Responsible fatherhood and thriving families

	for more information… Chantel Walker Program Officer, Community Development 5 Hamilton Landing, Suite 200 Novato, CA 94949 415-464-2522 cwalker@marincf.org www.marincf.org

Supporting fathers and families is at the heart of a partnership between the Marin Community Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Alliance for Fathers, Families and Children.

Since 2000, the Marin Community Foundation (MCF), through its Thriving Families Initiative, has worked with a broad network of local public agencies and nonprofits to strengthen support for local families. In 2001, MCF added a focus on fathers by forming the Alliance for Fathers, Families and Children.

The Alliance is a network of Marin County human service organizations working together to think creatively and strategically about the needs of fathers and families. It is supported by MCF and the Hewlett Foundation’s Responsible Fatherhood and Male Involvement project.

Alliance agencies identify and recruit low-income, noncustodial fathers and support their positive involvement in their children’s lives through parenting education, job training and referral, fatherhood support groups, and innovative strategies to address child support issues and visitation rights.

Alliance agencies bring to the task experience working with diverse populations of fathers, e.g., undocumented dads, fathers preparing for reentry from the criminal justice system, fathers enrolled in substance abuse recovery programs.

Despite the seeming differences in the needs of these fathers, Alliance agencies have identified commonalities. In response, they have forged several innovative strategies to reduce barriers and increase community support for responsible fatherhood.

Child Support Arrearage
One idea to increase father involvement grew from relationships MCF built with public officials. In 2001, the county’s child support director attended a Coalition of Community Foundations for Youth fathers and families policy forum, which examined how departments of child support services are increasing father involvement. The foundation had similar discussions with the county’s family court facilitator, who assists low-income families in court.

All the parties agreed: insurmountable child support arrearages owed to the state were hampering fathers’ involvement with their children. In many cases, arrearages had grown while fathers were unemployed or in prison.

A policy was crafted allowing fathers active in parenting classes, job training, or other support programs to have first priority for referrals to the District Attorney’s office to get help with arrearage reduction. Fathers who have their arrearages reduced must stay current with child support payments.

Successful Reentry
When parents are in prison, they can’t pay child support. Perhaps more importantly, they can lose contact with their families and communities. When prisoners without strong family and community links are released from prison, they are more likely to become recidivists.

With support from MCF, Centerforce, a statewide organization, now provides parenting classes and counseling to help prisoners at the Marin County jail make successful transitions back into their community. It also trains Marin social service agencies on how to address the needs of recently released parents.

Fatherhood Fun
While the bulk of the Alliance’s work is focused on providing in-depth support services to fathers and families, it also works to spread the word about the importance of fathers to families and to promote the joys of responsible fatherhood. Each spring on the day before Father’s Day, MCF and the Alliance host a fatherhood picnic to celebrate Marin’s fathers and other positive male influences in the lives of children.

In 2003, the fourth annual picnic attracted more than 400 community members. Media attention helped increase visibility for fatherhood issues. The picnic also provides an opportunity to strengthen relationships between Alliance agency staff members and fathers from the Alliance member agencies who help plan and run the event.

The Alliance has laid an important foundation for collaborative efforts to help fathers and other men become more involved with children and families and has created an exciting sense of possibility among agencies serving families. For the Marin Community Foundation, responsible fatherhood and male involvement efforts are crucial strategies for ensuring that Marin children and families thrive.