The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) is a sizeable repository of fatherhood resources and activities funded by the Office of Family Assistance. It was established for two main purposes: (1) to develop, promote, and distribute a national responsible fatherhood media campaign and (2) to be a resource for fathers, fatherhood practitioners, fatherhood programs, federal responsible fatherhood grantees, states, human services providers and agencies, and the public at large. The target audience includes fatherhood stakeholders who are serving, researching, or interested in supporting healthy fathers and families. This 2024 National Fatherhood Summit session provided an overview of the NRFC resources that can help practitioners enhance their fatherhood services.

The National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse’s Dadication is the idea that involved fathers make essential contributions to their children’s wellbeing, even when they are parenting during tough times and circumstances. This 2024 National Fatherhood Summit session included a viewing of the DADication documentary, followed by a compelling panel discussion focusing on the transformative campaign. This session delved into the significant achievements and learning experiences derived from the campaign’s efforts to promote responsible fatherhood. Panelists, including key contributors and experts from the campaign, shared their firsthand experiences, discussed the challenges faced, and explored the strategies that led to successful outcomes. Participants gained valuable insights into how targeted initiatives can effectively support and engage fathers, thereby enriching family dynamics and community well-being. This discussion aimed to inspire other organizations and individuals by showcasing actionable models and practices that can be adapted to their own fatherhood support efforts.

This 2024 National Fatherhood Summit session included leadership from the federal Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood (HMRF) programs who reflected on some of the important lessons learned over the past five years and discussed potential fruitful directions for the next five years. Then leadership engaged in a Q&A with the audience to answer attendees' questions and hear ideas on how HMRF programming can be adapted to contexts across the country. Federal HMRF programs will use discussions like this to inform the anticipated 2025 Notices of Funding Opportunity.

The Office of Family Assistance (OFA) sponsors the National Responsible Fatherhood Alliance (NRFA), an initiative aimed at equipping exemplary participants in OFA-funded responsible fatherhood programs to transition successfully to the role of fatherhood practitioners and emerging leaders in the field. Once fathers are selected for participation in the NRFA, they undergo capacity building and training, receive individualized training from highly qualified coaches, and gain opportunities to contribute to national practice, policy, and research discussions. Attendees of this 2024 National Fatherhood Summit session learned more about this initiative from fatherhood practitioners who span the spectrum of program roles.

Earlier this year, the Office of Family Assistance (OFA) convened in Georgia for the 2024 National Fatherhood Summit and brought together fathers; fatherhood practitioners and advocates; federal, state, and local government leaders; tribal representatives; social services agency representatives; researchers; and representatives from institutions of higher learning from across the nation to share knowledge, best practices, and innovative strategies for engaging and supporting dads. Over two and a half days, participants immersed themselves in a community of passionate changemakers as they explored cutting-edge research, impactful program models, and policy recommendations. Participants uncovered ways to enhance services and systems that empower fathers to be an active, loving presence in their children's lives and pillars of strength in their communities.

OFA has released this webpage that reflects the agenda for the 2024 Summit and contains materials and recordings (as available, with permission) for sessions

This 2024 National Fatherhood Summit workshop shared the story of the Michigan Action Plan for Father Involvement (MAP-FI) and the collaboration between fatherhood practitioners and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. MAP-FI is a model for other locations interested in expanding support for father involvement and establishing permanent structures that support policies and programs benefiting fathers and their families. This session offered ideas and guidance about how to create similar coalitions in other localities, what initiatives these coalitions can take on, and the impact and importance of bringing these groups together.

Incentive-based strategies can significantly enhance participation in fatherhood programs, particularly when they are tailored to meet the specific needs of the program’s target population. However, these strategies must be carefully designed to combine immediate rewards with strategies that balance the use of incentives with efforts to foster intrinsic motivation and personal autonomy. This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse resource discusses the impact of fatherhood programs that integrate incentives into program activities and regular assessments of the incentive strategies.

All states may choose to allocate a portion of their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars to support fatherhood work. Despite this funding opportunity, very few states have taken advantage of it. States may have other priorities for the use of their TANF dollars, decision makers may not be aware of all the benefits of father involvement for child wellbeing, or TANF program leaders may have limited knowledge about the components of fatherhood programs and how to start/maintain fatherhood programming. This National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse spotlight demystifies the process for using TANF funds to support fatherhood programming and looks at how Ohio has used their state TANF funds to support father-related services through the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood (OCF). The spotlight details the history of how OCF was established, how it works to meet four specific goals, and how its work throughout the state addresses two of the four purposes of the TANF legislation.

Many of the men who participate in fatherhood programs may have experienced trauma from adverse childhood experiences, community violence, or incarceration. Traumatic experiences can have a negative impact on fathers’ own functioning as well as on their children’s well-being, particularly for men of color or those with low incomes. In recent years, fatherhood programs and other social service providers have become more aware of how traumatic experiences can impact program participants. However, there is still a need to ensure that practitioners incorporate recognized, trauma-informed (TI) practices into their services. This MDRC brief provides practical information and easy-to-use tools designed to support TI practices in a fatherhood program context.

In support of the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) mission and strategic plan, ACF has developed a set of materials intended to provide guidance to hard-to-reach populations to increase their awareness and understanding of the array of resources that may be able to assist them. These resources are explicitly designed to be user-friendly and easy to digest. The materials include resources for transition-age youth exiting foster care, families with children ages 0-12, prospective Head Start participants, survivors of domestic violence looking to find and keep housing, fathers looking for benefits programs or parenting tips, and providers supporting those seeking post-disaster housing.