Office of Family Assistance
Responsible Fatherhood Demonstration

Allowable Activity: Economic Stability - helping fathers improve their economic status by providing job search, job training, subsidized employment, and career advancement education (#1); coordinating with existing employment services (#2); disseminating employment materials (#3); and offering financial planning that encompasses household management, banking, and/or budgeting (#4).

Organization Description: Archuleta Co. DHS currently administers a transportation grant for low income families, a social responsibility treatment grant, and a wellness center at the local high school. All caseworkers work with low income fathers, providing supportive coaching in areas including parenting, financial management and life planning. A previous fatherhood program ran from 1999-2001 and included a support group for fathers and a parenting class.

Use of ACF Program Grant Funds: The primary goal of the project is to provide support services to approximately 400 men to increase economic stability among low-income fathers in Archuleta County, Colorado by: 1) providing housing support when fathers are in economic crisis; 2) providing legal fees to assist fathers in child visitation; 3) promoting vocational skills training; 4) offering support groups; 5) providing workshops on financial management; and 6) providing volunteer mentors for fathers in the program.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Community Access

Allowable Activities: Responsible Parenting

Organization Description: The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) is the second largest agency in Colorado State Government, with a state budget of $1.8 billion. CDHS oversees the state’s 64 county departments of social and human services, the state’s public mental health system, the system of services for people with developmental disabilities, the state’s juvenile corrections system and all state and veteran’s nursing homes.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) will use these funds to: (1) strengthen and increase the involvement and parenting skills of fathers of at risk children through community based direct services such as parent skills training and healthy marriage/couples relationships as core services; (2) build systems capacity and community awareness through state level coordination and public outreach activities including a public awareness ad campaign focusing on the importance of fathers, a web site with information about all services, programs and support to fathers, and an annual training academy on fatherhood.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity: Responsible Parenting - skill-based parenting education (#1); disseminating parenting practices information (#2); counseling, mentoring, and mediation (#3); disseminating information on the causes of domestic violence and child abuse (#4); and encouraging child support activities (#5).

Organization Description: MCHHS has established a Free Primary Health Care Clinic for the uninsured and a Community Dental Clinic. Staff has also implemented a Nurturing Program and the Partners in Parenting curriculum, both of which will be used in this project. Partners in the initiative include a Council of Collaborators, made up other relevant community service providers who will provide planning and implementation oversight.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Montrose County has 1682 fathers involved in the county’s Child Support Enforcement Program; a majority of these fathers will be referred in the first year. Referrals will also be made from Child Support and other programs within Montrose County. Fathers will be provided with a team of coaches/mentors to provide individual attention, advocacy and mediation to improve their relationships with their families and access appropriate community services as needed. Parenting classes, individual and group therapy and father/child recreational activities will also be supported through the grant.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity: Responsible Parenting - skill-based parenting education (#1); disseminating parenting practices information (#2); counseling, mentoring, and mediation (#3); disseminating information on the causes of domestic violence and child abuse (#4); and encouraging child support activities (#5).

Organization Description: DIFRC is metro Denver’s only American Indian family resource center, serving members of 70 tribes represented throughout the area who are isolated form traditional support systems. DIRFC provides support, family reunification and preservation, healing programs, case management and community referrals to approximately 35 families monthly, including single fathers.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The program’s goals are to increase participants’ involvement in raising their children and providing healthy role models. Within a cultural context, Native American fathers will commit to improving nurturing relationships, using healthy discipline and communication techniques and developing financial responsibility. Initiatives will focus on curriculums covering areas including employment and strengthening family involvement, as well as follow up reinforcement (talking circles, sweat lodges, etc.). There will also be on-going activities providing opportunities for fathers to interact positively with their children and the children’s mother, their partners and community resources available to reinforce their strengths.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activities: Responsible Parenting - skill-based parenting education (#1); Economic Stability - helping fathers improve their economic status by providing job search, job training, subsidized employment, and career advancement education (#1); and offering financial planning that encompasses household management, banking, and/or budgeting (#4).

Organizational Description: The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes manage programs under the Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975; including TANF and an array of family support and social services.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Funds will be used to: offer intake, assessment, and case management and support services to 30 program participants; facilitate weekly support group for 8 to 10 program participants; provide parenting education classes; provide leadership development in the acquisition of skills and confidence to sustain program goals; provide economic stability activities including job search, job training, subsidized employment; provide financial literacy course. Financial Literacy Courses will be used to support the economic stability components.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity: Economic Stability - helping fathers improve their economic status by providing job search, job training, subsidized employment, and career advancement education (#1); coordinating with existing employment services (#2); disseminating employment materials (#3); and offering financial planning that encompasses household management, banking, and/or budgeting (#4).

Organization Description: WORD is a nonprofit agency that has been providing services to low income families for the last 20 years. They are currently home to five programs that address problems of poverty, family literacy, teen pregnancy and homelessness. WORD has received six previous grants from the federal Departments of HHS and Education and has won several national awards for their initiatives.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The overall goal of the Center will be to provide a comprehensive approach to services that will 1) increase employability and self-sufficiency and 2) support young fathers’ positive and consistent involvement in the economic, emotional and physical well-being of their children. Services will include case management, resource and referral, employment services, legal assistance/referral, skill building workshops, monthly peer support group and individual/couples counseling.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity Areas: Healthy Marriage - Skill-based marriage education (#1); Enhancing relationship skills (#5); Counseling, mentoring, benefits to children (#6); Controlling aggressive behavior (#7); Responsible Parenting -: Skills-based parenting (#1); Good parenting practices (#2); Counseling, mentoring and mediation (#3); Domestic Violence and child abuse (#4).

Organization Description: Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota, a faith based organization, has served the people of South Dakota since 1920. Its counseling program began in 1960 and currently serves more than 6,000 clients each year through offices in eight cities across the state. Licensed by the State of South Dakota, LSS is one of only three South Dakota agencies accredited by the Council on Accreditation for Child and Family Services. The largest non-profit human service agency in the state, LSS served more than 34,000 people last year through a variety of programs in 26 communities.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: This project is designed to encourage responsible fatherhood in participating inmates within the context of marriage. Inmates will achieve this goal through participating voluntarily with their spouse or partner in the evidence-based PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program) marriage education program during incarceration. Inmates and their spouses/partners will also be offered counseling and assessment as the inmate prepares to re-enter the community as well as continued counseling in the family home or community after the inmate has been released. This new program will complement the prison system’s existing fatherhood and economic stability programs. This program is projected to service approximately 275 participants annually, totaling an estimated 1,300 to 1,400 inmates and their spouses or partners over the five year project period.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity Areas: Healthy Marriage - Skill-based marriage education (#1); Enhancing relationship skills (#5); Counseling, mentoring, benefits to children (#6); Controlling aggressive behavior (#7); Responsible Parenting - Skills-based parenting (#1); Good parenting practices (#2); Counseling, mentoring and mediation (#3); Domestic Violence and child abuse (#4); Child Support (#5); and Economic Stability -Work services, job search and training, education (#1); Employment training initiatives (#2); Employment materials (#3); Financial planning and household management (#4).

Organization Description: Cangleska, Inc. is a domestic violence and sexual assault prevention/intervention program located on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, South Dakota, home of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. Operating since 1989 as a tribal agency, Cangleska received tribal charter and recognition as a South Dakota corporation in 1996. Cangleska, Inc. operates such services as domestic violence shelters, domestic violence men’s re-education, domestic violence probation, outreach advocacy, Stronghold (civil legal services), Tokahe Wicayapi supervised visitation center, Smoke Signals (integrated criminal justice networking), and coordinated community response (system monitoring and training).

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: This project will allow participants to engage in enhanced education regarding how to control, reduce, and eliminate aggressive behavior within the context of marriage and engage in responsible parenting activities as well as activities that will foster economic stability. The objective of this project is to: 1) Increase the knowledge base and capacity of fathers to partner in marriage and father their children in a respectful and healthy manner; 2) Increase the cultural knowledge of Ki Wicasa participants through cultural immersion experiences; 3) Increase the successful transition from detention to re-entry into the community as marriage partners; and 4) Provide support to promote community expectations of Lakota men as responsible husbands and fathers.