Fathers and Case Planning : Optimizing Family Strengths

by Child Welfare Information Gateway

(Page 3 of 5)

Since the early 1990s, CPS agencies have primarily been using two models - the Family Unity Model and the Family Group Conferencing Model (also known as the Family Group Decision-making Model) - to optimize family strengths in the planning process. These models bring the family, extended family, and others in the family's social support network together to make decisions regarding how to ensure safety and well-being. The demonstrated benefits of these models include:

An increased willingness of family members to accept the services suggested in the plan because they were integrally involved in the planning process;

Maintained family continuity and connection through kinship rather than foster care placements;

Enhanced relationships between professionals and families resulting in increased job satisfaction of professionals.

Family meetings can be powerful events since families often experience caring and concern from family members, relatives, and professionals. Meetings based on the families' strengths can help them develop a sense of hope and vision for the future. The meetings themselves may also improve family functioning by modeling openness in communication and appropriate problem-solving skills.

There is no straightforward rule or guide for when to bring the nonresidential father into family meetings. Each situation will differ. In some cases, involving the nonresidential father will seem natural and obvious to family members. In other cases, it will be less clear. As with any step that can prove difficult to navigate, the caseworker is advised to consult with a supervisor to determine how and when to proceed.

Working with Different Fathers in Different Situations

Caseworkers need to adapt their approaches to fit fathers in varying circumstances. There is no single model for fatherhood and no single model for being an involved father. While it is clear that a married father is more likely to be involved in his child's life, fathers in other situations can be and are good fathers as well. The following discussion highlights different father situations and explores relevant caseworker issues for each while working with families in the child welfare system.

Married fathers. This is the model most often associated with positive outcomes for children. Child maltreatment may be a sign of a problem in the marriage. At the very least, it signals significant stress upon the marital unit. When working with a family headed by a married mother and father, the caseworker must come to understand the status of the marriage. Is it strong and healthy? Is it troubled and, if so, why and how? The condition of the marriage directly impacts the children. Furthermore, the child maltreatment may have occurred as a result of marital problems that caused misdirected anger, stress, and exhaustion.

Cohabitating parents. A man and a woman living together who have one or more children together present many of the same issues as a married couple. However, the research shows that cohabitation - even and especially when children are involved - is not the same as marriage. For example, one study reveals that when couples marry after cohabiting, they are nearly 50 percent more likely to divorce eventually as compared to couples that did not live together.

Other research has shown that teenagers being raised by cohabitating parents have more emotional and behavioral problems than peers who are living with married parents. Why there is such a difference in outcomes for couples and children alike in a cohabitating arrangement can only be answered by theory and speculation. It may have to do with the view the couple has toward marriage, commitment, and their own relationship. It is theorized that perhaps cohabitating parents, especially men, view the union as more tenuous and perhaps temporary, which suggests that the caseworker determine how the cohabitating mother and father view their own relationship, its strength, and its longevity.

Incarcerated fathers. More and more programs are working with men in prison not only to prepare them for returning to a productive role in society, but just as importantly to prepare them for being a good father upon their return. Many men who are in prison have never had an opportunity or know how to be good fathers. These programs work with men around issues related to fatherhood not only out of a commitment to connecting men with their children, but also because ensuring that men who leave prison are prepared to take an active role in their family may be one of the best ways to motivate men to avoid the behaviors that got them into prison in the first place. A caseworker working with a family who has a father currently in prison may find it valuable to determine where the father is incarcerated and if one of these programs is currently operating at this facility. Several programs that work with incarcerated fathers are included in Section II.

About the Author

www.childwelfare.gov
Formerly the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information and the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse, Child Welfare Information Gateway provides access to information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families. A service of the Children's Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.