stronger families through healthy relationships, positive … · 2019-10-18 · the presentation ....

Stronger Families ThroughHealthy Relationships, Positive Parenting, and

Economic Stability

September 23, 2014

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Webinar Agenda

• Introductions

• How healthy relationships, positive

parenting, and economic stability connect

for strong families

• Healthy Relationship Skills: Strategies and

Examples from the Resource Center

• Positive Parenting: Working with Fathers

• Economic Stability: Community-Based

Healthy Marriage Responsible Fatherhood

(HMRF) Workforce Framework

• Q&A

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Presenters

• Robyn Cenizal, Director, National Resource

Center for Healthy Marriage and Families

• Nigel Vann, Senior Technical Specialist, ICF

International, National Responsible

Fatherhood Clearinghouse

• Penny Tinsman, Senior Project Manager,

ICF International, Office of Family

Assistance Healthy Marriage and

Responsible Fatherhood Grantee

Technical Assistance Project

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Healthy Relationship Skills: Strategies and Examples from the

Resource Center

Robyn Cenizal, CFLE Director, National Resource

Center for Healthy Marriage and Families

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National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families

• Mission: Connecting healthy marriage

education skills and safety-net services

as an integrated approach to

strengthening families

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Important Skills

• Healthy marriage education skills are

the core components of healthy

relationship education and include:

o Interpersonal skills such as

communication and conflict

resolution;

o Along with critical skills like parenting

and financial education.

These skills can be successfully integrated individually or collectively into social service delivery systems to enhance and support program goals.

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Making the Case for Integration

• "Integrated services are good for

clients with complex needs - they are

more likely to get what they need, in a

timely manner and with due regard for

all the issues they are trying to handle."

Repairing the U.S. Social Safety Net

(Burt & Nightingale, 2010)

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Child & Youth Benefits

• Children of adults w/healthy, stable

marriages are more likely to have

better:

o physical & emotional health,

o relationships w/their parents,

o school performance & fewer behavioral

problems in school.

• They are less likely to:

o abuse drugs and alcohol,

o engage in risky sexual behavior,

o become pregnant as a teen,

o divorce when they marry.

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Breaking the Cycle of Incarceration

Boys who grew up without their biological father in the home were three times more likely to commit a crime that led to incarceration .

Children of divorced parents are up to six times more likely to be delinquent than children from intact families.

70% of incarcerated adults come from single-parent homes.

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Economic benefits

• Interpersonal skills transfer to the workplace.

• Employees in stable, healthy relationships are

more productive & miss less work.

o The average employee loses 168 hours of work time

the year following a divorce.

o Absenteeism, reduction in productivity, & increased healthcare costs related to marital

distress cost U.S. businesses and industry an

estimated $6.8 billion per year.

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Working with Fathers to Enhance Relationship and Parenting Skills, Strengthen Families, and Improve

Child Well-Being

Nigel Vann Senior Technical Specialist, ICF

International, National Responsible Fatherhood

Clearinghouse

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Development of Fatherhood Work

• 1980’s: focus on pregnancy prevention

and support for young dads.

• 1990s: added focus on employment and

child support.

• Late 1990s: growing awareness that you

need to work with dads and moms to

address relationship and co-parenting skills.

• 2006-present: federal support for

comprehensive programs focused on

“responsible fatherhood,” “healthy

marriage/relationships,” and “economic

stability.”

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Lessons learned

• Fathers of children on welfare share similar

characteristics to mothers.

• There is a difference between deadbeat and

deadbroke dads.

• Most fathers are involved in the lives of their

children during the first 2-3 years, but many

unmarried fathers become less involved as

children get older.

o Reasons for this lessening involvement are likely

a mix of personal, community, societal and public policy issues.

• Important to provide opportunities for all staff

to process their feelings towards men and

fathers.

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Experiences of dads in fatherhood programs

• They will come, but it takes time.

• They will stay if there is something real for them.

o Staff form meaningful connections.

o Responsive services are available.

• By providing examples of love and nurturance,

programs can help dads provide more loving,

supportive environments for their children.

• Good times to engage dads:

o Prenatally/early years.

o Divorce/separation.

o Other crisis or transition points.

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Fatherhood participant needs

• Immediate presenting issues:

o Child support.

o Employment.

o “Visitation” or “custody” concerns.

• Underlying needs:

o Job skills, employment history.

o Educational qualifications (GED, high school

diploma, etc.) and general “life skills.”

o Relationship and parenting skills.

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Fatherhood participant needs

• Barriers/challenges may include:

o Lack of stable housing or transportation.

o Criminal history, other legal issues.

o Substance use disorders, mental

health/toxic stress.

o Lack of skills, access to jobs.

o Lack of positive role models, absence of

own father.

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What fatherhood programs can do

• “Bring dads to the table” - help with

process of self-reflection, identification of

strengths, and goal development.

• Case management to address barriers and

challenges.

• Group and one-on-one

activities to enhance

knowledge and skills.

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What fatherhood programs can do

• Focus on parenting and relationship skills.

• Whenever possible, work with both parents.

• Community partnerships with child support,

employers, and other service providers.

• Referral to educational and job skills training.

• Job development and placement assistance.

• Talk about domestic violence.

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What other stakeholders can do

• Encourage all staff to engage residential and

non-residential fathers.

o Emphasize research on benefits of father

involvement.

• Ensure that agency environment is “father-

friendly” - provide training for all staff.

o Emphasize: “family” = “mom, dad, and kids.”

o Brochures and posters should reflect this.

• Work with community partners to strengthen

families and enhance child well-being.

• Maintain a list of resources and supportive

services for fathers and mothers.

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Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from the Field

• Development of the

Responsible Fatherhood Field

• Start a Program

o Planning & Design –

needs assessment,

community mapping,

partnerships, logic

model, services

o Staffing

o Budgeting and

Fundraising

o Documentation &

Sustainability

• Build a Program

o Outreach –

Communications,

working with media

o Recruitment

• Work with Dads

o One-on-One – creating

trust, case

management

o Groups – tips for

successful facilitation

• Activities to download: Reflection and Awareness,

Parenting and

Communication Skills, 1-on-

1 activities

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New content – coming soon!

• Managing and

supporting frontline staff

• Addressing domestic

violence

• Working with the child

welfare system

• Enhancing cultural

competence and

engaging fathers

• Young dads

• Non-residential dads

• Working with dads to

enhance relationship

skills

• Fathers of special

needs children

• Incarcerated and

re-entry dads

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Toolkit Top Takeaways: “Working with dads to enhance relationship skills”

• Services need to take in to account the variety

of household and relationship structures within

which fathers, children, and mothers live.

o Complex family relationships require

negotiation, communication, boundary

setting, and conflict management skills.

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Toolkit Top Takeaways: “Working with dads to enhance relationship skills”

• Focus on developing key relationship skills.

o Effective communication, active

listening, empathy.

• Emphasize critical importance of effective

co-parenting.

o Offer tips to minimize effects of tension,

stress, or conflict for children.

• Provide mediation services if possible.

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New research-to-practice brief

Implementing Parent Education in

Fatherhood Programs: Putting Lessons From

Research Into Practice

• Examples of two program delivery

components with the potential to improve

outcomes for fathers and children:

1. Modeling that demonstrates effective

parenting skills.

2. Opportunities for fathers to practice skills in

the program with their children.

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National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse - Resources

• Responsible Fatherhood Toolkit: Resources from

the Field

o www.fatherhood.gov/toolkit

• Webinars

o www.fatherhood.gov/webinars

• Call Center Helpline: 1-877-4DAD-411

• Library

o https://www.fatherhood.gov/library

• State profiles

o https://www.fatherhood.gov/about-us/nrfc-resources/nrfc-state-profiles

• Compendium of curricula

o http://tinyurl.com/nrfc-compendium-of-curricula

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• National Responsible Fatherhood

Clearinghouse: www.fatherhood.gov

• General information and inquiries:

info@fatherhood.gov

• Engage with us via social media:

Facebook: Fatherhoodgov

Twitter: @Fatherhoodgov

• NRFC Call Center Helpline: 1-877-4DAD-411

o Experienced counselors to talk with fathers,

mothers, and practitioners; mediation assistance

available; information on local contacts and resources.

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse - Resources

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Economic Stability Workforce Development

Conceptual Framework

Penny Tinsman Senior Project Manager, ICF

International, Office of Family Assistance Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Grantee

Technical Assistance Project

Economic Stability

Workforce

Development

Conceptual Framework

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The Need

• Lack of consensus on the best models for

economic stability activities and services.

• Gap in knowledge of economic stability

activities and services implementation.

• Challenges with integrating economic

stability into Healthy Marriage and

Responsible Fatherhood programs.

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Conceptual Framework

Helps HMRF grantees (and any community-

based program) understand the building

blocks of an ESWD program from

outreach/recruitment to job placement and

follow up through a highly networked system

of in-sourced and outsourced services. The

two parts of the ESWD Conceptual

Framework are the Conceptual Model and

Conceptual Process Map.

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Conceptual Model and Process Map

The two parts of the ESWD Conceptual

Framework are the:

• Conceptual Model: Provides a convenient

means to summarize the main

components of the framework

• Conceptual Process Map: Describes the

potential path of a participant through the

program

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Conceptual Model of an HMRF Community-based Workforce Strategy

The Conceptual Model comprises four major

components:

• Intake/Baseline Assessment

• Capacity Building

• Connecting to Job Openings

• Work Retention and Career

Advancement

Case Management, Client Plan and

Supportive Services connect these

components into an integrated whole.

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Intake and Assessment*

• Assessment / Screening for

personal needs and barriers

o Personal Challenges &

Strengths

o Logistical & Human

Capital Barriers

• Assessment of Job Skills and

Experience

o Aptitude and Ability Tests

o Interest and Personality or

Management Style

Inventories

• Motivational Interviewing

o Build motivation

o Career navigation

*Outreach & Recruitment • Targeting high-need/low-propensity recruits (e.g.

minority/low-income males) • Timing of services (e.g.,finding participants who

have both a need and the motivation to make a change)

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Case Management, Client Plan and Supportive Services

• Matching plans to client objectives

• Coordinating services

across providers

• Creating personal connections with

participants

• Assisting participants in

navigating service system

• Connecting clients to

services to address

personal challenges

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Participant Capacity Building

• Financial Management and Asset Building o Managing credit and debt o Mitigating Child Support

Arrearage (new to this part of the model)

• Interpersonal Skill and Job Readiness o Soft Skills o Job Search Skills

• Job Related Education and Training o Basic Educational Needs o Focused/Job-specific training

(often provided by community partners)

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Connecting to Job Openings

• Job Development o Build relationships with

potential employers and other partners

o Social entrepreneurship

• Job Placement o Focus on value-added

for employers

o Prepare employers for role as job coach

• Transitional Supports o Subsidized &Transitional

Employment

o Internship/ Apprenticeship

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Work Retention and Career Advancement

• Incentives

o Common in private

sector (e.g., bonuses)

o Earned Income Tax

Credit Benefits

• Ongoing Support

o Need continuity in staff

supports

o Address new barriers and

challenges that may

arise

• Up-skilling/career

advancement and enhancement

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Implementation of Conceptual Model: A Process Map

• The Conceptual Process

Map provides a guide on

how grantees will

implement the Conceptual

Model

• Although the Conceptual

Model is flexible and non-

linear, the Process Map

demonstrates the desired

outcomes (acquisition of

employment and

skill/income advancement)

and the flow of

engagement as

experienced by the

participant

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Contextual Factor that Impact Implementation

• Motivation and personal transformation o When people are ready to change their

lives, give them the skills

• Utilization of Labor Market Information o Programs need support to understand labor

market conditions as part of developing career pathways in demand industries with potential for advancement

• Recognition of aspects of cultural sensitivity to the target population o Programs need to recognize and accept

the cultural diversity among participants and its impact on service delivery

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Conclusion

Together these programmatic components

and services will help OFA and OFA grantees

to distill, share, and incorporate research-

validated practices into HMRF programs and

the other federally funded economic stability

initiatives. This Conceptual Framework should

assist grantees in closing the knowledge gap

and provide a basis for improving programs at

both the agency and funder level.

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To Ask a Question

To Download Resource Center Products Featured in this Webinar

Select Files Here

Use this Box to Ask a Question

Type Question Here and Hit

“Enter”

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Closing Remarks

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Thank You!

Please remember to provide your

feedback using the survey that

will that pop-up on your screen in

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Contact Information

Nigel Vann

• Nigel.Vann@icfi.com

• National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse

• www.fatherhood.gov

Penny Tinsman

• Penny.Tinsman@icfi.com

• Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood

Grantee Technical Assistance Project

• www.hmrf.acf.hhs.gov

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Contact Us

National Resource Center for Healthy Marriage and Families

www.HealthyMarriageandFamilies.org

Email: info@HealthyMarriageandFamilies.org

Phone:

866-916-4672