ENGAGING FATHERS & FATHER FIGURES |
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Community of Practice - Engaging Fathers and Father Figures in Early Childhood Systems of Care
We are excited to invite you to continue the conversation in our Community of Practice--now with session descriptions!
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OVERVIEW OF THE SERIES
In an effective system of care, families are essential partners at the levels of service, management, and policymaking. As part of the process of engaging families, it is crucial to engage fathers and father figures in children’s mental health and related human services that have historically been framed as mother- and child-serving systems. Researchers have learned that fathers have a critical role in children’s mental health but need more support to fulfill their potential (L. Khan, 2017).
Join us for a Community of Practice to listen to what fathers and grandfathers have learned in their advocacy journeys on behalf of their young children with or potentially with social-emotional and behavioral health needs. We will also hear from applied researchers, program leaders, and state leaders who have been fine-tuning approaches for engaging fathers and father figures from vulnerable communities in families and systems. In our work together, participants will be supported in thinking through ways to embed and enhance father-friendly strategies at the agency and systems level.
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SCHEDULE
Thursdays, 2:00-2:45 p.m. ET / 1:00-1:45 p.m. CT / 12:00-12:45 p.m. MT / 11:00-11:45 a.m. PT / 10:00-10:45 a.m. AKT / 8:00-8:45 a.m. HT
DESCRIPTION OF EACH SESSION
This Week! May 20: Exploring Frameworks for Engagement of Fathers and Father Figures
For our first session, we will hear from federal researchers Emily Hopkins and Matthew Cournoyer from an agency within the Office of the Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS/ASPE) that uses policy and research to improve programming. Emily and Matthew will discuss a new framework coming together based on consultations with experts in the field and on case studies of engaging fathers and father figures broadly in human services programs, including programs that do not historically serve fathers. The framework has program-, organization-, and system-level components. CoP participants will have the chance to think through how the engagement strategies presented apply to their specific work in early childhood systems of care.
May 27: Strategies for Engaging Fathers and Father Figures in Services
We will have the pleasure of hearing from George Fleming, an advocate, trainer, coach and consultant with over three decades of experience helping staff from human services agencies to engage with fathers and father figures in trauma-informed and culturally appropriate ways. George will discuss both his own journey to this work, as well as his more focused efforts in Pennsylvania to support fathers and father figures caring for children with behavioral health challenges.
June 3: Engaging with Fathers and Father Figures from Special Populations
We will have the opportunity to learn with Ricky Traner, a local leader in the field of early childhood intervention who has worked with the City of Milwaukee in home visitation, with Milwaukee County’s Healthy Start program, and with the Wisconsin Department of Children & Families. Ricky will share experiences of partnering with fathers, father figures, and their families from special populations, such as families who are new immigrants or refugees, parenting teens, and family members who are non-binary and/or identify as male. Ricky will help us reflect on maternal and paternal parenting styles across cultural contexts, and will guide participants in thinking about engagement approaches that are specific to the populations you serve in early childhood systems of care.
June 10: Centering Fatherhood Programming on Lived Experience
Join us for a rich discussion with Kyle Delaney and Peter Slom, who for the past several years have facilitated peer support groups for fathers and father figures through Rhode Island’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families. Like many of the clients they work with, Peter and Kyle have lived experience with several of the service systems that comprise our systems of care—both as recipients of services, and as program leaders. Kyle and Peter will help us understand how they build on their own experiences in connecting with, recruiting, and retaining other fathers and father figures into programs and supports that they facilitate. For this final CoP session, we will share reflections about how our own experiences in families and systems intersects with and informs our work in building early childhood systems of care.
FACILITATORS (TO BE JOINED BY THE GUEST HOSTS LISTED ABOVE)
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Pamala Trivedi is a licensed psychologist, nationally certified school psychologist, policy expert, and applied behavioral health researcher with more than two decades of experience supporting young children and their families. Pamala is committed to strengths-based, resilience-focused approaches, and brings a national policy lens to her work in building and sustaining early childhood systems. Pamala’s interest in leveraging the strengths of fathers, father figures, grandparents and kinship caregivers in systems-building springs from her work in examining natural family and community strengths to buffer the effects of early adversity. Pamala is currently a research faculty member at Georgetown University’s Center for Child and Human Development. As the mom of a child with behavioral health needs, Pamala has been a tireless advocate for embedding social-emotional supports in inclusive educational settings.
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Jane A. Walker is a licensed social worker and the mother of five children. Ms. Walker’s second oldest daughter, Cathy, developed mental health needs as a young child and was sent out of state to residential care at age 12 because, at the time, services were not available in Maryland. As a result of that experience, Ms. Walker has devoted her life to improving services for children with mental health needs and their families. She was a founding member of the National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health in 1989 and served as President of the Federation Board of Directors for two years. In 1999, she founded the Maryland Coalition of Families for Children’s Mental Health and served as Executive Director for 14 years. Ms. Walker served as the first Executive Director of FREDLA from January of 2014 through December of 2018. Ms. Walker is the recipient of numerous awards for her advocacy and leadership in children’s mental health.
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New Resource! Key Takeaways: Important Roles of Fathers and Grandfathers in Families, Programs, and Systems
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OVERVIEW
On May 13, the Infant & Early Childhood Team hosted Important Roles for Fathers, Grandfathers, and Father Figures in Families, Programs and Systems (webinar recording). In this webinar, we had the chance to engage with David Armstrong, a grandfather who grew into an advocacy role after accompanying his grandson, DeAndre, on his journey through school, health, and behavioral health systems. Our new two-page brief offers considerations and resources for approaching family engagement more inclusively in the context of systems of care.
Check it out now, and we hope you will join us for the Community of Practice!
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Disclaimer: The views, opinions, and content expressed in this email do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or policies of the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). |
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