The numbers behind fatherlessness are staggering. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24 million children in America – one out of three – live without their biological father in the home. Research shows that when a child is raised in a father-absent home, he or she is more likely to experience behavioral problems, commit a crime, spend time in prison, face abuse and/or neglect, abuse drugs and/or alcohol, suffer from obesity, and drop out of school. In fact, girls who grow up without a father are seven times more likely to become pregnant as a teen, and they have twice the risk of infant mortality.
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| Abel Munoz (left) and Aaron Rosecrans (right), present the Van Buren FOC’s 24/7 Dads program session on co-parenting. |
There are many agencies and organizations that strive to end father absence. One of those is the National Fatherhood Initiative® (NFI). NFI is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1994 with a singular vision: for every child to grow up with a responsible, involved, and committed father.
In September of 2017, the NFI began seeking partner organizations to expand their signature father-involvement program, 24/7 Dad®.
The 24/7 Dad program is an evidence-based curriculum designed to teach men to be responsible, involved, and committed to their children 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The program is designed to develop and reinforce five characteristics of effective fathers:
24/7 Dad is delivered through 12 two-hour weekly sessions with each focusing on a different topic, including: family history, masculinity, handling emotions, men’s health and stress, communication, the role of a father, discipline, children’s growth, getting involved, coparenting, and balancing work and family. A facilitator guides the men through discussion and self-reflection to teach and reinforce positive approaches to fathering issues.
In October 2017, the Van Buren County Friend of the Court (FOC) office was selected as an expansion location for the 24/7 Dad program. NFI provided facilitator training for two staff members and provided all the materials necessary to present the program at no cost to the FOC. NFI had one requirement: to serve 30 dads by mid-August 2018.
As Case Managers, we (Aaron Rosecrans and Abel Muñoz) were selected to present the Van Buren FOC program. We were the only two dads in the office, and we happily volunteered.
To promote the program, we first ran an ad in a local newspaper, then we developed flyers and posted them throughout the county. We included flyers in all FOC mail to parents and began to reach out to community partners, such as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, specialty courts, State Probation and Parole, Great Start Collaborative, the Van Buren County Bar Association, Community Mental Health, the Domestic Violence Coalition, and many more. We attended local outreach events and sent program information to all of the school districts and libraries in the county.
After some discussion, we decided that we did not want to order dads to attend the program. We agreed that if attendance were required, it could influence participation or could become disruptive to the rest of the group. Ultimately, we did have a limited number of dads who were required to attend the program. Outside agencies were encouraged to refer their clients to our program if they were providing services. Child Protective Services and Foster Care, in particular, referred a significant number of fathers to our program.
We held our first session on January 11, 2018, and had seven dads present. Our goal for the first session was to establish a relaxed and humorous atmosphere by sharing our own good and bad experiences, from perspectives as fathers and as sons growing up with our fathers. We tried to humanize ourselves, and our efforts paid off. The following week, the number of dads in attendance grew to 11. (It may have helped that we had pizza and pop available, but the jury is still out on that one.)
Throughout the program, we were able to form a partnership with the Van Buren County Great Start Collaborative (Great Start). Great Start was able to cover some of the costs of the program through grant funding. Specifically, Great Start paid for all of the food and drinks, provided gas cards, and arranged to have a childcare provider available at every session. Great Start provided gift bags for any dad with infants, toddlers, or preschoolers. The bags were filled with age-appropriate toys, books, games, and activities, and included information about child development.
To date, we have presented the full 24/7 Dad program three times in Van Buren County, including one program inside the Van Buren County Jail. In total, 43 dads ranging from the ages of 23 to 55 have participated in the program. Through those dads, our office has impacted the lives of 120 children.
At the end of each program, we ask the dads to fill out a short anonymous survey asking for their thoughts. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive. When asked about what they enjoyed most, the dads said that they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, the people, openness, conversation, and honesty. When asked what they liked least about the program, most of the dads said nothing. Even though the program consists of 12 weekly sessions, we did have a couple of dads say that the program was too short.
The experience of presenting this program has been highly rewarding. We have been able to interact with our clients in ways that we are unable to do in our normal roles as FOC staff members. The dads who completed the program had a better understanding of their role as a father and how their actions impact their children. The fathers were also better equipped to communicate and coparent with the mothers of their children. We have observed that we receive fewer phone calls from the dads who completed the program, and we believe that is because they are using the skills they learned in the 24/7 Dad program.
Moving forward, we plan to continue to offer the 24/7 Dad program and cover the cost of the necessary materials through the Circuit Court Counseling Fund. We also plan to continue our outreach efforts to better equip the parental toolbox of the fathers in our community.
At the 12th and final session of 24/7 Dad, we like to leave the dads with a quote that we feel sums up the message of the program. The late Billy Graham once said, “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
For more information about Van Buren FOC’s 24/7 Dad program, please contact Aaron at RosecransA@vbco.org or Abel at MunozA@vbco.org.
Aaron Rosecrans is the Custody and Parenting Time Case Manager at the Van Buren County FOC. He is the father of two boys, ages 4 and 1.
Abel Muñoz is the Early Intervention Case Manager at the Van Buren County FOC. He is the father of two boys, ages 13 and 10, and a 2-year-old daughter.
- Self-awareness;
- Caring for self;
- Fathering skills;
- Parenting skills; and
- Relationship skills.
24/7 Dad is delivered through 12 two-hour weekly sessions with each focusing on a different topic, including: family history, masculinity, handling emotions, men’s health and stress, communication, the role of a father, discipline, children’s growth, getting involved, coparenting, and balancing work and family. A facilitator guides the men through discussion and self-reflection to teach and reinforce positive approaches to fathering issues.
In October 2017, the Van Buren County Friend of the Court (FOC) office was selected as an expansion location for the 24/7 Dad program. NFI provided facilitator training for two staff members and provided all the materials necessary to present the program at no cost to the FOC. NFI had one requirement: to serve 30 dads by mid-August 2018.
As Case Managers, we (Aaron Rosecrans and Abel Muñoz) were selected to present the Van Buren FOC program. We were the only two dads in the office, and we happily volunteered.
To promote the program, we first ran an ad in a local newspaper, then we developed flyers and posted them throughout the county. We included flyers in all FOC mail to parents and began to reach out to community partners, such as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, specialty courts, State Probation and Parole, Great Start Collaborative, the Van Buren County Bar Association, Community Mental Health, the Domestic Violence Coalition, and many more. We attended local outreach events and sent program information to all of the school districts and libraries in the county.
After some discussion, we decided that we did not want to order dads to attend the program. We agreed that if attendance were required, it could influence participation or could become disruptive to the rest of the group. Ultimately, we did have a limited number of dads who were required to attend the program. Outside agencies were encouraged to refer their clients to our program if they were providing services. Child Protective Services and Foster Care, in particular, referred a significant number of fathers to our program.
We held our first session on January 11, 2018, and had seven dads present. Our goal for the first session was to establish a relaxed and humorous atmosphere by sharing our own good and bad experiences, from perspectives as fathers and as sons growing up with our fathers. We tried to humanize ourselves, and our efforts paid off. The following week, the number of dads in attendance grew to 11. (It may have helped that we had pizza and pop available, but the jury is still out on that one.)
Throughout the program, we were able to form a partnership with the Van Buren County Great Start Collaborative (Great Start). Great Start was able to cover some of the costs of the program through grant funding. Specifically, Great Start paid for all of the food and drinks, provided gas cards, and arranged to have a childcare provider available at every session. Great Start provided gift bags for any dad with infants, toddlers, or preschoolers. The bags were filled with age-appropriate toys, books, games, and activities, and included information about child development.
To date, we have presented the full 24/7 Dad program three times in Van Buren County, including one program inside the Van Buren County Jail. In total, 43 dads ranging from the ages of 23 to 55 have participated in the program. Through those dads, our office has impacted the lives of 120 children.
At the end of each program, we ask the dads to fill out a short anonymous survey asking for their thoughts. The responses have been overwhelmingly positive. When asked about what they enjoyed most, the dads said that they enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, the people, openness, conversation, and honesty. When asked what they liked least about the program, most of the dads said nothing. Even though the program consists of 12 weekly sessions, we did have a couple of dads say that the program was too short.
The experience of presenting this program has been highly rewarding. We have been able to interact with our clients in ways that we are unable to do in our normal roles as FOC staff members. The dads who completed the program had a better understanding of their role as a father and how their actions impact their children. The fathers were also better equipped to communicate and coparent with the mothers of their children. We have observed that we receive fewer phone calls from the dads who completed the program, and we believe that is because they are using the skills they learned in the 24/7 Dad program.
Moving forward, we plan to continue to offer the 24/7 Dad program and cover the cost of the necessary materials through the Circuit Court Counseling Fund. We also plan to continue our outreach efforts to better equip the parental toolbox of the fathers in our community.
At the 12th and final session of 24/7 Dad, we like to leave the dads with a quote that we feel sums up the message of the program. The late Billy Graham once said, “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
For more information about Van Buren FOC’s 24/7 Dad program, please contact Aaron at RosecransA@vbco.org or Abel at MunozA@vbco.org.
Aaron Rosecrans is the Custody and Parenting Time Case Manager at the Van Buren County FOC. He is the father of two boys, ages 4 and 1.
Abel Muñoz is the Early Intervention Case Manager at the Van Buren County FOC. He is the father of two boys, ages 13 and 10, and a 2-year-old daughter.
