Father Engagement in Child Welfare: Lessons for Fatherhood Programs

Child welfare agencies and fatherhood programs often serve similar populations and have some overlapping services and goals. Given their similarities, some lessons are transferable between the two. The child welfare agencies that participated in the Fathers and Continuous Learning in Child Welfare (FCL) project tested several father engagement strategies that can provide lessons for fatherhood programs seeking to deepen their father engagement work. This Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation brief highlights FCL strategies that can be helpful for fatherhood programs seeking to strengthen community and service partnerships, sustain their programs by solidifying buy-in, prioritize racial equity initiatives, integrate fathers’ voices into the broader system of services, and document their programs’ engagement efforts.