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:
• 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!
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will that pop-up on your screen in
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webinar concludes.
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Contact Information
Nigel Vann
• National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse
• www.fatherhood.gov
Penny Tinsman
• 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: [email protected]
Phone:
866-916-4672