Fathers Incorporated - Training Program

Fatherhood Training Project

Fathers, Incorporated is excited to introduce our series of workshops and seminars. In our workshops, your organization will find over 25 workshops to assist you in better providing services and support for today's fathers.

This morning alone:

q 24 million children (34 percent) woke up absent from their biological father, and;

q nearly 20 million children (27 percent) are in a single-parent home.

Society has many means of addressing this issue available to it. Many would agree that there are not many causes more worthy than assuring that our children are raised in a way that allows them to be healthy, productive members of our society. Fathers are a necessary and critical part of the rearing process of a child. Our children need fathers in their lives. Therefore the obligation to focus an effort on providing support services, training and assistance to fathers in need of sustenance, is also necessary and critical.

Because of these reasons that we find it critical to begin to educate not only fathers, but service providers who have taken up the cause of building healthy families.

Our consulting services will also help agencies assess their existing programs, identify improved methods of providing programs, and understand the existing responsible fatherhood movement.

Please take some time to review our services that we offer. If you need to have a particular issue discussed and there is not a workshop among our offerings that addresses it, let us know. We can probably create a workshop that does so. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please feel free to contact us at (518) 542-1233. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Fathers Incorporated Training Package (PDF) or (Word)

Workshop Overviews

Fathers, Inc. offers the following training programs. Workshops are generally three hours in length, unless stated otherwise, and are highly interactive. In addition to the workshops offered, Fathers, Inc. staff can offer facilitation services for meetings, forums, or focus groups having to do with similar topics.

No man is an island.

This workshop will allow participants to view and discuss their connection to the larger world and how their past is connected to their future. Participants will have the opportunity to identify influences on their lives and discuss the potential influence that they would like to have on others.

If it is to be…it’s up to me.

The focus of this workshop is on decision making, spheres of influence and control, identifying those things that we have control over and those things that we do not. Participants will have the opportunity to see and discuss how their choices and decisions can, and do, impact their outcomes. In addition, participants will learn how to create and evaluate alternatives to the way that they think and act.

Oh...so that’s what a parent is.

Participants in this workshop will learn what it takes to be a good parent, the challenges parents face, and what skills and techniques will enable them to effectively face the challenges of parenthood. The workshop aims to de-mystify the role of parent and enable participants to approach parenting with a “can do” attitude.

I could use a lift.

This workshop will give participants an opportunity to identify those factors that influence image and self esteem and how to access contradictions to those messages that negatively impact their self esteem.

That’s where I live, not who I am!

This workshop focuses on how classism, other “isms”, and male oppression have impacted how we view fathers and their value in the lives of their children, their families, and others.

I AM my brother’s keeper.

This workshop, designed primarily for men of African heritage, looks at the historical relationships between and among men of African heritage, and others. It will discuss how racism has impacted those relationships, and continues to impact those relationships even today. It will provide participants with an opportunity to explore the challenges that they face in trying to have meaningful relationships with other men of African heritage, and how the lack of these relationships have impacted them in their role as fathers.

Can we talk??

This workshop will discuss how to have difficult conversations with your children and help them feel comfortable about talking to you. How would you react to hearing your child saying that he or she is gay or lesbian, or if they wanted an interracial relationship? The workshop will examine issues of listening, respect, and effective communication - when the topic being discussed is not an easy one. We will discuss specifically determining when to talk and when to listen, when advice is called for and when it is not, and when it is appropriate to just let the other person do what they want to.

Aw man, you’re not Superman after all.

The relationship between parent and child changes as the young person gets older- especially between members of the same gender. This workshop will discuss how the aging of parent and child can make the relationship either more difficult or more meaningful depending on how you interact with each other. It will discuss issues of respect, responsibility, and trust - and how building these things is critical to maintaining positive relationships as time goes on.

Don’t bother me right now!

Children have different needs for attention and direction at different ages. They also grow up very quickly and time lost can never be recovered – even if relationships are eventually established or re-established. Participants will hear about what quantity (as opposed to quantity) time means to kids at different ages. This workshop will be about identifying how to build and maintain good parental relationships through the use of quality time. For non-custodial parents especially, there will be discussion about how to maximize the impact of the time available.

Naw man, I don’t want to fight you.

This conflict resolution workshop teaches an alternative to violence when conflict arises. It highlights the importance of listening skills, and effective communication strategies, and why the positive resolution of conflict benefits all those involved.

You said you would!

This workshop discusses responsibility and commitment, and the importance of both of those things when you are a parent - and even when you are not, especially as outside influences make it inconvenient or undesirable to fulfill parental responsibilities. This becomes an even bigger issue when the non-custodial parent has a second family, or when the relationship with the custodial parent is strained. Participants will look at experiences that they have had where responsibility and commitment, on their part or others, led to either positive or negative outcomes.

You let her do what??

This workshop will give participants an opportunity to discuss the challenges faced by non-custodial parents when there is ongoing disagreement about the ways that the child is being raised; especially when there are disagreements related to discipline (too harsh or too lax), behavior, perceived neglect, or just differences in parenting styles.

Your Family Court Adventure.

This workshop will discuss the things that participants should consider in preparation for, and during a family court appearance. These things may include prior legal preparation, dress, demeanor and attitude. The course will include some role play in order to give participants an opportunity to experience some of the feelings that accompany a family court appearance.

Hey, the kids say my dads are queers??

Remember when the "non-traditional" family meant a single parent household? or being raised by someone other than your natural parent??? These days, the "non-traditional" family label has expanded to include parents of the same gender, different racial or ethnic backgrounds, or different religious backgrounds - just to name a few. The non-traditional family is a thing of the present, and of the future, with its own unique set of issues and challenges. Too often, we fail to have the conversation with young people until they come to us in tears after having been ridiculed or persecuted in school or somewhere else? This workshop will give participants an opportunity to look at the hesitancy to have the discussions with children early on, some of the challenges faced by "non-traditional" families, and how parents can take advantage of everyday "teachable moments" to increase their child's understanding about the value of diversity.

You’re not my daddy!

It is difficult enough to be a natural parent much less a stepparent. This workshop will discuss the challenges of being a step-parent - especially when the natural parent is still somewhere in the picture...and when the child is resentful of the new relationship.

I just love my new daddy....

or worse....”I hate mommy’s new boyfriend, he is mean to me.” This workshop will discuss how to deal with the feelings that come up when your child either loves, or despises the person who is in relationship with the custodial parent. Obviously, you want your child to be treated well by the new “parent” and yet there are issues of jealousy, boundaries, discipline, etc. And when the child is not feeling good about the new relationship, the situation can be made worse if not handled correctly. The workshop will discuss how to maintain proper perspective and control, assert your parental rights - and effectively handle the challenges that can arise from third party situations, without negatively impacting the child.

It takes two, baby.

Designed specifically for men and women of African heritage, this workshop looks at the historical struggle between men and women of African heritage and how that struggle continues to be played out today. It will give participants an opportunity to identify and contradict the negative interactions between the two groups - especially when there are children involved.

I’m getting out of this rat hole.

While incarceration is a horrible and traumatic adjustment to anyone’s life, coming back to the community after incarceration may bring an equal amount of life stresses. It requires ex-offenders to readjust to a situation where they have complete control over, and responsibility for, their choices and decisions. In addition, most return to the same community that was the breeding ground for their problems to begin with. Participants will identify some of the pitfalls to a successful reintegration into society and discuss how to avoid them. This includes identifying community and family supports and resources.

WORKSHOPS FOR ORGANIZATIONAL STAFF

Understanding the Responsible Father and Health Family Initiatives

In an effort to promote healthy families, and in recognition of the importance of the many roles that fathers can play in the lives of their offspring, there has been sweeping new legislation and funding enacted by the government. This resurgence of the notion that fathers are important to families and children calls upon community based organizations to provide education and programs that support the introduction, re-introduction, or maintenance of the father in the home. This workshop provides cutting edge information to staff within community organizations regarding the initiatives, their implications, and what will be required of organizations wishing to participate or take advantage of funding opportunities.

Assessing Your Organization’s Readiness

It will become critical - and a necessary first step - for organizations who are involved in the Healthy Family and/or Responsible Fathers initiatives to assess their organization’s readiness to provide services in a way that is viewed as father and family-friendly. This workshop will provide direction and technical assistance to those agencies who are interested in assessing how their organizational culture will aid or impede the provision of quality programs and services; including how individual staff beliefs and stereotypes can provide either a welcoming or not-so-welcoming atmosphere for potential clients of programs of services

Integrating the Responsible Father and Health Family Initiatives into Current Organizational Program Models

Once organizations have made the decision to become involved in either the Responsible Father or the Healthy Family Initiatives, and completed an organizational assessment to determine probability of success in providing these programs or services, the next step involves getting started with the integration of the initiatives into current organizational program models. This workshop will provide organizations with the “how to’s” of beginning this process, including identifying existing resources and program models.