This is a video on better engaging and supporting
young fathers who are involved in the child welfare system. The Center spoke to
young fathers to get information and feedback to improve policy and practice.
The first father was a foster care himself who felt
that he was passed throughout the system and was failed. When he was 13 he met
a foster parent who even though due to his own behavior and couldn’t live at
the home the foster parent tried to encourage him to keep in school. He knew he
had ADHD and needed anger management but never got treatment while in foster
care.
While being a Dad he had first didn’t think of being a
dad as anything more than being financially supportive not emotional. He aged
out of the foster care system and started doing a youth employment program and
then a young fathers program. He was able to become a good co-parent, provide
child support, and be there for his children. He was able to realize that there
is support out there.
The second parent, he got arrested and his son was
given to his Mom. He filed for visitation and immediately was being
investigated for 60 days and saw his worker twice during the entire
investigation. He tried calling the worker every Friday and was told that they
would be calling individuals who knew him and he felt they never did. The
second parent felt that he was being judged as not being a good parent without
the chance of being able to show if he could be a good parent.
The third parent stated he didn’t know how to be a
parent but felt he could figure it out on his own. This parent felt that the
child welfare system was supportive but couldn’t really help the parent. The
third parent felt that because workers couldn’t really help that meant they
didn’t really care about the parents living situation, back ground of how they
were raised, or were they were coming from in general.
It shows a light to how so many feel like the child
welfare system does not support them and that the system as a whole is
overwhelmed. This video shows three different young fathers who all agree that
finding out what is needed and that parents need to be educated on the
difference between just being a father and a dad. I thought the biggest line
from this video was at the end when the farther stated “make Dad’s feel needed,
they will come”
I think this is a cool perspective change to the typical bad picture
ReplyDeletepeople can paint of fathers who are not involved in their kids lives. Some people try to be involved but are not given the ability to while others persevere through adversity to support their children emotionally and not just financially. It is so tough to see a persons file and make a judgment call regarding visitation and custody rights without knowing anything about them. This is humbling and chilling.
I really like this perspective and that an agency was taking this research to improve their policy and practice. You often hear of single mom support groups and mothering classes, but do not hear about programs for single fathers often. I think adding programs to help fathers and not just mothers who are involved in the child welfare system will decrease the child's involvement in the system in the future. Great read!
ReplyDeleteI love that quote that you included at the end. It's interesting to think how society's view of fatherhood has really impacted the outcomes of children. We really don't prioritize fathers enough, and the responsibility of child-rearing is so often cast as the mother's duty. I can imagine that many fathers who have been labeled as bad parents from the start are even less likely to want to prove that label wrong, considering we make it so difficult for them to (whether it is for good reason or not). It's so important to make Dad's feel needed, and that's something that needs to be changed systemically.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this perspective because I do not see very many opportunities for fathers such as this one. It is sad because helping the mother seems to be the only thing that is focused on most times and fathers are often left out in the cold. Sometimes all someone needs is a resource to help better their lives so that they can be the parent that the child needs. So, focusing on both parents is of great importance.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this perspective because I do not see very many opportunities for fathers such as this one. It is sad because helping the mother seems to be the only thing that is focused on most times and fathers are often left out in the cold. Sometimes all someone needs is a resource to help better their lives so that they can be the parent that the child needs. So, focusing on both parents is of great importance.
ReplyDelete