Newsletter
January 2011
Launch of the Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
I am pleased to announce the launch of new DMA Responsible Fatherhood Initiative (RFI). The RFI will provide training and consultation focused on improving the capacity of systems to understand and respond to the role of all fathers, particularly fathers who are perpetrators of domestic violence, in the lives of their families. The RFI will be directed by Mark Larson, who brings to the position an extensive background working with men who batter, fatherhood, the Safe and Together model and providing training and consultation to intervention systems.
As part of the Safe and Together model, we routinely highlight the critical importance of intervening with domestic violence perpetrators who are social or biological fathers. We believe there is a direct connection between the safety and well being of families and the capacity of communities and organizations to implement effective interventions with abusive fathers. Developing these interventions requires an increase in the capacity to work with all fathers, not just fathers who have been violent. It means having strategies to realistically assess a father's strengths and weakness as it relates to children in the home, particularly the level of support and respect he offers his partner as a person and parent. It means understanding the impact his presence or absence has on family functioning. And it means understanding what it looks like to support a father in a healthy relationship with his children without increasing danger for the children's mother. Finally, it means not painting all fathers and fatherhood with one broad brush-whether that brush is "Isn't it great he's interested in his children?" or "Let's ignore him" or "He's violent so let's remove him completely from the lives of his children." None of these approaches reflect the complexities of the desires and realities of most families. And none of these approaches are the right basis for policy and practice.
The Responsible Fatherhood Initiative will build on our current efforts, making them accessible to people working in broader settings. For example, we will continue to provide training to child protection systems but will also be available to fatherhood programs, supervised visitation programs, home visiting programs and other organizations interested in strengthening their work with fathers who abuse. We also will offer resources to batterer intervention programs interested in exploring how directly addressing fatherhood and parenting can improve their work with men. Our goal is to support good practice anywhere issues of fatherhood, domestic violence, and family safety intersect.
The Responsible Fatherhood Initiative will remain grounded in the core values of the Safe and Together Model. In fact, we see the RFI as a strategy to bring our commitment to these values to a new level. Our priority will continue to be the safety and well-being of women and children and our efforts will continue to be informed by their experiences, voices and concerns.
RFI Training and Technical Assistance
RFI training and technical assistance offerings include:Assessing Fathers: Strengths and Risks
- Supporting Responsible Fatherhood: Strategies for working with fathers with histories of coercive control.
- Batterer Intervention Programs and Responsible Fatherhood: How BIP’s can engage men who batter to support responsible fatherhood.
- Practicing Engagement Skills: An advance workshop on skills for engaging fathers with histories of domestic violence.
- The parenting of men who batter: Conceptualizing and Engaging Men who Batter as Fathers
For more information about training and technical assistance packages or to schedule training, click here or contact Mark Larson at marklarson@endingviolence.com.
RFI Blog
Please also visit our Responsible Fatherhood blog. The RFI blog will be an opportunity for ongoing discussion about working with fathers and how this work supports our commitment to the safety and well-being of families. Check out the RFI blog here and return often to follow the conversation
© 2011, DMA LLC. Permission to reprint with the following information "Originally published in Safe & Together Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 2011, David Mandel & Associates, LLC, www.endingviolence.com.