different “buzz” topic – the topic for the first quarter is financial literacy and job training.

 Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood. The Department of Health and 

Human Services has awarded 55 Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood Grants, 

which help fathers overcome barriers to becoming effective and nurturing parents 

while helping them improve their relationships with their children. 

 Updating the Child Support Enforcement Program. The Department of Health 

and Human Services recently announced that it will issue more than $10 million in 

competitive grants in order to implement and evaluate employment programs that 

are designed to link noncustodial parents to employment and improve payment of 

child support. In addition, the Administration will support pilot projects that will explore innovative strategies to increasing child support payments and creating parenting time opportunities for non-custodial parents.

 Reconnecting Homeless Veterans with their Children. President Obama, through 

the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services, launched a pilot program that helps homeless veterans gain permanent housing, assists them with 

child support obligations, and connects them with programs that offer employment 

and supportive services. More than 1,000 veterans have been referred to project 

partners for services, resolving nearly $800,000 in old child support debts.
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 Transitional Jobs for Non-Custodial Parents. The Department of Labor’s $40 million 

competitive grant program supports local efforts to prepare unemployed noncustodial parents, and other individual with significant barriers to employment, for work through transitional employment, while assisting them to gain unsubsidized employment intended to 

promote family engagement and long-term self-sufficiency.

 Encouraging Financial Literacy. The Building Assets for Fathers and Families Initiative provides asset building services and financial education that encourage noncustodial parents to establish savings accounts and access other services to increase financial stability.

 Responsible Fatherhood for Ex-Offenders. The Administration provided funding 

for mentoring projects that focus specifically on the issue of parenthood as well as 

dedicated funding to help parents of young children through the Second Chance Act. 

 Connecting Fathers and Families to Services. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has engaged in a nationwide public engagement campaign through 

its Reconnecting Family and Dads Initiative. In 2011, 209 PHAs from thirty-three states 

held events that combined supportive services with promoting responsible fatherhood, 

reaching an estimated 22,000 parents and children. In June 2012, the Initiative expects to reach over 300 PHAs and reach over 30,000 family members.

Upcoming Administration Efforts

 Making Child Support Work for Families. The Obama Administration is taking steps 

to create more efficient child support enforcement procedures that encourage local program innovation, including awarding $1.2 million in Parenting Time grants that will pilot 

and evaluate promising best practices to support noncustodial parents paying child 

support and also spending time with their children.

 Encouraging Fathers to Get Involved Early. The Administration and the National 

Center on Parent, Family and Community Engagement will disseminate the new foundational “Building Blocks for Father Involvement” resource materials and provide training at regional and national conferences beginning with the launch in October 2012. 

 Creating Responsible Fatherhood Tools for Local Communities. The White 

House and Administration officials will continue to engage fathers and private 

partners through forums, local hero events, roundtables, webinars, blogs, media, and 

updates on Fatherhood.gov. The Administration will also develop a Fatherhood 

Heroes toolkit that local faith and community based groups can use to recognize 

fathers and supporters of responsible fatherhood by October 2012.

 Growing Partnerships. The Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnership 

will continue to partner with businesses and organizations to identify ways to support 

fathers and families by offering discounts on products that create opportunities for 

dads and families to connect with their children. 
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The President’s Budget 

The Child Support and Fatherhood Initiative 

The Child Support Enforcement Program plays an important role in facilitating family selfsufficiency and promoting responsible fatherhood. Building on this role, the FY 2013 

Budget includes several legislative proposals that encourage fathers to take responsibility 

for their children and promote strong family relationships while continuing a strong commitment to the establishment and enforcement of child support orders. These include: 

 Ensuring children benefit when parents pay child support. The proposals include 

investing more than $1.7 billion over ten years to ensure that more of the support paid 

by fathers reaches their children. Examples of these policies include encouraging states 

to pass through current child support collections to families enrolled in the Temporary 

Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, rather than retaining those payments, 

and requiring that when children are in foster care the child support payments made 

on their behalf are used in their best interest.

 Fostering fathers’ engagement in their children’s lives. The FY 2013 budget proposes 

$580 million over ten years to support and integrate increased access and visitation 

services into the core child support program. These services not only improve parentchild relationships and outcomes for children, but can also lead to more regular payment of child support. Research shows that when fathers spend time with their children, they are more likely to meet their financial obligations. 

 Improving enforcement and establishment. The Child Support Enforcement Program 

is already an efficient program: for every dollar invested in the program in 2010, $4.88 

was collected in child support. The President’s budget includes several new proposals 

aimed at increasing and improving collections further and improving program efficiency. Examples of these policies include requiring states to adjust child support debt 

owed to the state so that it is a manageable amount for fathers to pay; providing tribal 

child support programs with access to the Federal Parent Locator Service, other enforcement tools, and grant programs; and discouraging states from accumulating unpaid child support debt during incarceration.

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Grants

The President continues his strong commitment to supporting family and fatherhood 

by proposing sustained funding of $150 million for Healthy Marriages and Responsible 

Fatherhood activities. The $75 million in healthy marriage funds are used for a number 

of services including pre-marital education, marriage enhancement programs, marriage 

education, and relationship skills programs that often include parenting skills, financial 

management, conflict resolution, and job and career advancement. These voluntary 

programs include domestic violence safeguards. The $75 million in responsible fatherhood funds are used for fatherhood activities intended to promote or sustain marriage, 

promote responsible parenting, and foster economic stability.

The President’s Budget 

The President has a long history of supporting policies that lift up fathers—expecting them 

to take responsibility for their children, but also helping them be the fathers they want to be 

by making policy changes and offering services that encourage healthy and active paternal 

involvement. The President’s FY 2013 Budget outlines a number of legislative proposals 

that encourage responsible fatherhood.
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Reading this Report

This report serves to inform the public of the President’s efforts to promote responsible 

fatherhood across America. The White House has sought, and continues to seek, input 

and ideas for innovative action on promoting responsible fatherhood not just from federal 

agencies, but also from experts and practitioners in the private sector, nonprofits, 

academic institutions, and those working in the field throughout the country. Each 

section, outlined below, relates to the Administration’s goals around fatherhood, with 

efforts to promote research and evidence-based practice mentioned throughout report. 

Finally, the report ends with what more we must do, together, to encourage fathers to take 

responsibility for the intellectual, emotional, and financial well-being of their children.

 Promoting Fatherhood Involvement

 Supporting and Sustaining Stable Families 

 Intervening During Early Childhood 

 Reconnecting Disconnected Fathers

 What You Can Do 
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A New Dialogue about Fatherhood: 

First Fatherhood Forums 

Chicago, IL: The Department of Health and 

Human Services hosted a roundtable discussion 

and public forum on fatherhood programs, mentoring, and youth violence. 

Manchester, NH: The Department of Education 

hosted a public forum on the importance of male 

engagement in the education system and the role 

of mentoring. 

Atlanta, GA: The Department of Justice led a 

public conversation and held a roundtable discussion with local leaders around prisoner reentry, 

domestic violence, and mentoring. 

Oakland, CA: The Commerce Department and 

Small Business Administration collaborated to 

hold a forum and roundtable on jobs, economic 

development, and diversity in the workplace. 

Fort Bragg, NC: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs hosted a forum and roundtable on military 

and veteran fathers, as well as wounded warriors. 

Little Rock, AK: The Department of Education 

led a discussion and roundtable on the role Historically Black Colleges and Universities can play 

in responsible fatherhood.

Albuquerque, NM: The Department of Agriculture led a roundtable discussion and public forum 

about fatherhood in rural and tribal communities. 

Promoting Fatherhood Involvement

“Our children don't need us to be superheroes. They don't need us to be perfect. They do 

need us to be present. They need us to show up and give it our best shot, no matter what 

else is going on in our lives. They need us to show them – not just with words, but with 

deeds – that they, those kids, are always our first priority.”

– President Barack Obama, June 21st, 2010

Our government can build the best 

schools with the best teachers, but 

parents are a critical part of ensuring that 

kids do their homework, read books 

instead of watching television, and have 

experiences that help them grow into 

healthy adults. The Obama Administration 

has focused on using federal programs

and policies, as well as cross-program 

and external partnerships, to create and 

promote opportunities for fathers to 

engage in positive fathering of their 

children.

A New Dialogue about 

Fatherhood

On the 100th Anniversary of Father’s Day,

June 17, 2010, the President called for the

start of a new dialogue about fatherhood 

across the country. To begin this dialogue, 

the White House worked with seven different 

federal agencies to host roundtable 

discussions and town halls across the 

country that engaged local leaders and 

organizations in a conversation about the

relevance of fatherhood within each

community. These events also served as an 

opportunity to see how fatherhood is an 

important issue that intersects with other 

work led within federal agencies.
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The President’s Fatherhood Pledge 

Launched during the 

summer of 2010, the 

President’s Fatherhood 

and Mentoring Initiative

has several components to 

encourage fathers to 

become better parents and

inspire partners to promote

responsible fatherhood across the country. President Obama launched the effort by

announcing the revamped National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse and joined

dads from across the country in a fatherhood pledge—an effort to encourage individuals, 

especially fathers, to be involved in the lives of their children, and to be positive role 

models and mentors for the children in their lives and communities. 

The President’s Fatherhood Pledge asks organizations to raise awareness of the 

Fatherhood.gov website, which features articles, tips, and resources from prominent 

leaders in the fatherhood and family fields, as well as information about model programs

that promote responsible fatherhood. The site has statements and videos from the 

President; information for dads, practitioners and researchers; and contact information 

for responsible fatherhood programs around the country. Just one year later, more than 

20,000 individuals have pledged that they are actively supporting fatherhood in their 

local community. 

Initiating Innovative Education Campaigns 

For many men, neighborhood barbershops are 

community hubs that serve far more than grooming 

needs. These community-gathering places serve as 

trusted venues to discuss personal and public issues 

like family, politics, health, money, and other life 

issues. This unofficial outlet for peer education 

provides a unique opportunity to share healthy 

information about fatherhood and the role of fathers 

in society. 

Recognizing the importance of neighborhood 

barbershops, the Obama Administration and the National Responsible Fatherhood 

Clearinghouse launched the 2012 Fatherhood Buzz Barber Shop Tour as part of the 

Presidents effort to engage fathers in local cities and communities in conversations 

about fatherhood and fundamental skills to support a family. For the project’s inaugural 

tour, the Obama Administration will be working in eight cities across the country—

Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, Philadelphia, Albany, and 

Washington, D.C.— to increase awareness about responsible fatherhood and parenting 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

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President Obama’s Fatherhood & 

Mentoring Initiative

Fatherhood Public-Private Partnerships: This 

effort engages groups around the country to join 

the President in celebrating fatherhood by creating 

meaningful opportunities for fathers and children

to connect. Partnerships include the American 

Association of Zoos and Aquariums, VH1, Major 

League Baseball, the NFL Players Association, and 

others. Each of these partners has committed to 

creating low or no-cost activities for fathers to engage with their children.

Fatherhood Heroes: To begin local conversations 

about fatherhood, and celebrate men who are doing 

the right thing, the White House hosts a series of local 

Fatherhood Heroes events across the country. Cities

have included Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Orlando, with more to come. 

Fatherhood Roundtables: To encourage organizations, faith communities, business, law enforcement, and other partners in local communities to 

do more to support fathers, a series of roundtable 

discussions have been held in cities like Detroit, 

New Orleans, Denver, Chicago, and Philadelphia, 

among others. 

Fatherhood Webinars: The Administration has 

also used technology to reach communities across 

the country. For example, the Department of Justice hosted a webinar reaching over 1,000 people 

within the faith community about the importance of 

responsible fatherhood in communities to prevent 

youth crime, best practices and approaches to working with children and families of returning offenders, and building both traditional and nontraditional partnerships.

through local barbershops. In addition to conversation starters about fatherhood, 

barbershops in these cities receive quarterly information around topics like financial 

empowerment and economic stability, opportunities for fathers to support their children’s 

educational success, and men’s health.

Partnering to Promote Fatherhood 

Inspired by the President’s Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, organizations supporting

the Initiative are working in their own innovative ways to help make a positive culture 

shift around fatherhood. To date, 

hundreds of partners and thousands of 

individuals have been directly engaged 

to promote responsible fatherhood and 

mentoring and create opportunities for 

fathers to engage with their children. 

For example, the NFL Players 

Association hosted community forums 

on responsible fatherhood with 

prominent members of the Association 

and the National Fatherhood Leaders 

Group has developed a resource guide 

for local nonprofit organizations 

interested in starting fatherhood 

programs. Partners from the National 

Parent Teachers Association to the 

Council of Christian Colleges and 

Universities also signed up to advance 

the President’s Fatherhood and 

Mentoring Initiative through their 

activities.

Sports celebrities have also joined the 

President’s effort to support fathers. For 

example, NBA All-Star Dwyane Wade 

speaks to fathers and organizations 

about why fatherhood is important to him 

and why promoting responsible 

fatherhood should be a priority for our 

country. Administration officials, such as 

Secretary Arne Duncan and Attorney 

General Eric Holder, also regularly 

speak to large audiences on the issue of 

fatherhood. 
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These partnerships are a necessary complement to the work of the White House Office of 

Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships and Office of Public Engagement in hosting 

community forums and webinars that catalyze actions and conversations on fatherhood 

around the country.

Leveraging Local and Regional Resources

The Administration is also leveraging existing resources to reach out to the public in order to 

grow awareness and mobilize local efforts, celebrate local role models, and gather ideas 

from those working in specific communities. The Department of Education is facilitating 

parent outreach events to encourage father engagement in the lives of children and their 

education. Teams have held parent forums across the nation, established listening and 

learning sessions with parents, held workshops based on input from the community, 

conducted events and webinars, and published multilingual outreach documents to engage 

different populations. 

Regional offices of the Administration for Children and Families within the Department of 

Health and Human Services are engaging locally to promote responsible fatherhood

throughout the country. The New York and Atlanta Regional Offices are coordinating the 

East Regional Fatherhood and Healthy Families Summer Institute, a three-day institute to 

expand practitioner abilities, organizational capacity building, research and program 

evaluation, and networking. The Chicago and Seattle Regional Offices held educational 

sessions to provide fathers information on how to use asset-building tools such as banking 

and savings, matched savings, financial education, credit and debt, free tax services, and 

accessing public services. The Philadelphia Regional Office holds a monthly responsible 

fatherhood and Healthy Families Conference Call to provide a forum for researchers, 

practitioners, policymakers, stakeholders, and concerned citizens to learn and share 

fatherhood and healthy families programming strategies. These are just a few examples of 

the many projects regional offices are orchestrating throughout the country to promote 

responsible fatherhood. 

Parenting Time for 

Noncustodial Parents

Parenting time, also known as 

visitation, is the time that a noncustodial parent spends with a 

child and is often scheduled by 

court order. Research shows that 

effective parenting time services 

can increase the amount and reliability of child support payments,

while also improving parent-child 

relationships and the relationship 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

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between a child’s parents.

10 This creates a “double win” for children and families – an engaged parent and better financial security. Making use of this research, the Obama Administration has proposed new initiatives that will foster the safe engagement of noncustodial 

parents – typically fathers – in their children’s lives and help parents who do not live together navigate their co-parenting roles.

To identify best practices and promising programs in this area, the Obama 

Administration, through the Department of Health and Human Services, will award 

grants in 2012 for child support pilot projects that explore innovative strategies for 

creating parenting time opportunities, while safeguarding against family violence. These

Special Improvement Project grants will provide $1.2 million over the next four years for 

child support agencies to pilot strategies to develop, implement, and evaluate service 

delivery models establishing parenting time orders along with child support order. States 

currently use Access and Visitation funds to provide services such as supervised 

visitation, mediation, education, counseling, and development of parenting plans for 

children in foster care and in the child support system. The pilots will complement this 

ongoing work of child support agencies and courts to better serve parents and their 

children.
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Fatherhood Program in Kentucky

“The information given to me by the facilitators has made a 

difference in my life, with my fiancée and her children. It has 

helped all of us to become closer and more open in our communication as a family. The facilitators showed by examples in 

their own lives how this information can benefit the lives of 

many and all families.” – Participant, Council on Prevention 

and Education: Substances, Inc. 

Supporting & Sustaining 

Stable Families

“Between my own experiences growing up, and my ongoing efforts to be the best father I 

can be, I’ve learned a few things about what our children need most from their parents. 

First, they need our time. And more important than the quantity of hours we spend with 

them is the quality of those hours. Maybe it’s just asking about their day, or taking a 

walk together, but the smallest moments can have the biggest impact. ” 

– President Barack Obama, June 18, 2011

Healthy families not only provide a better environment for children, they also improve the 

well-being of parents and society. Since taking office President Obama has pursued 

strategies to support parents working together to raise their children, sustaining healthy 

marriages, and accessing the skills and supports needed to provide for their families.

Strengthening Families and Supporting Healthy Marriages

In 2010, President Obama supported and signed into law a bill that authorized $150 million for 

Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood grants. The bill provided for an increased 

investment in Responsible Fatherhood programming from previous funding of $50 million to 

$75 million per year.

Using these appropriated 

funds, the Department of 

Health and Human Services 

awarded sixty CommunityCentered Healthy Marriage 

Grants, which are designed 

to help couples that choose 

marriage gain greater access 

to marriage education 

services that enable them to 

acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to form and sustain healthy marriages. 

These grants are supporting local community organizations that provide skill-based 

marriage education, premarital counseling, and other services to promote healthy 

marriages. In El Centro, California, for instance, these funds are supporting the The 

Imperial Valley Regional Occupational Program (IVROP) Juntos project to promote 

togetherness in families and to provide services designed to improve marriage and 

relationship skills as well as promote job and career advancement activities. IVROP has 

also received funding for its Padres responsible fatherhood project, a family-focused 

evidence based program which helps fathers succeed as parents and as providers.
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Identifying What Works

The Obama Administration is carrying out a 

rigorous evaluation through the Parents and 

Children Together (PACT) Evaluation of family, 

marriage, and responsible fatherhood programs. 

The evaluation asks three central questions: 

 What are the challenges in creating and 

running comprehensive responsible 

fatherhood and healthy marriage education 

services for lower-income fathers or couples? 

 How do these programs impact relationship 

quality, parenting behaviors, economic 

outcomes, and adult and child well-being? 

 What are the experiences of fathers and 

couples who volunteer for these programs?

Reports on programs and participants’ 

experiences will be produced annually and a final 

impact report will be released in 2016. 

Information on PACT and the findings from 

earlier studies of family, marriage, and responsible 

fatherhood programs can be found here.

The Administration also awarded fifty-five Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood Grants, 

which fund projects that support healthy

marriage activities, encourage 

responsible parenting, and foster 

economic stability. This program is 

designed to help fathers overcome 

barriers to becoming effective and 

nurturing parents while helping them 

improve their relationships with their 

children. The grants support services 

such as skill-based parenting education, 

mentoring and mediation, and other 

services to promote responsible 

fatherhood. For example, these funds 

are supporting the West Virginia 

Pathways to Responsible Fatherhood 

Initiative of the Kanawha Institute for 

Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA), 

a faith-based, nonprofit community 

development corporation. The KISRA 

Fatherhood Program aims to encourage 

noncustodial fathers to become more 

involved in their children’s lives and to 

help unemployed and underemployed fathers achieve economic self-sufficiency by 

providing them with occupational and life skills training as well as supportive services so 

that they can support and reconnect with their children. These projects have already 

shown promising outcomes, and the Obama Administration is conducting a rigorous 

evaluation process to learn more about what works to promote responsible fatherhood 

and healthy marriages.

Tailoring Efforts to Better Reach Families and Fathers 

Through the Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Initiative, the Administration 

has made a deliberate effort to conduct outreach to practitioners and community organizations to address specific populations. Efforts currently underway will help tailor efforts 

to the African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American communities to promote culturally competent strategies that respond to the unique cultural, linguistic, demographic, and socioeconomic needs of these families and fathers.
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Transitional Jobs Grants in Georgia

Harold was a military veteran who enjoyed driving trucks for a living. As a 44-year-old father of 

four children, Harold thought his life was set until 

he was arrested and lost his commercial driver’s 

license. He was soon unemployed. While participating in the Georgia Fatherhood Program, Harold learned about the GoodTransitions program. 

He enrolled in the program and received training 

in timed-manufacturing, high-pace product assembly, and effective team-work strategies. Ultimately, he earned a professional certification and 

gained earnings and experience through a transitional job at Advanced Electronics Recycling Solutions. Harold obtained a full-time position at International Paper as a machine operator. With the 

new job and stable source of income, Harold started budgeting his resources and saving for his children’s future. He also relocated to the city of Atlanta to be closer to family. Harold is now planning to enroll in school by 2013 to obtain a bachelor’s degree. “I am not only financially secure, but 

also happy with my life overall.”

 - GoodTransitions Program

For example, under the Administration 

for Native Americans’ Strengthening 

Families Initiative, the Obama 

Administration is supporting programs 

that incorporate culturally relevant 

strategies to strengthen families and 

foster child well-being in Native 

American communities. The Initiative 

provides fathers with education and 

activities that will help them overcome 

barriers to involvement in their 

children’s lives. In New Mexico, the Initiative has supported fatherhood training and 

parental involvement activities since 2009, providing more than 1,100 individuals with

fatherhood and parenting training. In Washington, the Initiative funds a father-child 

program that includes access to job training, financial, and health services to increase 

responsible fatherhood participation in children's lives. In Montana, the Initiative is 

supporting efforts to increase the number of children raised in environments free of 

family violence by providing adults with 

the information and skills they need to 

create healthy families. And in Hawaii, 

the Initiative is supporting services for

teen fathers and providing healthy 

relationship training to hundreds of 

families. This is just a sample of the 

Administration’s efforts to reach Native 

American communities. Together, these 

efforts are impacting tens of thousands 

of families across the country.

Promoting Self-Sufficiency 

and Financial Stability 

Improving parents’ financial security has 

a direct and positive effect on a child’s 

well-being. Most noncustodial parents 

can and do support their children. 

However, millions of low-income

noncustodial parents have trouble 

meeting their child support obligations, 

and these obligations can further reduce 

the financial stability of low-income 

parents. The Obama Administration is 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

18

pursuing a two-pronged approach to addressing this problem: improving economic selfsufficiency and building financial stability.

In order to support the most efficient strategies for promoting self-sufficiency among fathers, the Obama Administration, through the Department of Labor, awarded nearly $40 

million in competitive Enhanced Transitional Jobs Demonstration grants. 

The majority of these awards are funding projects that support local efforts to prepare 

unemployed, noncustodial parents, and ex-offenders for work through transitional employment, while assisting them to gain unsubsidized employment intended to promote 

family engagement and long-term self-sufficiency. The demonstration project’s randomassignment evaluation will compare employment, self-sufficiency, and parent-child relationship outcomes to measure the impact of transitional jobs program models for lowincome, noncustodial fathers. An interim report will be produced in 2015 and a final report will be released in 2017 to inform future policy and program development.

The Building Assets for Fathers and Families Initiative (BAFF) aims to improve financial 

stability. Launched in 2010, this initiative supports asset building services for 

noncustodial parents as part of the child support program to encourage financial 

planning and saving, helping parents provide for their children. BAFF is part of a larger 

initiative implemented by the Department of Health and Human Services to extend the 

benefits of financial education, savings accounts, and other services to individuals and 

families with young children.

BAFF is especially focused on helping noncustodial parents, because although they are 

responsible for providing financial support to their children, they have not traditionally 

been the targets of financial empowerment programs. Through BAFF, the Obama 

Administration has awarded seven three-year demonstration grants that fund local 

partnerships aimed at increasing the financial stability of children and their parents. The 

Administration is also identifying promising field practices and strengthening

relationships among local child support, financial stability, and fatherhood programs. As 

of May 1, 2012, over a 1,000 noncustodial parents participated in BAFF across the 

seven sites.

Updating the Child Support Program to Work Better for Families

Research has demonstrated that a range of innovative strategies implemented by state, 

local, and tribal child support agencies can improve the reliability of child support 

payments.

11 With this research in mind, President Obama launched the Family-Centered 

Initiative to promote child well-being and family self-sufficiency.

The Family-Centered Initiative encourages state child support agencies to redirect 

activities toward productive, evidence-based enforcement tools and services that 

increase the reliability of child support payments and modernize the Child Support 

Enforcement Program to work better for children and families throughout the country. 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

19

Two Improvements to the Child Support Enforcement Program

This year, the Obama Administration is making two improvements to the Child Support Enforcement 

Program in order to create greater flexibility for states to develop, implement, and rigorously evaluate 

programs that promote strong families and responsible fatherhood.

First, the Administration will issue a number of state waivers to link unemployed, noncustodial

parents – typically fathers – who owe child support to work-oriented programs. This new flexibility 

will allow states to use federal dollars to help fund employment efforts that will better help parents 

find and keep jobs, from learning new skills to greater support and accountability in looking and 

applying for work. As of September 2011, at least twenty-nine states are operating statewide or local 

work-oriented programs for noncustodial parents—including Texas, Ohio, and New York. 

Second, the Administration has announced that it will award more than $10 million in related 

competitive grants. These grants will allow states to pilot child support services, such as employment 

services that better support fathers in providing for their children financially, as well as programs that 

enhance how fathers can connect with their children and families. These grants will include a rigorous 

research evaluation to identify evidence-based practices. 

These modernizations include encouraging child support agencies to: establish realistic 

child support orders, adjust orders when noncustodial parents suffer a job loss, manage

child support debts, intervene early when parents fall behind in their payments, direct all 

child support payments to families, and adopt other practices to improve the experience 

of parents participating in the Child Support Enforcement Program. As a result of the 

Obama Administration’s federal leadership on this issue, dozens of states, counties, and 

tribes have incorporated the Family-Centered Initiative framework into their strategic 

planning, policies, and practices. 

Promoting Workplace Flexibility

President Obama knows that too many families must make hard choices between time 

caring for a new child or a seriously ill family member and earning a paycheck that families rely on. The Family and Medical Leave Act entitles tens of millions of workers to take 

job-protected, unpaid time off, but 

millions of families can’t afford to use 

unpaid leave. A handful of states 

have enacted programs providing 

paid family leave insurance, but more 

states should have the chance. This 

is why President Obama’s FY 2013 

budget supports a $5 million State 

Paid Leave Fund within the Department of Labor that will provide technical assistance and support to 

states that want to establish paidleave programs.
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

20

Research on the effect of California’s paid family leave insurance program has shown

that fathers are more likely to take time off to care for a new child than men without 

access to paid family leave insurance. This data suggests that paid family leave policies 

can encourage fathers to spend more time with their children.12

The President has also directed the Department of Labor to explore new data, through 

the American Time Use Survey, to better understand how individuals use (or don’t use) 

leave benefits. With the results of this survey to be released later this year, this new 

research will shed light on important information about workers’ experience with leave 

and can help inform improved workplace flexibility policies.
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

21

Intervening During Early Childhood

“If we want our children to succeed in life, we need fathers to step up. We need fathers to 

understand that their work doesn’t end with conception – that what truly makes a man a 

father is the ability to raise a child and invest in that child.”

– President Barack Obama, June 19th, 2009

Early experiences matter, which is why providing a loving stable environment filled with 

trust is essential during pregnancy and through the first months and years of life. The 

future well-being of a child is strongly influenced by this environment, and parents play a 

critical role during these early stages of development. Actively involved, responsible 

fathers enable their children’s social and emotional development—establishing reciprocal 

relationships with their children, building trust and security, and laying the foundation for all 

future learning and social interaction. These early experiences help children develop a 

level of comfort with social interaction and a love for learning that ensures that children get 

a good first start and a fair shot at an opportunity for success. For these reasons, the 

Obama Administration is pursuing policies that empower local communities to encourage 

fathers to get involved in their children’s lives as early as possible.

Leveraging Early Childhood Education to Promote Fatherhood

Encouraging fathers to shift their thinking and the way they interact with their children must 

be supported by the communities in which they live. The Obama Administration has 

actively promoted responsible fatherhood 

through the Office of Head Start. Since its 

inception, the Office of Head Start has sought 

ways to provide education, guidance, and 

support for communities recommending best 

practice strategies to support responsible 

fathering efforts. The Obama Administration’s

leadership on this issue has expanded efforts to 

ensure fathers are respected, supported, and 

encouraged to take an active role in their 

children’s lives.

The Office of Head Start has also produced a 

number of educational materials on responsible 

fatherhood for communities throughout the 

country. The Fatherhood Initiative Resource 

Guide provides valuable resources to support 

fatherhood programming within Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

22

Promoting Responsible Fatherhood in 

Communities through Head Start

“I'm a father; my daughter goes to Southampton 

Head Start. How I got involved was pretty interesting 'cause what happened was my daughter's 

mother and I had went through a separation and 

she had lived out about 45 minutes away from 

where I lived. And it was difficult to see my 

daughter every day, and when I got to see her it 

was just -- it was emotional sometimes because it 

was something that I was going through, a transition from being with the family and now being a 

single father. And how I made it happen by getting 

involved in Head Start was going out to the school 

once in a while, you know, as much time as I had 

between work. I would go out there and read a 

book to the class, sit in the circle time, have breakfast with them. And I saw the impact that I was 

making on my daughter just by walking into the 

room and my daughter just running up to me and 

embracing me. I just knew that it was something 

that I knew I wanted to be involved with.”

Fatherhoodfirst.org website offers service providers access to newsletters, podcasts, 

resources, and other media to assist providers in their work with fathers and families. 

Fatherhood First posters are displayed in many Head Start and Early Head Start 

Centers as an outward demonstration of support for father engagement and to establish 

a welcoming environment for dads in an effort to encourage their investment in children’s 

learning. The Office of Head Start also supports the Las Manos De Apá (Hands of My 

Father) project, which focuses on supporting father involvement in Migrant and Seasonal 

Head Start programs using a culturally and linguistically responsive curriculum, setting 

an example of what is expected of other programs. More than 1,500 Head Start 

programs across the country implement these engagement efforts each year.

Expanding and Sustaining Early Father Involvement 

More than a decade ago, the Office of Head Start released “Building Blocks for Father 

Involvement,” a set of program guide books that continues to provide support and 

guidance for programs on how to prepare their organizations and staff to appropriately 

recruit, engage, and sustain father involvement in Head Start and Early Head Start 

programs. The Obama Administration 

is now supporting a complete revision 

and update to these documents that 

will provide communities and programs 

with the most up-to-date researchbased lessons on how to appropriately 

engage fathers.

The guide books will show local service 

providers how to promote positive 

father-child relationships and father 

well-being, and how to develop

responsible fatherhood goals resulting 

in school readiness outcomes. For 

instance, research suggests that dads 

are more likely to be present in the 

lives of their children when they are 

engaged early on.13 The revised 

guidebooks will include a focus on

reaching fathers early and helping to 

foster early connections between 

fathers and their children, as well as 

enhancing co-parenting relationships. 

Fatherhood research also highlights the 

positive impacts fathers have on their children when afforded opportunities to simply play 

with them.14 As fathers learn the importance of how thoughtful interactions with their 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

23

children can enhance their development, they are more likely to become empowered 

and motivated to be more active in the day-to-day development of their children. The 

revised guides will inform program administrators how to partner with fathers to increase 

their knowledge of their children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. The 

Building Blocks resource will be distributed by more than 1,500 programs across the 

country by October 2012, with the potential to reach hundreds of thousands of fathers.

Supporting the Health of Children and Mothers

Since 2010, the Obama Administration has awarded over $325 million in funding to 

States and Tribes for the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) 

Program, which supports collaboration and partnership at the federal, state, and 

community levels to improve health and development outcomes for at-risk children 

through evidence-based home visiting programs. The MIECHV program includes fathers 

in the program, and state grantees are pursuing efforts to appropriately engage fathers 

specifically in their MIECHV home visiting programs. Connecticut, for example, will be 

evaluating a major father-specific component to home visiting, in addition to the model’s 

regular home visits for families that have fathers involved with the child.

The Obama Administration is also pursuing public education strategies to reach families 

that include a mother and a father about responsible fatherhood through the Department 

of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program 

for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) runs a Fathers Supporting Breastfeeding

Initiative that provides educational messages about the advantages of breastfeeding. By 

supporting breastfeeding, some fathers can play a critical role in promoting the healthy 

development of their children and in strengthening family bonds. The WIC program also 

allows fathers to receive nutrition education, counseling, and referral services on behalf 

of their children. 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

24

Reconnecting Disconnected Fathers

“Our kids are pretty smart. They understand that life won’t always be perfect, that 

sometimes, the road gets rough, that even great parents don’t get everything right. But 

more than anything, they just want us to be a part of their lives.”

– President Barack Obama, June 18, 2011

President Obama has encouraged fathers to be involved in their children’s lives, not just 

when it’s convenient or easy, but also when it’s difficult. For this reason, it is important to 

help fathers catch up on child support payments, reconnect fathers with their children, and 

ensure that fathers have the opportunity to spend time with their children. To support this 

goal of helping fathers reconnect and build strong relationships with their children, the 

Obama Administration is pursuing a wide range of strategies that make use of existing 

federal resources for public housing, child support, justice, and other programs.

Using Housing Programsto Reconnect Fathers 

Many fathers are often disconnected from services that could lead to economic stability 

for themselves and their children. To address the issues facing some fathers with 

children in public housing and voucher-assisted housing, the Obama Administration is 

using these housing programs to reconnect fathers both with their children and with 

supportive services.

The Administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development has engaged in a 

nationwide public engagement campaign through its Reconnecting Family and Dads 

Initiative. The Initiative recruits the support of local Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to 

provide safe and instructive bonding environments for families while connecting fathers 

with services and developing positive male role models in public housing. In 2011, 209 

PHAs from thirty-three states held Father’s Day events that combined supportive 

services with promoting responsible fatherhood. An estimated 22,000 parents and 

children participated in events that local PHAs held all over the nation. Local offices of 

federal agencies offered onsite information and services such as employment resources, 

healthcare consultation and legal counseling at the events. In some cities, participants 

met athletes from the NFL and NBA, who joined in on the fun, while the Read it LOUD! 

Foundation distributed more than 1,600 free children’s books to housing authorities that 

participated. In June 2012, this Initiative expects to reach over 300 PHAs and reach over 

30,000 family members, with the intent to have PHAs commit to ongoing activities to 

engage fathers with their children throughout the year.

Working to Ensure that Formerly Incarcerated 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

25

Providing Support for 

Ex-Offenders and their Children in 

New Mexico

“Frankie was motivated to get clean by the 

possibility of losing his son. About 18 

months before his release, he signed up for 

mentoring through PB&J Family Services. 

The group brought Frankie’s son—seven at 

the time of his dad’s incarceration—to the 

prison for regular visits and supported them 

during and after visits. His PB&J mentors 

and caseworkers have helped Frankie focus 

on his sobriety—and he’s now been clean for 

four-and-a-half years. In addition to providing parenting classes, PB&J has helped 

Frankie as a father: ‘They prepared me to 

face up to everything I’ve done.’”

Fathers Don’t Become Repeat Offenders

Nearly 730,000 individuals were released from state and federal correctional facilities in 

2009. And the vast majority of individuals in our prisons are men. After having been 

“inside” for days, months, or years, these 

men – often fathers – are faced with life on 

the “outside” with no clear path back into 

their homes, communities, or workplaces in 

order to stabilize their lives and become 

productive citizens and parents. The

transition is a difficult one—about half of all 

formerly incarcerated individuals will return 

to prison or jail within the first three years of 

release. Research shows that when 

incarcerated men and women are released, 

they look to their spouses, children, and 

families for support.15

President Obama is committed to improving

outcomes for formerly incarcerated 

individuals reentering society through a 

number of strategies, including helping 

reconnect these individuals to their families.

The Federal Interagency Reentry Council, established by Attorney General Holder in 

January 2011, coordinates reentry efforts and advances effective reentry policies across 

the federal government. Much of this work directly impacts disconnected fathers. The 

Council works to remove federal barriers to successful reentry so that formerly 

incarcerated individuals are able to compete for a job, attain stable housing, support 

their children and their families, and contribute to their communities to make a new life 

for themselves after serving their time.

For example, formerly incarcerated individuals trying to reenter society often face a 

number of “collateral consequences,” which are restrictions that can negatively affect 

their employment opportunities, government and housing benefits, and other forms of 

civic life. An important step towards both reducing recidivism and increasing public 

safety is to understand the full impact of the collateral consequences created by federal 

regulations, which is why the Attorney General has called for a comprehensive review to 

inform future efforts to reduce unnecessary barriers. 

More recently, the Federal Interagency Reentry Council and the Responsible 

Fatherhood Working Group are coordinating to identify specific federal actions that 

better coordinate policies around child support that promote responsible fatherhood 

among the reentry population.

Over the past two years, the Department of Labor has also awarded $32.2 million 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

26

Fostering Discussion on 

Fatherhood Research & Policy

In 2012, over 30 academic researchers and policy 

experts discussed new research at an Administrationsupported conference, “Fathers and Fathering in 

Contemporary Contexts” hosted by the National Center for Family and Marriage Research and the Eunice 

Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health 

and Human Development. As a part of fostering this 

conversation on fatherhood research and policy, the 

Administration also supported a small grants competition on the topic of fathers and fathering, which 

included research areas such as parenting and coparenting; paternal incarceration and the effect of 

relationship instability on fathering.

The two-day conference featured four of the five 

grant awardees and included panels of interdisciplinary researchers discussing cutting edge topics 

on fatherhood and fathering and new theoretical, 

empirical, methodological, and measurement insights. The conference opened and concluded with 

policy makers and program administrators discussing how research findings can help inform current 

policy debates. A conference report, summarizing 

fatherhood research findings and gaps to guide future research and policy development, will be released in December 2012. 

through twenty-eight individual grants to nonprofit faith-based and community-based 

organizations under the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders Adult program. The purpose of

these grants is to provide an employment-centered approach to reintegration. Services 

include job training and employment preparation, mentoring, and connections to support 

services such as housing, substance abuse, and mental health programs.

In 2011, the Obama Administration’s 

Community-Centered Responsible 

Fatherhood Ex-Prisoner Reentry Pilot 

Project made $6 million in grants to 

four communities in order to address 

the challenges that face individuals 

who are being released from the 

criminal justice system. These grants 

have a strong emphasis on connecting 

the soon-to-be or recently-released 

individual to case management and 

counseling so that they can prepare for 

reintegration into society, as well as

connecting reentering individuals to 

their families and children to promote 

active, engaged fathering. Additionally, 

services support reentry into the labor 

market through training or job search 

assistance and often work closely with 

local public housing authorities to 

reunite couples or support individuals 

in establishing housing on their own.

The pilot will evaluate how these 

projects are implemented and the 

experiences and challenges addressed 

by grantees and participants to better 

identify effective strategies in 

supporting the reentry population. 

To further build the research on what strategies most effectively support the reentry 

population, the Administration also committed an additional two million dollars to

enhance the National Evaluation of Responsible Fatherhood, Marriage and Family 

Strengthening Grants for Incarcerated Fathers and their Partners in 2011. The national 

evaluation will track long-term outcomes for fathers, their partners, and children who 

have participated in parenting and relationship education programs while the fathers 

were in prison.
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

27

Finally, in addition to funding states and localities, the Administration has also used the 

Second Chance Act to direct funding to support the local efforts of nonprofits and Indian 

Tribes to launch mentoring projects for adults who have been incarcerated. The Second 

Chance Act is the first piece of reentry legislation that acknowledges the critical role that 

family plays in facilitating successful reentry and allows funds to be used for a wide 

range of services designed to improve parenting skills, facilitate family reintegration, and 

improve the functioning of the family through the provisions of counseling and education 

if needed. In 2011, for the first time, these mentoring grants were awarded to focus 

specifically on the issue of parenthood and dedicated funds to help parents of young 

children. Local community organizations in eight states – California, Florida, New York, 

Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia– received these grants in 2011 and have 

already put the funds to use improving reentry outcomes for fathers and families 

throughout the country.

Reconnecting Homeless Veterans with their Children

In 2010, President Obama launched a pilot program to reconnect homeless veterans 

with their children through a new partnership forged between the Departments of 

Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and the American Bar Association. The 

“OCSE-VA-ABA Collaboration Project” helps homeless veterans gain permanent 

housing, assists them in meeting their child support obligations, and connects them with 

programs that offer employment and supportive services. More than 1,000 veterans 

have been referred to project partners for services, resolving nearly $800,000 in old child 

support debts in the nine pilot project cities: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los 

Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. To improve the work of 

the project partners and the service providers on the ground, the Office of Child Support 

Enforcement is currently developing a caseworker handbook on child support issues that 

are specific to military and veteran parents. Project partners are also developing a toolkit 

to highlight promising practices that will assist other partners interested in helping 

veterans.
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

28

What You Can Do

As a father... 

 Do more to engage with 

your children. Every family 

context is unique, but 

there is often room for 

every parent to be more 

deliberate in the way they 

engage with their children 

and promote their healthy 

development. 

 Volunteer to become a 

mentor. Your experiences 

as a father can provide you 

with the skills and knowledge to be an effective role model. Being a mentor often means 

deliberately supporting a child within your extended family or community. 

 Join President Obama and take the Fatherhood Pledge. More than 22,000 supporters 

have taken the pledge to receive updates, tips, and resources from fatherhood 

organizations, prominent dads and other supporters of responsible fatherhood around 

the nation. 

 Connect with a Responsible Fatherhood program near you by visiting the interactive 

responsible fatherhood program map. The map allows you to select your own state and 

find a comprehensive list of responsible fatherhood programs located in your area.

 Visit the DadTalk Blog to get updates on responsible fatherhood events and learn more 

about the developments in the field of responsible fatherhood research. 

As an individual... 

 Volunteer to become a mentor. While President Obama’s initiative encourages all 

fathers to become engaged with their children, volunteer mentors and other role models 

will continue to play a meaningful role in the lives of children without actively engaged 

fathers. Being a mentor often means deliberately supporting a child within your own 

family or community. 

 As a mother, neighbor, or a friend you can contribute to a culture of high parental 

involvement. This requires purposeful and consistent messages and actions that 

reinforce responsible fatherhood. 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

29

As a business... 

 Connect with the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnership to identify 

ways to support fathers and families by offering discounts on products that create 

opportunities for dads and families to connect with their children. Email whpartnerships@who.eop.gov. 

 Support a culture – across all levels of your business – that reinforces the importance of

time for family and children. This requires purposeful and consistent messages and 

actions that reinforce responsible fatherhood, as well as reviewing your business’s 

policies regarding workplace flexibility. 

As a non-government organization... 

 Become a partner and take the Fatherhood Pledge to create opportunities for family and 

fathers to become involved with their children through ongoing activities and events. 

 Develop a formal responsible fatherhood program through evidence-based strategies 

and resources found on the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse.

 Reach out to members of the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus 

Challenge, which is inviting institutions of higher education to commit to a year of 

interfaith and community service programming on campus.

 Visit the “Grants and Resources” page of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood 

Partnerships to find opportunities to promote responsible fatherhood through a 

partnership with the federal government.

As a place of worship...

 Download the Faith-based and Neighborhood Organizations toolkit, which will point you 

to opportunities to form partnerships with Centers for Faith-based and Neighborhood 

Partnerships, as well as helpful information on how to apply for federal grants and 

access capacity building resources to support the great work that you are already doing. 

 Reach out to members of the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus 

Challenge, which is inviting institutions of higher education to commit to a year of 

interfaith and community service programming on campus.

 Visit the “Grants and Resources” page of the Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood 

Partnerships to find opportunities to promote responsible fatherhood through a 

partnership with the federal government.

 Follow the Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships Blog for up-to-date information 

about responsible fatherhood events and opportunities to get involved. 
PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE FATHERHOOD

30

ENDNOTES

 

1

"Dad Stats." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, Accessed June 12, 2012 <http://www.fatherhood.gov/library/dad-stats>

2 U.S. Census Bureau. America's Families and Living Arrangements: 2011. Table C9. Children by Presence and Type of Parent(s), Race, and Hispanic Origin. Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau. 

3

Stykes, Bart (2012). Who are Nonresident Fathers? Demographic Characteristics of Nonresident Fathers 

(FP-12-08). National Center for Family & Marriage Research. <http://ncfmr. bgsu.edu/pdf/ family_profiles/ 

file112052.pdf>

4 U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012. Accessed June 12, 2012 

<http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0069.pdf>

5 Cabrera, N. and Tamis-Lemonda, C. Handbook of Father Involvement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Second Edition. 2012. London: Routledge Academic

6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development 

of Children,” Washington, D.C., 2006. Accessed June 12, 2012 

<http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/>

7

Taylor et al. “A Tale of Two Fathers: More Are Active, but More Are Absent.” Pew Research Center. 2011. 

Accessed June 12, 2012 <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2011/06/15/a-tale-of-two-fathers/>

8 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. “Responsible 

Fathering: An Overview and Conceptual Framework.” 1996. http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/concept.htm

9 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. “Responsible 

Fathering: An Overview and Conceptual Framework.” 1996. http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/concept.htm

10 Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Child Support Enforcement. 2006. Child Access and 

Visitation Programs: Participant Outcomes. Washington, DC: Office of Child Support Enforcement.

11 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child 

Support Enforcement. “Family-Centered Innovations Improve Child Support Outcomes.”

12 Appelbaum, E. and Milkman, R. “Leaves That Pay: Employer and Worker Experiences With Paid Family 

Leave in California.” Center for Economic Policy Research. 2011. 

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/leaves-that-pay

13 Cabrera, N.J., Ryan, R.M., Shannon, J.D., Brooks-Gunn, J., Vogel, C., Raikes, H., Tamis-LeMonda, C., 

and Cohen. R. (2004). “Low-income fathers’ involvement in their toddlers’ lives: Biological fathers from the 

Early Head Start research and evaluation study.” Fathering, 2(1), 5-30.

14 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “The Importance of Fathers in the Healthy Development 

of Children,” Washington, D.C., 2006. Accessed June 12, 2012 

<http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/usermanuals/fatherhood/>

15 Christy A. Visher, Carly R. Knight, Aaron Chalfin, and John K. Roman. 2008. The Impact of Marital and 

Relationship Status on Social Outcomes for Returning Prisoners. Washington, DC: Urban Institute.