Father’s Day is June 17. Child Welfare Information Gateway offers these resources to help child welfare professionals strengthen their ability to engage fathers and paternal families, develop relationships, and establish this important parenting connection.

“When you begin to reach out and to engage the father and the father’s side of the family, you just doubled the resources that are there for that child”
– Pat Littlejohn, South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families

ON THE PODCAST

Engaging Fathers
Some agencies in the child welfare field have difficulty engaging fathers and paternal families. Listen to our three-part series called Engaging Fathers, and learn more about how and why to get assistance in reaching out to fathers and their families.

Part 1 and Part 2 feature a conversation with leaders of fatherhood organizations, who discuss the value of creating a father-friendly child welfare system, how to partner with fatherhood organizations, and the often unheard perspective of fathers.

Part 3 highlights an example of a successful partnership between a local child welfare agency and fatherhood organization.

FOR PROFESSIONALS

Engaging Fathers and Paternal Family Members
Find state and local examples on engaging fathers, research reports, tips on assessing father involvement policies and practices, lessons learned, and more.

Fatherhood Resources
This list of resources includes organizations and articles that support fathers at individual and community levels, offering parenting help and child welfare information.

FOR FAMILIES

The Rights of Unmarried Fathers
See each state’s legal definition of “father” and how to establish paternity with this publication from our State Statutes series.

Child Welfare Information Gateway values your feedback. Be sure to let them know how they’re doing by taking our survey! For more information, visit our website, email us at info@childwelfare.gov, or call us toll-free at 1.800.394.3366.