Our Services

Braswell speaks at the 2006 National Fatherhood Festivial in Philadephia; Joel Austin (r)

Every one of us is impacted or has been impacted by a father or father figure. It is one of the unique issues of life that has universal relevance. The impact may have been negative or positive, depending on whether the father was there or not there, and shapes the way that we view the world and interact with people, whether in the world of business or in a more personal realm.

Fathers, Inc. has seen the importance of this issue, identified the need for our services, created our statement of mission, and set some goals to achieve our mission. We believe in the family, the importance of the father to a successful family, and the importance of the family to the continued growth of communities. There is no question in our minds that a relationship between FI and community businesses can be mutually beneficial. We realize that most organizations care, and have goals that have to do with social responsibility and contributing to the communities in which their businesses exist. Further most businesses realize that the continued growth or existence of their businesses depends on healthy employees and healthy communities.

Organization Capacity Building

Over the last few years there has been a grass-roots rise in the field of responsible fatherhood. As a result of this phenomenon and the increased attention of researchers, social workers, legislators and larger not-for-profits; funding is also finding its way into the sphere. The challenge however is, even though the field is beginning to expand in scope; the expertise and capacity of these community-based organizations has not kept pace. Therefore, it is a need for government, foundations, business and academia to find innovative ways to assist in closing this service gap.

Parental Involvement Staff Training

Education is certainly one of those areas where the increased involvement of fathers would benefit students.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon education professionals to increase efforts to involve fathers in the educational process.  In order to engage fathers more fully as partners in children’s learning, one of the most important things that needs to happen is that the assumption that parent involvement means only mothers’ involvement needs to be challenged.  Fathers must be proactively encouraged to be a part of the family learning team. A “family friendly environment” must also mean a “father friendly environment”, in addition to a “mother friendly environment.”

Organization Assessment of Fatherhood Readiness and Friendliness

It will become critical – and a necessary first step – for organizations who are involved in the Healthy Family and/or Responsible Fathers initiatives to assess their organization’s readiness to provide services in a way that is viewed as father and family-friendly.  These servies will provide direction and technical assistance to those agencies who are interested in assessing how their organizational culture will aid or impede the provision of quality programs and services; including how individual staff beliefs and stereotypes can provide either a welcoming or not-so-welcoming atmosphere for potential clients of programs of services

Fatherhood Support Group Development

Fathers, Inc. is committed to increasing the participation of fathers in the lives of their children and family.  For many men there are challenges, both real and imagined, to their participation in the most meaningful manner.  At Fathers, Inc. we believe that with information comes knowledge, and with knowledge will come an increased desire to have a presence with the child or young adult.  A key piece of learning is sharing with others who have had, or are having, similar experiences.  For that reason, and to increase peer support among fathers, Fathers Incorporated seeks to systematically train organizations to set up support networks.

Social Marketing and Communication Development

We will use innovative social marketing and multi-media platforms, traditional communications and product development to highlight, educate and raise the critical need to expand the range of work throughout the fields of comprehensive and non-traditional family service models. FI will work to change the current societal and cultural definition of family; to include; Fathers.