Learn How A Crucial Partnership Will Open The Door to Reducing Child Abuse and Neglect

Imagine my excitement when I received word that an organization called SCAN (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) wanted to partner with National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI) to offer our 24:7 Dad® and Understanding Dad™ programs!

Why was I so excited?

Preventing child abuse and neglect has been near and dear to my heart since I started at NFI over 20 years ago. In that time, I’ve served on the FRIENDS National Center for Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention Advisory Committee and worked closely with Prevent Child Abuse Iowa to implement our Community Mobilization Approach™. Adding SCAN to this list of partners will help NFI realize its vision that all communities and human service organizations become proactively father-inclusive so that every child has an involved, responsible, and committed father in their lives.

 Another reason this partnership excites me is knowing how effective 24:7 Dad® is in reducing the chance of child abuse and neglect. This report published by the Child & Family Research Partnership (CFRP) at the University of Texas at Austin highlights the positive impact the program had on this critical issue. At the heart of its success, 24:7 Dad^â was able to build the protective factors that research shows reduce the risk of child abuse and neglect.

Our partnership with SCAN opens the door to build those protective factors in more families.

SCAN believes every child deserves to be safe, loved, and nurtured. Their mission is to protect children, prepare parents, strengthen families and educate their community to Stop Child Abuse and Neglect. They accomplish this by creating a continuum of Prevention and Intervention Services so they can meet the needs of children and families throughout 41 northern Indiana counties and remain a lasting support in their community.

Throughout SCAN’s Prevention and Intervention Services, they recognize the importance of dads in children’s lives. As a result, SCAN will offer 24:7 Dad® (AM and PM versions) and Understanding Dad™ to the majority of families they serve.

During the Understanding Dad™ portion of the training webinar (conducted by NFI on September 14, 2022), staff decided that this program provided an opportunity to have conversations and share education with the moms who participate in their services on how they interact with their children’s dads. Many moms don’t realize how much influence they have in their children’s relationships with their dads, which then plays a major role in their own relationships with their children.

SCAN plans to provide groups for both moms and dads, in addition to working with them one-on-one. As they implement this work, they look forward to increasing the involvement of dads in SCAN’s community.

SCAN’s Vice President of Prevention Lisa Blanchard states, “All of our staff are excited to be working with NFI and to have found a partner who will help us increase our knowledge and ability to engage the fathers in our community. Fathers are vital to our children and to their growth and well-being. This opportunity creates a door to interaction with our families in new and exciting ways!”

Lisa’s statement reflects the beauty of a successful partnership because – while she listed the ways NFI can help meet their goals – SCAN is uniquely positioned to help NFI connect with families on a large scale!

In what ways are you involved in reducing the risk of child abuse and neglect?

Can you identify additional ways to improve outcomes on this critical issue?