Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity Area: Responsible Parenting - Skill-based parenting (#1); Good parenting practices (#2); Counseling, mentoring and mediation (#3); and Domestic violence and child abuse awareness (#4).

Organization Description: The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a campus of the University of Arkansas System, a land-grant institution of higher educations. UAMS is the state’s only institution of professional and graduate education devoted solely to the health and biological sciences. UAMS employs over 10,000 people, State, federal and private foundation monies support the institution and its services.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The purpose of the program is to deliver an innovative model of service delivery for parent education—the Brief Parenting Intervention (BPI) model. The BPI Model is an alternative structure for parenting education tailored to parent’s immediate needs, and allows for immediate feedback to increase parenting self-efficacy. BPIs are brief lessons (5-20 minutes) that provide parenting education in small doses over an extended period of time in immediate response to families’ need for information and assistance.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activities: Healthy Marriage - relationship skill education (#5). The responsible parenting components include: skill-based parenting education (#1); disseminating information on the causes of domestic violence and child abuse (#4); and encouraging child support activities (#5). The economic stability components include: helping fathers improve their economic status by providing job training and job placement services (#1).

Organizational Description: The Southern University Center for Social Research develops and implements programs targeting the needs of low-income single parents and displaced workers. Past projects have included: Fathers-N-Families; The Minority Worker Training Project; and Gang, Drug, and Alcohol Prevention.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Funds will be used to provide: multi-pronged training in basic skills education, life skills, critical thinking and decision making, job readiness training, parenting skills development, responsible fatherhood training, co-parenting skills, and peer-to-peer skill development; opportunities for fathers and their children to participate in family relationship building experiences; an environmental remediation technical skills training leading to certification in Hazmat, Mold Remediation, and Construction; and fathers with assistance in job identification, job searching, and job placement referrals. The Responsible Fatherhood Curriculum will be utilized to support project activities.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activity Area: Responsible Parenting - Skill-based parenting (#1); Good parenting practices (#2); counseling, mentoring and mediation (#3); Domestic violence and child abuse (#4); and Child Support.

Organization Description: The St. Mary-Vermillion Community Action Agency, Inc. is a human service organization that has been in existence since 1967. This agency delivers human services to minority and economically underprivileged residents of St. Mary Parish and Vermillion Parish. The mission of this agency is to alleviate poverty for low-income citizens through strategic planning and implementation of projects and services.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: This project will implement a program to be known as the “Healthy Fathers, Healthy Families Initiative”. The primary goal of this project is to encourage, develop and maintain an ongoing interaction with fathers and non-custodial fathers of children enrolled in Head Start, fathers who are Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees and fathers in the Non-Support Enforcement Court System. The project will serve 120 such fathers whose income is below the Federal poverty level by enhancing the educational, financial, and emotional stability of these men.

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: The Departments of Family and Consumer Sciences and Extension Home Economics in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics at New Mexico State University has a longstanding tradition of providing services to families in New Mexico. The university, founded as a land grant institution, offers comprehensive programs to a diverse population. The Extension Home Economics Department helps New Mexicans use research-based knowledge to improve the quality of their lives. The department provides educational programs and outreach to 33 counties, 19 Indian Pueblos and 4 reservations.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The Strengthening Families Initiative, “Incarcerated Fathers Program” will promote responsible fatherhood by: 1) providing extensive research based parenting education; 2) providing life skills education; 3) disseminating domestic violence information; 4) mailing projects to inmates’ children and educational materials to their parenting partner; 5) providing community-based referrals as need; 6) co-sponsoring two Family Day events; and 7) distributing newsletters statewide.

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).

Organizational Description: Southwest Key is a private, non-profit agency that was established in 1987 to provide community based services as an alternative to detention and long-term incarceration for youth. Its mission has been expanded to include family preservation programs and support groups.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Provide skills based parenting education and/or parent support activities to 250 individuals annually; disseminate information on good parenting practices and responsible fatherhood to 500 individuals; provide group counseling to 250 individuals annually; and disseminate information on the prevention of domestic violence and child abuse to 1,000 individuals annually. The following curricula will be used to support project activities: Jovan Noble/Noble Young Man; Raising Children With Pride; Southwest Key D.A.D.S.; Fatherhood Development: A Curriculum for Youth Fathers; El Hombre Noble Buscando/A Man Searching for Balance; and Healing Family Violence.

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: People of Principle is an organization with experience in implementing programs which serve to improve the lives of its children. It operates under the umbrella of KAIROS Prison Ministries. KAIROS, established in 1976, is active in 33 states and in Australia, Canada, England, Costa Rica and South Africa. Part of The People of Principle’s mission is to transform prison environments by reaching prisoners in their environment and to provide experiences that result in life-changing decisions.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The project “Fathers Are Forever (FAF) Project” will provide training for 3,000 inmates in seven prisons in West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico. Program goals and objectives seek to teach parenting skills, promote two-parent families, and eliminate family violence. The FAF project will teach parenting skills and promote healthy two-parent marriages for married or unmarried incarcerated men who have children. Program activities include anger management, preventing family violence, the use of the negotiated agreements to govern family life, skills-based parenting, and positive parent practices.

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: For almost 50 years, Goodwill has provided vocational services to persons with barriers to employment; in 2005, they provided services to 9219 people through their Workforce Development Services. The Center provides community-based employment, education and family support services to strengthen low-income families. The focus is to provide assistance to parents and their children through services delivered in the community.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Goodwill will help engage fathers in job search, training, retention and enhancement activities, along with educational options and specialized vocational training. Encouragement will also be provided for fathers to engage in activities with their children, i.e. sporting events and cultural activities. Individual and small group sessions will provide support on a variety of topics including financial planning, developing peer networks, family events and domestic violence, among others. An initial focus of the project will be on persons displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

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: YouthLaunch has developed several programs over the last 12 years, including Earth Force Texas, Youth partnership for Change, Teen Big Initiative, Youth Cabinet and YouthLaunch Scholarship for Outstanding Service. Its model program “No Kidding: Straight Talk from Teen Parents”, a unique public/private partnership between YouthLaunch and the Texas Attorney General’s Division for Children and Families, will be the basis for the project.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Grant funds will be used to expand the “No Kidding” program in the greater Austin area. A Program Specialist will be hired to focus on fatherhood issues and develop specialized services to assist fathers including job skills training and increased earning opportunities. Initially, twenty teen parents will be recruited to participate in a one-year program providing training and on-going services aimed at increasing their likelihood for success in the workforce and as parents. Over the course of the project, they expect to serve at least 2400 young men and women.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activities: Healthy Marriage - skill-based marriage education (#1); marriage preparation programs (#2); marital inventories (#3); premarital counseling (#4); relationship skill education (#5); counseling, mentoring, and information about the benefits of marriage (#6); education regarding how to control aggressive behavior (#7); and divorce education and reduction programs (#8).

Organization Description: AVANCE-El Paso is one of 10 Texas chapters of a non-profit organization with 33 years of experience providing family education and support. The Chapter was established in 1997 and serves more than 200 families a year in family literacy programs of nine months or longer that blend childhood development, parenting and adult literacy services.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: The project will provide a total of 54 courses serving 540 couples over 5 years, a 16 session relationship-skills based AVANCE curriculum for couples (Houston chapter model), support services including child care, attendance incentives, counseling and transportation. There will also be periodic booster activities, reunions and continuing support services for all couples.

Office of Family Assistance
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood

Allowable Activities: Healthy Marriage - skill-based marriage education (#1). The responsible parenting components include: skill-based parenting education (#1). The economic stability components include: helping fathers improve their economic status by providing job search, job training, subsidized employment, and/or career advancement education (#1).

Organizational Description: The Education Service Center – Region 19 is the grantee agency for the Head Start Program in El Paso and Hudspeth counties. With more than 800 employees, it has a 20 year history of providing comprehensive child development services to the community.

Use(s) of ACF Program Grant Funds: Project goals are to provide fathers with: 1) a comprehensive educational program focused on their personal development; 2) a comprehensive educational program focused on the development of knowledge and skills critical to maintaining a healthy and fulfilling marriage; 3) an educational program focused on the development of knowledge and skills critical to being a responsible parent; and 5) the knowledge and skills critical to the achievement of economic stability. The following curricula will be used to support the above mentioned activities: PREP Core Curriculum, Fatherhood Development: A Curriculum for Young Fathers, Within Our Reach.