Engaging Dads

03/22/2017 Source:  Office of Communication Services, CTAHR

Selva Lewin-Bizan (FCS), in collaboration with Maui Family Support Services, is inaugurating a new project to deliver parenting ideas and support for low-income fathers via text-messaging. Single, never-married, noncustodial fathers face all sorts of barriers to positive emotional bonding and long-term involvement in their children’s lives, and while there are programs that promote the participation of fathers in the lives of their children, these fathers are unlikely to participate in traditional interventions due to competing demands on their time and resources. Selva has developed a 12-week text-messaging intervention curriculum offering information about child development, tips about ways fathers can become engaged with their children, and encouragement of men in their roles as fathers, as well as pre- and post-program assessments, focus groups, and brief questionnaires. The study is funded by the Fatherhood Research and Practice Network.