[Video] What Young Dads Have to Say about Serving Them

In June of this year, I had the honor to present during a webinar sponsored by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP). The webinar focused on how child welfare organizations and professionals can more effectively engage and serve young dads (under age 26). I shared how:

• The Father Friendly Check-Up™ can help lay the foundation for an organizational culture that’s vital to effectively engage and serve young dads.
• Organizations use the 24/7 Dad^® program to serve a subset of these young dads: teen dads.

This webinar was part of a larger effort of CSSP that has included the input of a national workgroup of child welfare and fatherhood experts to create a set of policy and practice recommendations for child welfare organizations and professionals for use in implementing a multigenerational approach to working with young dads. The primary tool CSSP has produced with the input of the workgroup is an excellent policy and practice report complete with recommendations in 10 categories. Read my previous blog post on this report and how the resources of National Fatherhood Initiative^® can help with implementing the recommendations.

CSSP has also sought the input of young dads to ensure that their voices and experiences with child welfare organizations, professionals, and systems inform the policy and practice recommendations. In doing so, CSSP produced this video that features three fathers who provide their advice on how to effectively engage and serve dads like them. What they share is relevant for any organization that seeks to engage and serve dads.

Consider showing this video to your colleagues as part of a larger effort to build their capacity to engage and serve dads.

How much input from dads, if any, has your organization sought on how to effectively engage and serve them?

If your organization has sought dads’ input, how has your organization used it to shape how you engage and serve them?